Snake Not Eating and Getting Thin! Help!

[KigerTiger]

Hi everyone,

I've posted a couple different times about this same snake having issues, and I'm beginning to think his genetics are questionable and that the breeder I got him from may not be doing a very good job. At any rate, here's the issue.

I've had my male BP for a little over a year and a half now, and he's always been an extremely finicky eater. He'll eat for a few months and then stop for months. When I first bought him as a hatchling, he ate for three months, and then stopped for three. Sometimes he would only take a mouse every two weeks instead of every week. I used to think his eating habits fluctuated with the season. Which made sense. However, this time he stopped eating in mid July right after I moved. (I live in Florida. It's almost ALWAYS hot.) I chalked it up to the move, and the fact that he had recently been bumped up into a 20 long aquarium. I figured he was just stressed and that's why he wanted to lay his head on his live dinner instead of eating it.

Usually if he wants to eat, it takes seconds. He's very quick about it. But for the last four months, no matter what time of day I try to present him with food, he ignores it. It didn't bother me too much until he started to lose weight. He had a retained eye cap, so I used some shed aid to help him get that off, but other than that he seems completely healthy.

He's been lethargic in his tank. He used to come out at night and climb around. Now he just stays under his hide all the time. But when I take him out he climbs around like a maniac. Very energetic. I don't know what's going on.

Temps in the tank are normal. Basking temp is around 94, cool side fluctuates between 82-88. Night temps are in the 80s. Humidity ranges from 50-60%. And he has a sock covered heat rock just in case he wants a little extra heat. I don't know what else to do!

Help?

[KigerTiger]

Also, I have a completely healthy 4 year old female who has no such issue, and have had a "pet" mouse for four months now. A couple of different ones really. I tried getting a different color, but that didn't work either. I tried smaller mice. I tried a rat pup.

I just can't bring myself to brain the thing for him. Should I try a baby gerbil?

[Skittles1101]

All your temps are too hot, and I'd definitely get rid of that heat rock asap. They are NEVER recommended for snakes...

Double check your husbandry, he should have two hides too if you already don't, are the back and sides of his tank blacked out? Have you tried an ASF or anything other than a mouse or rat? Do you feed him in his enclosure?

[dragonboy4578]

To be honest your cool side seems to hot. It really needs to stay more consistant at around 80-82. I also would never leave a heat rock in with a Bp. If something goes wrong with it the snake will get burned. I have seen it happen before and it wasn't pretty. How many hides do you have in the tank? There should be one on each end. That way your snake can choose the side that best suits its need. Before I tried a gerbil I would see about getting an afs. Gerbils are just way to expensive to want to have a snake pick that as a primary food type.

[cschneider]

X2 on the temps being off a bit. Also if he is hiding all the time, that's a good thing. Bp's tend to roam around more when they are stresses. You might want to get some newspaper, crumple it up into balls and put them all over the tank. I've had luck getting finicky eaters to eat by doing this. Also might want to offer a f/t and leave it in the tank over night. Good luck!


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[KigerTiger]

Thanks for the responses everyone! I double checked the temps and the cool side is in fact at 80. Not as high as I previously mentioned. Basking temp was more like 88.

At any rate, he used to have an UTH, but it would get extremely hot and he would burrow in his bedding to place himself directly against it. He also only has 1 hide currently. I will invest in another.

I'm sorry if I sound stupid here, but what exactly is an ASF? I do not feed him in his enclosure, but in a separate, smaller tank.

[Skittles1101]

That is probably the reason he won't eat, try feeding him a live mouse or rat in his enclosure. Removing for feeding is unnecessary and stresses them out. UTHs do get very hot, that's why a thermostat is necessary for them. I suggest switching back to the UTH and get a thermostat for it to regulate the heat. An ASF is an African Soft Fur, a type of prey. They tend to go for them if they are picky because they are what they eat "in the wild" I believe, there are breeders here and there for them. It's usually what people will switch to if they cannot get their balls to eat.

[KigerTiger]

I'll try that. Thanks. I did try feeding him in his enclosure once, but he completely ignored it then. I'll try again with an ASF or gerbil if I can't find an ASF.

The only reason I was accustomed to feeding in another enclosure is because the female I have is extremely food aggressive, likely because I took her from a friend who rarely fed her. She is much happier with me now that she is fed regularly. (: But I still can't have any prey item in the room with her or she will strike when removing the lid of her tank.

[Skittles1101]

How big is he? If you got a hopper mouse and left it in the enclosure overnight, they pose no harm to your snake at all. I know some of mine will not eat for sometimes hours after I place the f/t rat in. They wait until all the lights are off and we are sound asleep...of course if he's big he'll need more than a hopper mouse on a regular basis, but you may be able to try a few in his tank overnight to get him feeding consistently...

[KigerTiger]

He's about 2 feet long and thin as far as girth goes. I've tried hoppers before too. He wasn't particularly interested in them either. Although, I could try it again. If I try the gerbil or ASF and THAT doesn't work, it's off to the vet with him. I just want to be sure he's okay.