Snakes can generally last around two months without food, however, wild snakes can go without fresh water for months or even weeks.
Snakes will let you know when they're hungry. They will start prowling their enclosure and their tongue flicks will increase in frequency and number.
Now, the pain can get to the point that your snake might stop eating or resting properly. They may also lose their will to stay active and suffer from painful complications. So, in the case of fatal, painful, and incurable diseases, it's best to take your snake to the vet for euthanasia.
Your snake will lose its appetite from time to time as a natural part of its life cycle. 1 When this happens, you won't need to take any action because your snake is perfectly healthy. It's important to remember that reptile eating habits are very different from those of mammals.
Refusing to eat is a signal that your snake is stressed. It should come as no surprise that snakes are routine animals and don't like change so very much. If your snake has just been brought to his new home and is not eating, there are very high chances that your snake is refusing food due to the stress of moving.
A baby snake will begin to seriously starve after roughly a week without food — and once that baby grows into an adult, members of most snake species can comfortably get by for at least two to three weeks.
Visit Your Veterinarian
Accordingly, it is wise to make an appointment with your vet anytime your snake refuses food for longer than a few weeks. Your vet will be able to determine if your snake is suffering from parasites, respiratory infections, or any other health problems that may limit his appetite.
Smaller or younger snakes usually eat twice each week, while larger, more mature snakes typically eat once every week or two. Female snakes approaching breeding season can be fed more frequently. Your veterinarian can give you more specific advice about feeding based on your snake's individual requirements.
It depends on the species, but most snakes tend to live long lives. For example, corn snakes have a lifespan of 5-10 years, ball pythons can live for 20-30 years, and kingsnakes often live for 12-15 years.
Do not attempt to capture the snake; however if the snake is dead, place it in a suitable container and bring it with you to the hospital for identification. Be careful to avoid contact with the dead snake's head however, as it may be able to bite reflexively for a short time after death.
Sick snakes will often be lethargic, less active and will hide or bury themselves. Most ill snakes will not eat and have little to no interest in food, regardless of what prey item is offered or whether prey is fed dead or alive.
Sometimes snakes show a lot of interest in the food being presented, but don't eat. This usually means we aren't giving them what they want. Wether it be mice or rats, frozen or thawed, or any number of other items that may fall in the spectrum of snake prey such as lizards or birds.
In general, a snake is not an overly active pet. However, if it seems less active than it used to be, it may be nearing its shed or going into brumation. It can also be sick or the temperature in the enclosure is wrong. It may also feel overexposed, is gravid, or it just ate and took time to digest.
~ We do not recommend force feeding. If the snake has been force fed we recommend waiting 1 week before attempting to feed it appropriately. ~ We do not recommend syringe feeding as part of the initial plan, but this sometimes becomes important at a later time.
To give your recovering reptile as much of a chance to eat, repair and recover, and build up strength as quickly as possible, feed him more frequently. If you normally feed your snakes once every 10-14 days, feed weekly. If you normally feed weekly, feed every fifth day.
Spoiler: No. People feed their snakes in different enclosures for two reasons. The main concern is that a snake will go into "feeding mode" when you open and reach into their usual enclosure if they are fed in that same space. Then, once the enclosure's open, they may bite you after mistaking you for prey.
Yes, but not for more than 24 hours, if a snake refuses to eat you can leave the mouse in the enclosure overnight and the snake will smell the mouse and decide to eat it.
Leave the prey in for about 90 minutes (1.5 hours).
Be sure to secure everything so your snake doesn't get out. I'll come back about an hour and a half later and see if the snake has eaten or not. If so, I'll just leave it alone for about three days while it digests the meal.
If the cage is too warm or too cool, he may refuse to eat his mouse. Make sure the temperature at the substrate level is the correct range for your pet's species. Give him a hidey hole in each of the warm, cool and gradient temperature zones. If the humidity is too low, the snake may not feel like feeding.
Wondering why your reptile friend only needs to eat once a week? It makes sense if you think about it. Snakes swallow their food whole, and that means they need more time for digestion than you do, for instance. Your digestive process (and that of most mammals) begins when you start to chew your food.