The corn snakes are amazing pets and that is why they are preferred by many reptile enthusiasts and also they are even preferred by beginners who want to keep a snake as a pet.
The corn snake is calm in nature and is also comfortable with human handling and will not hurt the humans as they are non-venomous in nature. The corn snake needs the care and love from their owners and that is the reason we need to be sensitive towards their needs. In this article, we would discuss the various reason that why the corn snake is not eating, what is causing them not to eat anything.
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Why won’t my corn snake eat?
The corn snakes as any other pet stop eating due to various reasons and as a responsible owner that you should be aware of all these reasons so that you can give them treatment if needed accordingly and the various reasons due to which the corn snake is not eating are listed as below:
1. Sickness
The corn snake can suffer from various types of sickness and there is always a chance of that. Due to sickness, the corn snake stops eating, and if the sickness is serious and your corn snake is not getting well soon so it is your duty to take them to the vet. You will notice the signs of sickness such as mouth breathing, discharge, lesions or lumps, lethargy, weight loss, stargazing, etc. check these signs carefully, and then give them some medical attention if needed. Do not force-feed them as this will make them even sicker.
2. When the corn snake is shedding its skin
You will notice that when the corn snake will shed its skin and this process occurs after every few weeks when they are young and after every month when they become older that they suddenly stop eating or start eating less. When the corn snakes start to shed their skin do not worry at this time if they will stop eating food because it is a natural process and the snake will stop eating food because they will not have much energy to eat food. So do not panic and understand the reason that why your corn snake is not eating food.
3. Too cold food is served
When the food served to the corn snake is too cold then also there is a chance that the corn snake will not eat that food because they love to eat real or you can say live food and the live food is never cold. They will not be able to smell the cold food so this will resist them from not eating the food so be careful that do not serve them with too cold food and try to warm the food or bring it to normal room temperature so that they are able to eat the food and do not stop to eat the food when it is too cold, so do check the temperature of the food before serving it to your corn snake.
4. Low heat inside the enclosure
When the temperature is too low inside the enclosure or the tank of the corn snake then also there are chances that the corn snake will refuse to eat the food in low heat. As heat also helps them to digest the food properly and also it helps in many life processes. As we know the corn snake is a cold-blooded animal so we need to keep them perform and the temperature inside their enclosure should be around 85 degrees Fahrenheit and only if the corn snake is comfortable they would love to eat the food.
5. Corn snake is stressed
If you will notice that your corn snake is stressed due to any reason then there will chances that they will stop eating and the reason could be anything like they are scared, they are not comfortable inside their tank, they are sick, or are facing some sort of problem in such situations they will not be able to eat food and will lose their appetite and you will notice the corn snake has stopped eating. You need to be aware of the reason that why the corn snake is not eating food properly and what is the reason behind the stress and if there is any sort of need of giving the corn snake some type of medical help you can even visit the vet.
6. No odor in the food
The food that you are serving to the corn snake is not having any sort of odor, then the corn snake will not eat the food because they will first smell their food and then have it as this is their natural instinct. They will feel that their food is not real or alive and because of this reason they will not eat the food and will ignore the food even if it is in front of the corn snake. So make sure that whenever you feed the corn snake with food it has some sort of odor in it.
7. Size of the food is too big
You will also notice that when the size of the food is too big, the corn snake will not eat it and the reason is that they feel that if the size of the food is too big then there are chances that they can get hurt or it will injure them. So they do not prefer to eat large-sized food so it is recommended that always feed the corn snake with small-sized food or you can say that the size should be 1.5 times small than the size of the corn snake at mid-length. Then only your corn snake will feed on the food that you have given to them if the size of the food is appropriate according to them and they will feel safe while having it.
8. Food is fed recently
The corn snake should not be fed recently, but still, many corn snake owners do not believe this fact and feed their corn snake quite frequently than needed so in this situation your corn snake will not eat or avoid eating because they are already full and they are in no mood of having food. You need to understand their situation and do not try to overfeed them as this will not be a good idea. So you should be aware of how frequently you should feed the corn snake according to their age and also corn snake can go days without eating food for days. Also, another important thing is that never ever feed the corn snake within 24 hours of the last feeding because they will never eat it.
These are the various reasons that why the corn snake is not eating food and you need to be aware of these reasons only then you will be able to take appropriate action regarding this situation.
Conclusion:
The corn snake is a patient pet and is used to the handling of humans but you need to understand your corn snake so that you can raise a healthy and happy corn snake inside the enclosure. For understanding a corn snake you need to build bonding with them.
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