# pueblan milk snake not eating help newbie



## neville costigan (Apr 12, 2012)

i have a milksnake (dylan) who hasn't eaten for awhile now about 6 weeks, prior to this he ate a small rat every week i have recently tried splitting the head of the pray andhe definately smelled the pray though he still didn't eat, heusually stays in the cold side of the viv but recently he's stayed mainly in the hot side,and today i noticed himyawn which ihave readis a sign that he could have resiratory problems, i live in northwood hills near watford and any advice onwhat may be wrong or where the nearest vet with good reptile expierience may be would be hugely apreciated, asi say i am a newbie i was given the snake by my mums old boss who no longer had room for him.


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## Triangulum (Apr 30, 2006)

Firstly, What Age and size is he/her?

Was he/she being fed on Small rats prior to you having him/her? If so, I would consider feeding 2 Smaller items of food, I.e. Mice rather then one big Item. Milksnakes in general much prefer more of little then less of big.

How long have you had him/her? What sort of Set-up is he in? Temperatures? Humidity? Source of Heat? Rub? Glass Viv? Wooden Viv?

Shoot some details of the snake up along with what it's being housed in, your routines and what not and we will most defernetly help you out, but without the details, we're a bit in the dark!

Feel free to PM if needs be.

Scott


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## neville costigan (Apr 12, 2012)

i got him when he was about 2 years old, and i've had him since november. he's about 3 feet long maybe a little over and about 2 and a half inches wide at his widest. he was being fed on small rats by the previos owner.

he's in a wooden viv L 122 x D 37.5 x H 40.5 cm with a hide on either side and some plastic foliage and quite a deep water bowl and i use aspen beding.

his heat source is entierly from 1 quite large heat mat which covers just over a third of the floor space and the hot side stays at 28 - 30 celsious 

i have been told to mist spray 1ce or 2ce a week by the previous owner and i read care sheets that said that they arn't generally fond of high humidity 

i dont use any rub

i used to feed a small rat once a week and he used to eat it as soon as it had entered the viv, but i have stepped it down to offering him a medium mouse once every week and now a small mouse every week and a half as i have been told to do by various people 

i also used to handle him quite regularly and i have stepped this down to once a week to try and stop him from getting stressed

he dosn't look like he's about to shed, and he hasnt shed since a couple of weeks since he stopped eating

as i say any help would be very much apriciated, i'm new to this but he's a lovely snake and i'd hate for anything to happen to him.


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## Triangulum (Apr 30, 2006)

Thanks for the quick response Neville.

Everything your telling me is fine, Nothing out of the ordinary. If he is male, it could be hormonal. I.e. He's too interested in breeding then feeding. In terms of his girth, that sound's ideal, so he sounds healthy. 

I would just keep trying to feed him once a week. Going down to two smaller items sometimes helps, especially when they haven't fed for a while.

I would scrap the spraying once or twice a week spraying. I don't spray any of my collection and never had. A Water Bowl and humid hide is sufficient.

Scott


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## neville costigan (Apr 12, 2012)

thanks for the feedback, is there anything i should look out for?


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## Triangulum (Apr 30, 2006)

Wouldn't be a bad idea weighing him on a weekly basis. Just in-case he loose's any weight in the process.

Scott


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## storm (Jul 23, 2007)

when you say 2 and a half inches at his widest... do you mean the measurement around him or measured across? do you have any pics of him at all?


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## Sparko (Jun 30, 2010)

Hi Neville,

For what it's worth, it is normal for colubrids to go off their food at this time of year.

My Pueblan only just started feeding again 2 weeks ago after not feeding since January.

It might be worth upping the temperature to about 32 degrees, as I know many people who have had better success keeping milks at higher temperatures.

I am surprised to hear he was taking small rats - my 3.5ft female regurged a large mouse as it was too big for her.

As mentioned, spraying isn't necessary. If you could get some pics up though that would be great : victory:

Best Regards,
Craig


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## neville costigan (Apr 12, 2012)

i meant 2.5 inches at his widest, i don't think he'd be ok with me wrapping a tape measure round him.

i have invested in some scales thanks for the advice 

and i was thinking about setting up a heat lamp on a thermostat for a basking spot, or would it be better to just up the tempereture on the heat mat?

thanks for all the help 

ps he seemed to take small rats fine, he never regurgitated them, i suppose he has stopped eating now though so in hind sight i probably over fed him quite conciderably :s


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## storm (Jul 23, 2007)

2.5 inches at his widest seems very overweight to me, a pic would certainly help. id definately decrease his feeds to a small or med mouse every 3-4 weeks or so x

EDIT: it also may be easier for you to control the air temps with a guarded basking light on a thermostat also. may be worth a try


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## neville costigan (Apr 12, 2012)

thanks for all the help, i'll try a basking light then 

Reptile Forums - neville costigan's Album: Dylan


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