Depression! Help!

[ScalelessTime]

My gopher snake, Aphrodite, refuses to drink her water. It gets to the point I have to MAKE her drink my putting her nose in the water. She will only drink then. Plus whenever there is a hide in her cage, she rarely ever comes out. When I pick her up to take her out she is ice cold. Idk what's wrong. Even her eating habits are strange. She's been like this ever since I got her from her previous owner. When I feed her, I have to lay it on her or somewhere close to her and wait an hour. Unlike my cal king who eats immediately, she takes her time and instead of eating two rats, she now eats only one. Is it the winter or something wrong with her? The good thing is that she had a healthy shed so she has the proper nutrition, just not the normal habits like eating, drinking, and sunbathing. I'm getting even more worried.

[PatrickT]

She is cold when her environment is cold. Why don´t you leave her alone and look what happens? Some snakes don´t drink much. You stress her alot.

[ScalelessTime]

I have done that. That's why I am getting worried. I use to handle her a lot, then I stopped handling he to see what happens, and she's about the same. She's not a very active snake....but she is very sweet, though.

[Minkness]

It's probably just the winter hibernation setting in. Unless she's loosing alot of weight, I wouldn't worry too much. =)

[ScalelessTime]

I got her before winter was setting in. I got her near the end of summer when schools were starting back up. She's been the same this whole time.

[EL Ziggy]

What are her temps and humidity like? I've have only seen any of my snakes drink a couple of times. Is she losing weight? You say she's eating so that's good. Is she pooping and shedding? How old is she? Lots of snakes are slowing down with the cooler temps and breeding season. My bulls are a little more active than my kings right now but they're all less active than they normally are during warmer months. If your husbandry is dialed in and she's not showing any obvious signs of illness I wouldn't worry at all.

[pet_snake_78]

Unless you're watching your snakes around the clock, I think it's going to be rare to actually see them drinking. If you're really curious, why not hook up a webcam and capture the feed. Then you can fast forward through the video until you finally see your snake drinking. That's the only way I can think of to know for sure how often a snake drinks.

[ScalelessTime]

All of your guys's comments are reassuring. Since it is winter right now, I will only watch her. I'm getting ready to feed her now. Hopefully she will eat a full meal like normal. If not, she will just eat one at least. Thank you.

[SnoopySnake]

Some snakes also just won't take two. Maybe instead of two she would prefer one larger prey item? As far as drinking goes, she may just be doing it late at night when you're sleeping. If she's been this way since you got her I'm going to guess that's just how she is.. if you have an IR temp gun you could check her temp and that might help put your mind at ease about her being cold.

[ssshane]

What type of heat are you using? (try and be specific) Do you know the temps on each end of the enclosure? What size is the enclosure? Did the snake come with its feedings recorded?

[ScalelessTime]

She's only cold when she hides away in her hide. When she is in the corner of her cage just sitting there she's at the perfect temperature. I use plant lights for my reptiles. They are cheaper and work just as well.

[D Grade]

Im against using heat lamps for Colubrids. Id recommend getting a heat pad and dialing in a nice 85-86F hotspot on one side of the tank.

[jossh27]

Originally Posted by D Grade

Im against using heat lamps for Colubrids. Id recommend getting a heat pad and dialing in a nice 85-86F hotspot on one side of the tank.

i have never seen a heat pad with a temperature setting... aren't they generally just plug and go? how to you dial in a set temp without another heat source?

[nyx]

I lurked on this thread for a while but I can't help it...

One: How do you know what temperature her enclosure is? Infrared temperature gun? Digital thermometer? Anything else (stick-on thermometer, as an example) will be 100% useless in determining her temperature.

Two: Using "plant lights" for her thermal gradient means that either they are over the entire enclosure and she has no options, or they are over part of the enclosure and uncontrolled and unmonitored as far as temperature goes. If one's house is kept at 75°F year-round, this may not be a problem for North American colubrids, but if one's house dips into the 50s or 60s, this may be inducing a kind of partial brumation, or period of inactivity.

Three: She is drinking when you are not around. I have kept snakes for over a decade and can count on one hand the number of times I have witnessed any of them drinking. Please do not force her head underwater anymore.

Four: Not all snakes have the feeding response of a California kingsnake. It isn't unusual for some snakes to prefer to have prey left in their enclosures for them to discover later. It is also not unusual for an animal to only eat one prey item. Unless the prey must be small to accommodate an animal with a small head, like an indigo snake, it typically is only necessary to feed one prey item of appropriate size per feeding.

Five: I would strongly consider acquiring another thermal source, like a radiant heat panel or under-tank heater, along with a thermostat to correctly monitor and control the temperature. A snake's ability to thermoregulate is one of the most important aspects of captive care; an animal kept too warm or too cold is not living up to its potential as a captive animal.

Regarding heat sources (someone else had asked) all heat sources, including under-tank heaters, should be controlled and monitored. These devices can kill animals through overheating, or slowly kill animals through lack of warmth if insufficient. A thermostat, or at the very least, a rheostat and thermometer, are absolutely required when dealing with reptiles.

[EL Ziggy]

Originally Posted by jossh27

i have never seen a heat pad with a temperature setting... aren't they generally just plug and go? how to you dial in a set temp without another heat source?

A thermostat or rheostat controls the uth temps.