How long is too long?

[katach]

My step-son's snake Blade is not taking food. It's been about 3 weeks. We have offered night crawlers, salmon, pinkies, and salmon-scented pinkies. I'm just wondering how long is too long to refuse food?

[guidofatherof5]

Have you tried any earthworms or slugs?
My Northwesterns relish both.

[katach]

I've tried worms, but not slugs yet. The only thing she has had is a small live fish about 3weeks ago, and even then it was a challenge to get her to take it. I'm starting to wonder if there is some underlying factor... I'll try slug hunting this evening and see if she'll take one.

Cotton, Toothless, and Maria all took a scented pinkie with no problems today though.

[guidofatherof5]

Earthworms and night crawlers are not the same thing.
If you haven't tried earthworms I highly recommend it.
http://www.thamnophis.com/forum/gene...rm-credit.html

[katach]

I've offered smaller worms that my husband dug up from the garden. They were different looking than the night crawlers we buy at the bait shop. They were not red wrigglers though. I'll go slug hunting this evening and see if she'll take that.

[guidofatherof5]

Slugs love and need dark damp places. Under fallen logs, branches and leaf clutter.
My Northwesterns love slugs. Wish I had more in my area.

[kibakiba]

Mama does this sometimes. Honestly, if she's healthy, she could go up to 2 months or more without food. It could be that she just doesn't feel like eating. My snakes go off food around this time, and again closer to winter and sometimes in spring.

Also, stay VERY clear of dark brown slugs, they put a yellow/orange thick slime that will suffocate the snake if they bite onto it. It happened to Ember, and I don't want it to happen to anyone else's snake. I had to pull the huge glob out of his mouth

[katach]

We are house sitting at my parents right now and there are a lot of slugs here. It's really wooded. Thanks for the tip about the dark ones!!

[kibakiba]

Not a problem. After getting Embers mouth all clean, we set the slug in a circle of salt. He died pretty quick Those things eat my strawberries, so they deserve it.

[annulataarethebest]

In my opinion if the snake isn't eating, and it's not in shed mode, then the conditions it's being kept in aren't right... So the snake may either not feel safe enough to feed, it's shedding, it could be too humid in the enclosure, not warm enough, and also with garter snakes I've noticed a lot won't eat if they're thirsty.