Cornsnake not eating/starting to lose weight

Cmwells90 · 02-11-15, 02:42 PM

I have a snow cornsnake, he's been off feed since oct. He's eaten twice since then but they were small meals (1 adult mouse both times), usually he eats a small rat every 7-10 days without issue. For some reason he's gone off feed. I've added decorations to make him feel secure, the warm side is 85-88 cool side is usually 70's. Humidity sits between 50%-60%. He's started to lose weight over the last month, so far it's only about 15 grams but I'm not sure when I'll need to start worring. If he doesn't start to eat, and I do need to worry, what should be my first course of action. I'm already planning a trip to the vet for all my snakes in the next month, so maybe they'll have an idea but I wanted to run it by you guys first to see if we can get the ball rolling.

Cmwells90 · 02-11-15, 04:03 PM

I should also add that he's very active, he's out every evening and night. He responds to the food and approaches it, but the moment he realizes it's food he wants nothing to do with it. He will follow anything that moves in his cage and even approach it, but he doesn't try to eat.

sharthun · 02-11-15, 04:13 PM

It's that time of year for males to be on the prowl. Just wait a few days and try again. Especially if you have female snake/s close by. I have 4 males and they all are behaving in a similar way.

Cmwells90 · 02-12-15, 02:15 PM

Yea I was thinking that too, but I don't have any females and he's been sexually mature for awhile now but he's never gone off feed until recently. I just don't want to think it's normal only to find out there's an issue. I'm just at which point should I start to worry, I usually see people say it's when they start to lose weight and he has, but not that much, so what is too much?

**EL Ziggy** · 02-12-15, 02:41 PM

How old is he and how much does your corn weigh CM? If he's not losing a significant amount of weight, and not showing any other obvious signs of illness, I wouldn't worry. My Cal King recently started eating again after an almost 3 month fast. He did the same thing last year. I'd keep offering food every 7-10 days until he gets back on track. If you're really worried about him, you could try a small live prey item to see if that kick starts his appetite. That's what I did with my Cal King last year and he started eating f/t again regularly after 2 or 3 live feedings. This year I was more prepared to wait him out. My MBK has also been eating erratically for the last few months but she did eat a week ago. Before that it had been two months since her last meal. Best wishes.