If you already share your life with a snake or have decided that you are going to start doing so soon, you should get to know them as well as possible. Knowing what snakes are like as pets and what their diet is like are basic things you should know. In addition, like any living being, they can suffer from various problems and diseases about which we must try to be as informed as possible.
You may have already encountered the problem that your snake does not eat. In that case, don't stay with the doubt of what should I do if my snake doesn't eat Keep reading this article on our site, in which we invite you to know why it could be that your partner has stopped eating lately and what you should do in that case to help her.
Why do snakes stop eating?
Ophidians can go from a few days to long periods without eating. Also, there are times in their lives when they stop eating completely We must know how to detect what reason our snake may have for having stopped eating, since it may be due to a natural cause or due to some disease or he alth problem which must be remedied.
These are some of the possible reasons why a snake stops being interested in its food:
Natural causes
- Digestion time
- The prey we offer you is not the right one
- The way we feed him is not adequate
- Shedding skin
- Matting season
Causes that indicate he alth problems
- Stress
- Inadequate conditions in the terrarium
- Diseases
These are the most frequent reasons why our snake may stop eating. When we detect that he hasn't eaten for too long for his usual eating rhythm, we should try to detect the possible cause to solve it as soon as possible Normally, in addition to seeing that he stops eat their prey, we will see that it has other symptoms which will depend on the cause of anorexia. For example, if it is about moulting, we will see that the skin dries up and falls off, if it is about stress, not only will it not eat but it will hardly come out of its shelter, among many other possibilities. But, to detect the most probable cause, it is better that we go to our trusted veterinarian and that we explain everything that we have been able to observe in that period of time in which our companion has been without eating.
What to do if a snake stops eating for natural reasons
Next, we are going to talk about different things we can do to help our snake, in times when it stops eating food from natural causes:
The duration of digestion
Sometimes there simply may not have been enough time between feedings for our snake's size or amount last eaten, and therefore not enough time to eat. digestion is still over. In such a case, we will only have to wait 3 or 4 more days to offer him the food again.
The prey is not the right one
It may also be that we are offering him dead prey, pieces of meat or special preparations and he does not accept them as food. If we observe that our partner does not feel any interest in inert prey, we will simply have to offer her live prey Other times, we just have to change the type of animal we offer her, Well, some snakes are somewhat sybaritic since each type of prey smells and tastes different.
The way of offering the prey is not adequate
We must know if our snake is a species with thermoregulatory pits or not, to make sure if it needs the prey to only show movement or if, in addition, body temperature is necessary. In case of offering live prey, we will not have to worry about this. But, if we want to feed the snake with dead or prepared prey, we must simulate the behavior of live prey to stimulate the attack. If the snake doesn't need the temperature gauge, then simply swaying in front of it will suffice. On the other hand, if the snake does have thermoregulatory pits, movement will not be enough, but the piece of meat or preparation will have to be previously heated so that the animal detects the temperature, recognizes it as prey and can direct its attack towards it. These snakes, without the factor of temperature, do not usually eat what is in front of them, so it is vital to know our partner and offer her food in the indicated way, reproducing its natural conditions to the maximum.
The shedding of the skin
We simply have to wait for this process to finish to offer him food again. We will only have to worry that the move occurs without problems and be attentive in case irregularities are observed during the process, in order to solve them in time.
In times of heat
Females stop eating when they are about to lay their eggs, while males stop eating when they come into heat. But again, it's simply a matter of waiting for them to finish their natural process and then your appetite returns.
What to do if a snake stops eating due to he alth problems
In this section we will discuss different things we can do to help our snake when it stops eating for reasons that indicate possible he alth problems:
Stress
Snakes can also experience stress, especially due to house changes, new companions and poorly structured environments. The first thing they will do then is stop eating and what we must do is, on the one hand, correct the environment as much as possible and, on the other hand,, cover the terrarium a bit so that it feels more protected even when coming out of its burrow, and wait a few days or weeks for the snake to feel calmer and more comfortable in his new home to offer him food again.
The terrarium environment conditions are inadequate
As we well know, when you have an animal (it does not matter if we are talking about a dog, a parrot, a reptile or other animals) at home or in a place that is not its natural habitat and even if it is animal was born in captivity, we must reproduce as much as possible the conditions of its place of origin If these habitat conditions cannot be met, in addition to all the legal requirements that there is around the species that we think we have, we would not even have to consider the option of having it with us. Reptiles are animals that come from very specific habitats according to their species. Therefore, when we are preparing for the arrival of a snake in our home, we must inform ourselves very well to prepare the space in which it will live according to its needs. It will be necessary to ensure that there is always humidity, temperature, vegetation, hiding places, light, food and other parameters exactly as it would be found in its original place. In this way we ensure that the foundation of your he alth is in good condition. If we see that the snake stops eating, we will need to review these habitat parameters to make sure there is no unsuitable temperature or humidity or any other factor out of whack. Once we correct the possible imbalances in its environment, we will see that in a short time the snake asks us for food again.
Diseases
If we observe that what may happen to our friend is that she is sick, since we observe different symptoms, we will have to go to the veterinarian specialized in exoticsIn this way, what is happening to our wheezing partner will be detected as soon as possible and we will act to heal her quickly. As we follow the instructions of the veterinarian, we will observe that she is recovering. The specialist veterinarian will tell us when we can offer him food again. But when the animal starts feeling better, we will see that its appetite is recovering.
Other good things to know about snakes and their diet
There are some things that we should also know if we live with an snake:
- After spending some time without having eaten anything, it is common that the snake at the beginning of regaining its appetite demands more food from us than before the starvation period.
- Therefore, the first few weeks after feeling hungry again, you will have to offer him food more often until his rhythm returns to normal.
- Something very important is that every time we offer him food, if he doesn't take it more or less in the first 15 minutes, he will let's remove it since it will hardly eat it.
- The reasons for withdrawing the food offered to the snake after a quarter of an hour of waiting are that, in the case of live prey, the animal may defend itself and end up injuring the snake. Also, if we give it dead prey and it doesn't eat it soon, it will start to decompose and can cause he alth problems for the snake.
