Couldn't find the mouse...

[Jeo123]

So I've been trying to get my 1.5 year old snake to eat for a long time now(she's eaten once since August). She's starting to look a little thin, but not terribly so. Temps are good (low 90s hot, mid 80s cool) air temp stays around 70 which is probably a little low, but the best I can do in the winter.

Anyway, I bought a live mouse 2 days ago trying to get her to eat, but she's only shown a curiousity interest, not a hunger interest. She'll go up to it sticking her toungue out at it, follow it around casually, but no preparing to strike. The mouse seems pretty chill as well and isn't freaked out by her, and it's probably too small to do much damage anyway. So I left them alone together today when I went to work. I came back and saw her under her rock hide so I figured the mouse was under the other one. I was really excited to see the mouse wasn't there since I thought she might have finally eaten.

But then I picked up the rock to check on the snake... the mouse was cuddling with the snake just hanging out. I poked it to see if it was alive and it moved a bit, but made no effort to leave. So now the two of them are just hanging out together.

Is it possible for snakes to just lose their feeding instinct? I don't want to resort to assist feeding(and probably wouldn't do that for a few moths at the earliest once winter is over) but I just find this really weird.

[cmack91]

First, take the mouse out of tank now. If that mouse is in there for too long without food, you run the risk of it eating your snake.

Try a different kind of prey, like a rat, at a year and a half she should be eaing bigger prey anyway. Do you know how much she weighs?

[Skittles1101]

Are you monitoring her weight loss through this boycott? Is the husbandry correct?

[The Serpent Merchant]

Live rodents should never be left unattended in a snake cage or else this can/will happen:



This is not my photo I got it from Google

[VEXER19]

Exactly what I thought when I saw this post. Never under any circumstance feed live or just period without monitoring. You never know when something may go wrong. But especially live. IMO a small mouse is more likely to take a piece out of your snake then a rat but that's irrelavent. Just don't do it plain and simple.

[Skittles1101]

Exactly what I thought when I saw this post. Never under any circumstance feed live or just period without monitoring. You never know when something may go wrong. But especially live. IMO a small mouse is more likely to take a piece out of your snake then a rat but that's irrelavent. Just don't do it plain and simple.

Feeding live is sometimes necessary, and thousands of responsible, reputable reptile keepers have been doing it for YEARS, since before you were born, with little to no issues. I personally prefer f/t but I am forced to feed at least 2 of my snakes live at the moment. Don't turn this into a f/t vs. live thread please. I'm sure people will agree that unsupervised live feedings is not good but to tell this guy not to feed live period is just ridiculous.

[VEXER19]

Feeding live is sometimes necessary, and thousands of responsible, reputable reptile keepers have been doing it for YEARS, since before you were born, with little to no issues. I personally prefer f/t but I am forced to feed at least 2 of my snakes live at the moment. Don't turn this into a f/t vs. live thread please. I'm sure people will agree that unsupervised live feedings is not good but to tell this guy not to feed live period is just ridiculous.

I feed live. I said to not feed live or period without monitoring.

[Skittles1101]

I feed live. I said to not feed live or period without monitoring.

Apologies, I must have read it don't feed live period especially without monitoring. Sometimes I read just as fast as I type, making mistakes sometimes

[VEXER19]

Apologies, I must have read it don't feed live period especially without monitoring. Sometimes I read just as fast as I type, making mistakes sometimes

Lol, don't we all. I do it all the time. No biggie.