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Jmodjamodj
Egg
United Kingdom
62 Posts |
 Posted - 21/04/2014 : 23:30:48
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| My 2 yr old carolina corn snake frank has always fed well but now has not eaten since 15 march. I am concerned. He is looking slimmer. He shed on 6 april no problem but completely ignores the food. He was on 2 mediums every 5 days. We call him frank but actually 'he' could be a 'she'. Please give me any advice. |
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SilverWings
Yearling
United Kingdom
740 Posts |
Posted - 22/04/2014 : 00:10:28
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| One month is not too bad for a corn. He could be reaching maturity, it's the right time of year for snakes to be off their food while they look for a mate. Is he more active than normal, glass dancing etc? However, they should not lose a noticeable amount of weight during a normal fast. Do you weigh him regularly, or do you just go by how he looks? I would suggest you get a set of digital kitchen scales and keep a record of his weight if you don't already, if he starts to lose weight something more serious could be wrong. What are his temperatures like? Do you have a thermometer to check them or do you just rely on your stat? The dials aren't always 100% accurate and a thermometer should be used to ensure he has the correct hot and cold temps. |
2.2.3 Corn snakes; Red, Rosie, Liana, Checkers, Luna, Diego, Snowman
1.0 Taiwanese Beauty Snake; Aleron
1.0 Green Anoles; Doug
1.0 Greyhound; Lee |
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Kellog
the nice one
United Kingdom
7308 Posts |
Posted - 22/04/2014 : 08:59:52
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As Silverwings has said, Jeanette, it is breeding season at the moment and a lot of snakes are thinking of the opposite sex and not food. 3 of mine are refusing to eat and 1 has gone 3 months without eating before. But it's important that you make sure that is why he isn't eating. Breeding behaviour includes them patrolling their vivs, trying to escape and what has already been mentioned. Is Frank more active than normal?
Stress could also be causing him to refuse. I'm assuming he has a heatmat, controlled by a thermostat and monitored by a digital thermometer? What is the temp in the warm end?
I am concerned with how much you say he is being fed. 2 mediums every 5 days is an awful lot and could be overloading his system. My Storm is on 1 small a week and doesn't need anything more than that. This thread is a helpful guide where feeding is concerned - http://www.thecornsnake.co.uk/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=27833
Silverwings is also right about how important it is to keep a record of his weight. If this is down to breeding season then there shouldn't be a big weigh loss because it's a 'natural fast'. If something else is causing it then you should see him losing more weight quicker. I weigh mine by putting a shoebox on digital scales, zeroing it and then adding the snake.
Hope that helps.
Xxx
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Jmodjamodj
Egg
United Kingdom
62 Posts |
Posted - 22/04/2014 : 09:40:07
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| Hi thanks for all advice. I have never weighed frank. He still looks healthy but will now get scales. Frank last night was glass dancing and never seen him doing that before! He is well and lively as usual. How long do they fast while mating season? He has always been lively and still is but maybe a little more so. He has only a heat mat but 9 times out of 10 prefers to be cold. Thanks v much. He is my sons snake but as usual mum ends up doing everything. These are all new experiences. |
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Kellog
the nice one
United Kingdom
7308 Posts |
Posted - 23/04/2014 : 08:32:14
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It differs with different snakes Jeanette. One of mine has gone 3 months without eating and I know of others that have gone longer. There really isn't anything you can do other than keep an eye on his weight. You may be able to tempt him to eat by offering him a smaller prey item than he's used to, so a small rather than a medium.
I would urge you to get both a thermostat to control the heatmat and a digital thermometer to monitor the temp in the viv. The fact that he seems to prefer the cool end may indicate that the warm end is too wam. One of my thermostats got unplugged by mistake but luckily I had a digital thermometer in the viv and saw that the temp was too high. This is what it got to -
Please have a look at these threads explain why a thermostat is a vital piece of equipment - http://www.thecornsnake.co.uk/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=13838 and http://www.thecornsnake.co.uk/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=9675 and http://iansvivarium.com/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=865
I'm in the same position as you. My first snake was got for my son and husband. Soon they got bored and I had to take over. I'm now up to 5 and I wouldn't be surprised if you want your own corn soon  .
Xxx
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frank is not eating
