My ribbon snake won't eat. He'll bite it, then he'll rub his head on things. I did not see any mouth rot and it is his usual diet. Any explanation?

What do you feed and how often?

Please answer the questions above, they are essential to trying to figure out whats going on.

Also...

Whens the last time he ate? How long have you had him? And what are the temperatures in the warm side of the tank and the cool side?

I feed him chunks of night crawlers every few days. I also use a calcium supplement once and a while because worms are low in that. He never eats fish, I tried. He's very use to it.

He hasn't eaten in a while and it is not near his time of shedding.

I try to keep the temperature around 80 degrees on the warmer side and it is about room temp normally on the cooler side. I turn the temperature down at night tho. It's not very humid. I've had him for almost two years now. It's not that he's not hungry. He'll bite it, but then releases it promptly. sorry for so many posts, I'm kinda distracted. I'm taming my cockatiel , Peetree, and planning my birthday and doing scholarship work.

I'm sorry I can't help. I'm not sure why he won't eat. Can you call the pet store or breeder you got him from? They may be able to tell you something about this behavior. Or look in the phone book to find out if you have any herpetologists in you area.

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I'm sorry I can't help. I'm not sure why he won't eat. Can you call the pet store or breeder you got him from? They may be able to tell you something about this behavior. Or look in the phone book to find out if you have any herpetologists in you area.

I think you need to visit a vet specializing in reptiles.

It is a very odd behavior for a snake to take hold of it's prey and then start to rub it's head like something is bothering or irritating it. There may be mouthrot that you just can't see or it could be something else.

It is possible that your snake could have mites. They are very irritating to reptiles and can cause unusual behavior. I would find a local reptile vet in your area to look over your reptile, and they can tell you what to do. But in the meantime I would inspect you snake to see any mites on his body, and if you see them, purchase a bottle of mite spray from the local pet store to get rid of the mites. A shallow pool of lukewarm water might also be a good idea to place in the cage just in case he has any other skin complications. If these tips don't work take him immediately to the nearest reptile vet.

I have a Biak Green tree python named Medusa that won't eat either. She'll constrict, then leave the dead rat in her cage. ?????curious!!!

quote:

Originally posted by skidznet:
My ribbon snake won't eat. He'll bite it, then he'll rub his head on things. I did not see any mouth rot and it is his usual diet. Any explanation?

try to give him small prays and try some frogs i heard that is their favorite food all do temp and humidity are preatty important

There's a couple of tricks some people have tried with some success. I assume you're feeding the ribbon snake insects at the moment? You could try small lizards or frogs, or try a small pinky mouse, if you're okay with trying a live prey it might just kick up that instinct to feed. It's also winter time, some snakes kind of 'slow down' and won't eat as much, sometimes it happens where they'll just refuse food on the schedule you have them on.

Another couple of tricks is 'scenting' the food with either tuna fish juice or chicken stock.

Mist the tank twice a day? Might be dried out a little bit, some humidity migth help.

If I were u, Id take it to the vet.