milk snake hasnt eat in a month...maybe trying to shed

Question
Hi Paul
 I recently bought a pueblo milk snake about 4wks ago.  It has not eat even one time.  The reptile store was feeding it every other week.  It is about 8mos old and eating hopper mice.  Just this week I did notice that the snakes eyes have turned blue and the skin is beginning to look ashy,  so I think he is getting ready to shed. The reptile store suggested soaking the snake in luke warm water.  All that did was scare the snake and caused it to defecate.  My concern is that it has been to long since the snake has eaten.  I am not sure how long it is going to take to shed either.  Do you have any advice for me??  I can also send you a picture if that would help.  The thing that most concerns me is that the snake hasn't eat and I am afraid it will die.
Any advice is much appreciated.
Thank you


Answer
Right now the snake is going through a shed cycle. They normally will not feed during this time. The best thing to do is create a moist hide box. You can use something like an empty cool-whip container or margarine bowl with a small hole cut in the side for the snake to enter. Fill it half full with either damp sphagnum moss (you can get this in the garden center at Home Depot or Lowes) or else just some damp paper towels. Put in on the cool end of the cage. The snake will probably seek it out and stay in there until it sheds. If it's eyes are blue it will take a week or less before it sheds. After that the snake should be hungry. I am assuming that 1/3 or 1/2 of the snakes cage has a warm spot that is about 80-84 degrees. If so then the snake should be hungry. Was the snake feeding on live or dead hopper mice? You might call the store just to make sure you are feeding it what it was eating before. Also, there are some variations that you can do with the mouse, such as fresh killed, scented with something like catfish from the grocery store, or "braining" the mouse, meaning poking a small hole in the mouse's head and squishing out a little bit of brains. Sounds disgusting but some snakes love it. You can also try a smaller mouse, like a fuzzy.

One thing about buying a snake from a store is that you really don't know how well it was feeding. A hatchling snake should be fed every 5-8 days or so. Many pet stores get snakes that never want to feed and eventually die. So keep trying and use a little variation.