She won't eat

Hi guys,

I've been a lurker for a while. I have a juvenile female charcoal corn, Bella - she's 4 mo. old. She was a fab eater to start with. She was up to 2 pinks a feeding without a problem. The last meal she kept down was on 1/5. Her next feeding on the 10th, she only took one, normal sized, and regurged. I waited 5 more days and tried again. Same thing. Now I can't get her to respond to food at all. Temps are perfect, water changed daily. We've kept handling to a minimum. Tried leaving her alone with one overnight. Left one in front of her hide, no go. Tried tease feeding - nope. Scenting - nada. Went with Kathy Love's advise and tried half a pink, she wouldn't even go near it. I'm going to try a live pinky tomorrow - I want to give her a night off - but if that doesn't work, I'm taking her to the vet. Any suggestions on how to get her interested in food again? I really don't want to resort to force feeding, but if we have to....Oh, and there are no signs of an RI, etc. I think the first pink she regurged got it's leg stuck just behind he jaw and that caused the regurge.

TIA

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Originally Posted by Knitstergirl

Hi guys,

I've been a lurker for a while. I have a juvenile female charcoal corn, Bella - she's 4 mo. old. She was a fab eater to start with. She was up to 2 pinks a feeding without a problem. The last meal she kept down was on 1/5. Her next feeding on the 10th, she only took one, normal sized, and regurged. I waited 5 more days and tried again. Same thing. Now I can't get her to respond to food at all. Temps are perfect, water changed daily. We've kept handling to a minimum. Tried leaving her alone with one overnight. Left one in front of her hide, no go. Tried tease feeding - nope. Scenting - nada. Went with Kathy Love's advise and tried half a pink, she wouldn't even go near it. I'm going to try a live pinky tomorrow - I want to give her a night off - but if that doesn't work, I'm taking her to the vet. Any suggestions on how to get her interested in food again? I really don't want to resort to force feeding, but if we have to....Oh, and there are no signs of an RI, etc. I think the first pink she regurged got it's leg stuck just behind he jaw and that caused the regurge.

TIA

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Ok here is what i suggest you try.If you would give her a full week of no handling or attempts at feeding.When you said she is up to 2 pinks maybe its to much for her every 5 days.Try my suggestions here and let me know how things go in a week.;) Is thier a chance at getting a pic of her before you start the full week?

When you experience a regurge, its wise not to feed immediately after.( wait a week and a half to two weeks after) If you experience another you could end up continuing on a vicious cycle which in the end, will kill your animal.

If everything is Perfect as you say it is, i suggest a vet visit is in order.

First, let me say, I don't have a corn snake. But we are planning on getting one for my daughter, so I've been reading up about them.

When I saw this thread, I immediately remembered a similar one from only a few weeks ago. The advice there might help you.

http://www.ball-pythons.net/forums/s...ad.php?t=58571

Also, in that thread, Connie (littleindiangirl) posted this link to an article by Kathy Love about what to do when a snake regurges. I'd assume since it is Kathy Love and it is on the corn snake forums, the advice is specific to corn snakes.

http://www.cornsnakes.com/forums/sho...30&postcount=3

You said you tried what Kathy Love said, half a pinkie. I don't know if you meant this article or not. If so, it sounds like you may have missed what I interpreted as what Kathy Love was stressing more... wait, don't rush, leave the snake alone...

Thanks guys!

A quick call to the vet reiterated what you've all said - wait, giver her some time alone. I'll try her on a single pink next week, and if she doesn't eat it, then he wants to see her. Patience is a virtue, or so I've heard :)

I think you should double check the heat source, make sure that it isnt TOO hot. I think young corns like that dont really need a thermal gradient, and can be kept at one even temperature. (Don't go quoting me on that)

Just remember that their stomachs lose a lot of gut flora and helpful bacteria after a regurge, so leaving her alone for near 2 weeks is important. Then start following Kathy Love's directions exactly. Small, small portion meals, half a rat pinkie, or try a mouse pinkie.

No handling unless absolutely necessary. I hope this works for you, if her condition deteriorates at all, a trip to the Vet is due.

In addition to what everyone said, it could be parasites.....

Happy update! After a full month, Bella finally ate last night :D
She took an f/t pinkie without any hesitation and no regurge yet. I guess she just needed to get hungry enough. We're going to leave her alone (other than water change and tank maintenance) and continue feeding one pinkie a week for the next 4-5 feedings and see how she does. Once my home computer is up and running I'll post some pics of my girl.

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Originally Posted by Knitstergirl

Happy update! After a full month, Bella finally ate last night :D
She took an f/t pinkie without any hesitation and no regurge yet. I guess she just needed to get hungry enough. We're going to leave her alone (other than water change and tank maintenance) and continue feeding one pinkie a week for the next 4-5 feedings and see how she does. Once my home computer is up and running I'll post some pics of my girl.

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Thats great news :gj: