Help!! Desprate

[GarterManDan]

I need anyone who can help tell why my eastern milk snake wont eat. I know that part off the reason is because she gave birth to 12 eggs 1 day ago, but is that the main reason? She is REALLY skinny and im not sure if she is going to make it. PLEASE REPLY

thank you very much ,
Dan

p.s.

i forgot to tell you she hasn't eaten for 2 and a half weeks before this. Thanks Again

[DrKate]

I know nothing whatsoever about milk snakes, but for pretty much any snake, you've got all the basic possibilities: too hot, too cold, too dry, too humid, not enough light, too much light, wrong substrate (irritation/stress), not enough hiding areas (stress), too much recent handling (stress), unappetizing prey choice... Then of course there's the fact that she just laid eggs (no idea how long after that a milk snake would normally eat). And it could always be an illness of some sort (parasite, bacterial).

I'm not trying to be disheartening, but I guess I'm saying it could be a multitude of things, and you're going to have to start checking through to see if anything is different from what she's used to (or different from ideal - could be that she's just feeling pickier after laying). Do you have a thermometer and a hygrometer? What are her conditions like?

But the easiest thing would probably be to try a couple different food items to entice her - if she usually eats mice, offer a similarly-sized rat pup instead, or vice versa. Or you could even get a small lizard or bird or... whatever it is a milk snake might take in the wild (and that you have access to at your nearest herp shop). If she usually eats frozen/thawed, offer her live prey, or vice versa. (BUT only offer live if you know she's experienced in killing prey! Otherwise, a live critter that smells like food might just end up being even more confusing and stressful for her.)

Good luck!

[Snake lover 3-25]

her skin being folded over like that is just from her having babies... 3 weeks is nothing for a snake.. she should be fine.. she's most likely just exhausted after the delivery and doesn't have the strength to eat.. just make sure to give her a drink and i'd leave her be for a day or to to recover.. then try to feed her. good luck! keep us updated!

[bkhuff1s]

Breath man breath it's only three weeks. I've had snakes go two months and they're fine

[Michelle.C]

With some Colubrids and Boids that protect their eggs, you have to get the egg scent completely out of their enclosure before they will accept food again.

You need to use a diluted bleach solution to completely clean out the enclosure and all of her hides, dishes, etc. Change the substrate as well. Now before placing her back in the enclosure, you'll need to get the scent off her as well. I use nolvasan to do this as it's completely safe. If you don't have nolvasan, dilute some handsoap/dishsoap and wipe her off with it. You will also need to run some luke warm water to rinse her off in. You want to make sure the soap does not get near her face and eyes.

As for her being really skinny, that is expected. She's most likely not in any immient danger if she was healthy before the clutch. It might even take her a couple of weeks to get over laying the eggs.

If your husbandry is spot on and you removed the egg scent, I suspect she should eat within the next week or so. After removing the egg scent, wait 3-4 days and offer her a live mouse/rat. If she refuses, wait five days and offer again.