Obviously, snakes don’t become stressed because they have to sit in traffic, pay bills, or work a 9 to 5 job – instead, they become stressed because they do not feel safe or do not have a proper habitat. Snakes – like many other animals – often lose their appetites when experiencing high stress levels. Stress Can Cause Corn Snakes to Refuse Food It can also be helpful to provide climbing branches, which often help make corn snakes feel more comfortable. The temperatures under the basking spot should be about 90 degrees Fahrenheit, while the cool side of the enclosure should ideally be in the low- to mid-70s.Īdditionally, it is important to make sure your corn snake has at least one hiding spot, and that you are using a suitable substrate. So, always check your pet’s habitat temperatures if he refuses food. The most common habitat problem to cause food refusal is sub-optimal temperatures. If your corn snake’s habitat is not properly designed and maintained, your corn snake may refuse to eat. Habitat Problems Can Cause Corn Snakes to Refuse Food Typically, scent transferring is only necessary for a few weeks, after which most picky corn snakes will begin to accept unscented rodents. This is called “scent transferring” and it works because snakes largely (although not exclusively) recognize prey via scent, rather than sight. In such cases, it is often possible to “trick” the corn snakes into eating pinky (hairless, newborn mice) or fuzzy mice (slightly furred, non-weaned mice) by rubbing a frog or lizard on the rodent before offering it to your snake. In some cases, hatchling corn snakes prefer lizards or frogs, causing them to refuse the rodents offered by their keepers. Hatchling Corn Snakes May Prefer Lizards or Frogs However, there are also a few reasons corn snakes will refuse food that will require your attention. None of these reasons should cause you to worry, as they’ll resolve themselves over time. Female corn snakes may refuse food if they are gravid.Adult males often refuse food during the breeding season.Adult corn snakes may refuse food entirely during the winter.Snakes often refuse food when they’re entering a shed cycle.Some of the most common reasons corn snakes refuse food include: If your snake continues to refuse food for several weeks, you’ll need to figure out what the problem is and take steps to rectify it. Simply dispose of the thawed rodent and offer a fresh rodent at the next scheduled feeding. The refusal of a meal or two is absolutely no cause for concern. However, a small subset of keepers prefer to feed commercially produced birds.Īlthough corn snakes are typically enthusiastic eaters, most snakes will refuse food on occasion. In captivity, the vast majority of keepers feed their corn snake commercially reared, frozen-thawed rodents. Rodents (including voles, mice, rats, chipmunks and squirrels)Īs a general rule, lizards and frogs are the most important food sources for hatchling and juvenile corn snakes in the wild, while rodents and birds become the most important food sources for adult corn snakes.Some of the most commonly consumed prey items include: Wild corn snakes eat a variety of prey species in the wild. >Read More: What Do Corn Snakes Eat? A Diet & Food Guide Corn Snake Feeding: What Do They Eat? Nevertheless, the chart below should provide a good starting point. Food items should create a modest, yet obvious bulge in your snake’s body. As a rule of thumb, you’ll want to provide your snake with a food item that is about 1.25 times the size of your snake at midbody. In all cases, you’ll want to tailor the size of the prey offered (as well as the feeding schedule employed) to suit your individual snake’s needs. Some corn snakes grow faster or slower than others, while some simply prefer larger or smaller prey items than other corn snakes. Just note that all snakes are individuals, so you’ll need to adjust the recommendations in this chart to suit your specific snake. We’ve put together a quick-reference feeding chart below to help you understand the proper prey size and feeding schedule for corn snakes of various ages and sizes.
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