Feeding Problems

[Romping]

I have a pastel male, he shed 3 weeks ago, and hasnt eaten in 3 weeks.

His tank has been sitting around 75 degrees with a day blue light on him making his area around 85. ( He wont go on his heat pad, i think i need a bigger one )

Trying to feed him F/T rat about 3-4"s, hes eaten around this size before and he has always eaten F/T.

My concern is that because his terrarium is so cold, he might think its winter and stopped eating.

He is otherwise acting normal.

[Seth702]

How are you measuring your temps? Is your UTH on a thermostat? Do you have 1 hide on each side of your setup? Whats your humidity at?

[Romping]

My UTH is on a thermostat but its a crappy one, temp is from a thermometer in the tank.

My pastel wouldnt eat and my pinstripe wouldnt eat.

Both kept in completely different set-ups.

[Seth702]

Are they new to your collection or have you had them a while? Husbandry plays a large part in a BP's feeling secure. If they dont feel secure they stress and will generally refuse food. Proper humidity, temps, enough hides, proper sized hides, or an alteration in their environment can cause them to refuse as well. Some will just go on hunger strikes at certain times of the season and you just have to be patient. Being you asked about temperatures i asked how it was being measured, and i should have asked digital or analog thermometer. If temperatures vary a lot it could be an issue. If hes not useing his Hotspot, and he does in fact have 1 hide on each side of his tank (preferably identicle) he may not feel he needs the extra warmth and prefer to stay at a coller temp for now. If he doesnt have a hide on both sides, its say only on the cool side, he may sacrifice the heat for security in his hide, which isnt good.

[AdamF]

Cool side of 75 is too low. Hot spot should be 88-92.

Also, BPs dont have a colder winter as we know it. They are in a tropical climate, which is pretty stable most of the year, with exception of light/dark cycles. Other than breeding season, illness, poor husbandry, and the fact they are occasionally picky, there is no other reason they should go off feed.

[Romping]

Well my spider ate fine after i switched to a mouse i think, he took it quick.

The spider and pinstripe are in identical containers.

The pastels container has been the same as it has when he was eating. I ordered a bigger heat mat to go on his hot side because i think thats why he would rather stay under the light than go on the heat mat. He is under a Zilla 100 watt day blue bulb and around 12" away it should be around 82-84 degrees and he is absolutely loving it, sometimes he will go up to the top of his tall log and sit around 4" away from the light which puts him around 88 degrees but then he will go down completely away from the light for a little while.

His enclosure is a glass 29 gallon, it has a heat pad underneath a little hollow house type thing ( which i might change because he doesnt really go into it ), and then a waterbowl and then a hollow stump type thing with a log going vertical with the light on this side.

[hitman3303]

I have kind of had the same problem with my female pastel. She has only eaten 1 time in the little over a month that I got her. She was in shed at first, she ate right after and has refused the last 2 weeks. she ate when I had her in a terrarium, but won't when I moved her to a rack. That is how it is sometimes with BP's, they are so picky. My female albino didn't eat for a month in a terrarium. I moved her to a rack and she has eaten no problem since. I think she felt extremely insecure in the terrarium even with the sides covered and top covered.

[Romping]

Im getting racks soon and even though he wont be bred he will be put in there. He has eaten in his exact environment ( being taking from his terrarium at its exact conditions being the same as they are now, and put in a plastic tub to be fed ) a few times before, the first week he didnt eat he had just started shedding, and then he was a slow shedder so by the second week he was finishing shedding. This week he just wouldnt eat, ill just try again next weekend i guess.