Garter snake not eating for quite some time

[skidrow]

Hi~ My western terrestrial garter snake has not eaten in at least 2 months. I have owned this snake for 5 years. I got this snake as a hatchling out of the wild, long story short-I knocked it out of hibernation one winter at the zoo, and I was going to keep it until spring and release him. The snake would not eat, and I tried everything from earthworms, to slugs, to minnows and pinky mice. The snake would not eat anything-unless it was dead. So I did not release since it would 'hide' from live food. The snake continued to eat regularly, at least once or twice a week depending on the meal, and shed regularly, for about 2 years. It would only eat mice and minnows. Then one winter it quit. I attributed this to hibernation instinct. The snake quit eating for the 6 months of winter even though food was offered, then come april started eating normally again. Come fall it would quit eating and so on and so forth. This trend continued up until this year. This year the snake started eating in about March and ate once a week until May. Then it quit all together, though nothing has changed. It has not eaten since then. I have done everything I know how to do for it. I have offered both live and dead mice, live/dead minnows, earthworms, and have even tried trout fillets and fish cat food. The snake shows interest in the items, or looks around as if it is hungry, but will not take anything. I have tried force feeding minnows as I have before but to no avail. The snake is completely active and alert, and acts fine. It has just started getting a little bit skinny...given it did not eat much in the few months it did eat. The snake still likes to be handled and acts normally aside from eating. There are no external parasites present on the snake or in its cage, I took this into account. There is no discharge from the eyes or mouth. I believe the snake is male, but I am no expert. The snake has a 20 gallon terrarium with a heat lamp on one side, making it about 80-85 degrees while the cool side is about 65-70 degrees on average. There is a small 'pool 'for the garter to swim in as well. The snake has also not shed in 2 months. I worry trying to feed it was well in case its gut has degraded at this point and it can no longer digest properly or something. Does anyone have suggestions as to might be wrong with my snake??? I'd certainly love to take him to the vet, but I sadly live in a place that there is only one snake vet, and I fear that they will not have an answer on a specific species of snake, so I wanted to check with actual breeders and experts of garters first. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

[chris-uk]

Welcome to the forum.

As you know with the winter non-feeding, they can go for months without eating. Do you actually brumate the snake in the winter when it isn't eating, or do you keep the temps up and the snake active? It may be that a short cool down will reset its feeding pattern.
Two months is long enough to cause concerns, but isn't long enough to be critical. I've got a male radix that is doing a similar thing, he's not eaten for 2-3 months after being a very aggressive eater. I'm worried, but he's not loosing a lot of weight and is otherwise normal. A lot of people have snakes that go off their food for long periods for no apparent reason, so I'm sure you'll get a few more opinions.

[skidrow]

Thanks! I do not brumate my snake during the winter, usually the temperature of the cage stays the exact same in the winter, and the temperature of the house is a bit warmer, and the snake is active, but it will still not eat. I never really had a place in my home that would remain cool enough to brumate him, and outside during the winter here is too unstable, and ranges from -30 one day to possibly 30 above the next and I was afraid I lacked the expertise and could not do justice to proper hibernation techniques to keep him outside in the shed with temps like that.

[EasternGirl]

You shouldn't try to feed a garter snake live prey. They should only eat frozen/thawed pinky mice, fish, and earthworms. See our caresheet and note safe kinds of fish to feed: Garter Snake Care Sheet - Caresheets

Your temps seem good. What is the humidity in the enclosure? If you are concerned, I would consider going ahead and taking it to the vet you mentioned. Sometimes vets can surprise you...my vet is an exotic vet and he does not specialize in garters...but he took excellent care of one of my eastern garters when she was ill. Depending on the age of the snake...two months without a shed may be normal. My adult garters only shed every few months. Please let us know if you have any other questions...we are here to help.

[paulh]

Hmm. The snake quit feeding in May. Might that have been shortly after the air conditioning was switched on? What is the temperature of the surface the cage sits on? Heat tends to rise, so the cage floor could be significantly cooler than the air above it. I'd try to get the cool end of the cage up to around 80 degrees Fahrenheit during the day, and then turn the power off at night so the whole cage cools off.

[skidrow]

I had thought that too, but the AC wasn't turned on until mid June, and I closed the vent in that room just in case, but it changed nothing. The snake sits on top of a wire tool shelf. Below that snake is another my corn snake, below that snake a gecko, and then a hognose snake. The 'stacked cages' all the heat lamp from the under cage to act as an under the tank heater on one end only. The floor of the warm end is around 75 and the cool end is probably about 70 degrees on the floor. All the other animals present, snakes and lizard alike excluding the garter, eat at least once a week as they always have. The garter is the only one having the problem. I've never seen my snake want to eat/so active and take interest in food, but not eat, especially when nothing has significantly changed that I am aware of.

[skidrow]

I've only tried live prey with the snake because it was wild caught, and that was what it would standardly eat. My snake typically would only eat dead things, but when it went into a funk this last time only wanted live fish or mice. The snake also will not eat nor show interest in earthworms at all. It has only had interest in fish and mice. If I put worms in with it it coils back and moves to the other side of the cage. The humidity is rather low overall in the outside environment, but I do have a moist chamber the snake can go into, as well as a pool. Humidity inside is about average, with an area to soak. The snake is also 5 years old, but still shed at least once a month up until it quit eating.

[guidofatherof5]

You say it is wild caught. Has it been checked for parasites?
Some snakes just go off food and there isn't anything you can do about it but wait.
I have a few like that. Drives me crazy but it's what they want.
As long as the snake is active, tongue flicking, drinking and not losing weight I wouldn't worry too much.

[skidrow]

He was wild caught a long time ago, as a hatchling. He was never checked for parasites, but I have also owned this snake 5, almost 6, years, so I'd think if it had parasites it would have died or had problems before. He is active though, and hasn't lost too much weight. He just drives me insane. And the temps I listed in my previous post were floor temps. Due to the heat lamp the ambient temps are higher, about 75-85 on the warm side and 65-75 on the cool side. The lights go off at night and the temperature in the room stays at about 70. Thank you as well for the link, I would like to check that out =]

[EasternGirl]

You say the temp on the warm side is 75 and 70 on the cool side? Is that just the floor temp? Have you checked the ambient temp? Some garters do better with it a bit warmer. I like it to be at least 80 degrees on the warm side, but not above 86...and around 75-78 on the cool side during the day. I let it cool down at night...but not below 65. Sometimes light and increasing heat can stimulate eating and digestion. Do they have light? You could also mist the plants to help with humidity levels.