I Need Help Please, Asap

My snake shed yesterday. so, today i thought she might be hungry, considering she hasnt eaten for two months. so, a couple of hours ago i bought her a fuzzy and but them both in a shoe box (the usual). I waited an hour but she wouldnt eat it. she striked (with her mouth open) several times but missed and the mouse was LITERALLY on the tip of her nose. i was wondering if its possible to kill this mouse and slit its brain, or does that only work with frozen/thawed mice. im pretty much desperate for her to eat and the mouse is just sitting in the shoe box now. So, please if anyone has a fact or opinion, please feel free to share ASAP. THANKS.

being "desperate" for your snake to eat is an awful place to be, I've been there on occasion myself. As for whether the snake desperately needs a meal, that may be another story. First off, is it an eastern or western hognose (or a Malagasy)? How old is it? You state that it hasn't eaten for 2 months - did it eat before that? Was it feeding on rodents? .....................
...............................(sorry, had to leave the computer for a few minutes)..
you mentioned that you got it a fuzzy, so I'm guessing it is still pretty small. Did you try leaving the fuzzy in overnite? you can "brain" a f/k, just as easily as f/t...the only problem is eastern hognoses are much more likely to toads (natural diet for them). Unfortunately, I don't recall if that is also the case for westerns. Unless it is a hatchling that has yet to take it's first meal, a 2 month fast is not yet a desperate situation. Respond to the questions above, and I (and probably others) will get back to you.

Giselles a western hognose, about a couple of years old. At one point she didnt eat for FOUR months. It was in the winter and i know that these snakes hibernate. The weird thing was that shes captive born, so she shouldnt have went into hibernation. Also, she didnt even go to sleep for long periods of times. She actually seemed to be more awake than usual. She just stopped eating. After that, she started eating again for about two months, march and april, but stopped eating again in may until now. when i saw her going throught the shedding cycle, i figured thats why she wasnt eating. but then i thought, is it really normal that she doesnt eat a month and half before the shedding cylce. a week, two weeks, understandable. but not a month and half. Anyway, so after she shed i was so happy cuz i thought she would be starving. when attempting to feed her, she striked several times, but obviously missed. it was like shes thinking " ill try to eat it just cuz its there, not cuz im really hungry" Do you get it? ive always fed her fuzzies and pinkies (mostly fuzzies, and she ate a hopper once.) I know that westerns dont eat frogs or toads, so i never bothered with them. I dont want to feed her in her tank because i dont want her living space to be her dinner space, so she doesnt ever mistake my hand for food. Ive only done that once, with a pinkie, and that was only because it was one of those desperate situations again, (the time she hadnt eaten for four months) This mouse though is a fuzzy, and ive never left her alone with a fuzzy, because i know they can bite. Shes about 15 in. long. sorry if this seems like a stupid question, but what is f/k ... Thanks so much for your help guys. I really appreciate it.

Rana

As long as she is maintaining good body weight I would not be too worried. Westerns are prone to taking breaks from feeding. If she is two years old it could be a breeding cycle thing. Males are very prone to sporadic feeding during the breeding season but it hits the girls as well. You might try a different food item like a rat pinkie. Sometimes that will spark some interest. Otherwise, just keep offering food at regular intervals

BTW...f/k stands for fresh killed

A few other things to consider: temperature-don't know what has been going on in your neck of the woods, but here in the "great northeast" it has been quite hot. many snakes will not eat if they are kept too hot. the reverse of this is also true (obviously), and applies this time of year as well. if her enclosure is too close to air conditioning or fans, that could be throwing her off. try feeding her in the evening, and as John mentioned, try other food items. there are two ways you can spark a snakes interest in this way - something "helpless" and/or something more active. a pinkie (rat or mouse), fuzzy (at least what I consider a fuzzy), or crawler won't present a danger to her if left in overnite. A hopper, which would be more active & thus possibly more exciting, would be a good choice. A good general rule for snakes that aren't feeding is to minimize handling as much as possible. Sometimes even moving them into another container is enough to bug them.
Going back to my first post - since she is a couple of years old, she isn't at a crisis point yet ( as John also stated). Check and make sure everything is right with her set up, and try again every week or so.
btw. f/t = frozen/thawed f/k = fresh killed
Good luck with her

thanks guys, i really appreciate your help. I dont really know at what times they breed since i dont breed them, so that might be it. Everything in her tank is perfect. Im actually trying to feed her right now. Whats weird is that shes not running away from the mouse. Shes striking at it several times (mouth open, full force) but its like shes gone completely blind or something. I know they dont use their eyes that much, but theyre also supposed to be pretty accurate strikers. Shes litererally staring the mouse in the eyes right now. (sigh) poor mouse, and the mouse is crying. Well, ill do what i can to help giselle out. thanks again

hello you say you feed ur snake in a shoe box, well that I'm not a snake keeper i have some experience. A friend of mine has snakes and at feedind time she put warm water (or even a little hotter) in the bath tub lets the water set for few mints then drain all the water so the bath tub bottom is warm then she places her snake ( no more then one snake at a feeding) in the tub then feeds.... the snake has more room to strike and eat and it's warm for them too. you could try that If you do let me know how it works for you.

Maybe you can try placing giselle in a small tupperware with the mouse inside of her cage. It works for my hoggie sometimes cause she has a hard time catching fuzzies too. In the small tupperware the mouse can't run far and it's in the snakes familiar home. sometimes I put it underneath the heat lamp so she stays nice and warm. However, Mine hasn't eaten since thanksgiving...so maybe it's the time of year!! At least Giselle is shedding, thats a good sign!
good luck!

Thread=2005

Originally Posted by Dennis Hultman

Thread=2005

haha...yes..this thread is pretty old...and glad to say..giselle is healthy and a good eater too..actually...with the whole tub thing..she wouldve never liked that...she likes to be in more enclosed environments when she eats..for a while..i just put her in the paper bag i had the mouse in..but then she got a lil to big for that...so now i feed her in her tank...and she loves it...and shes NEVER mistaken my hand for food...so we're both happy...but thanks for wondering still