I am new to the forum (first post) and I am hoping that someone has had a similar experience... I have owned my Ball for 28+ years and I was wondering is snakes can lose their "senses" with age? Most specifically their sense of smell?
I am not sure of the sex of my snake but Tattoo has been called a she her entire life based on the not always reliable method of tail shape. She is has always been housed in an old school glass terrarium with a screen top, incandescents for heat, and paper towels for substrate. She has a hide on the warm side of the tank. I rinse and refill her water dish daily with filtered water. She is offered one thawed jumbo mouse a week in a separate feeding tub. She is handled frequently and is allowed to roam my bedroom whenever I notice that she wants out. The only major change is that I switched from live to frozen a couple of years ago. I realize that some will have issue with both the substrate and the size of her meals but after 28 years I doubt that either of those are causing my current problem.
She has gone through fasting periods many times throughout the years but, while stressful, they were self-limiting and had no apparent ill effects. However her latest fast had extended into its fifth month accompanied by increasing restlessness. In the past when I let her out of the cage she might roam around for an hour and then settle in a favorite warm spot. Now she was constantly moving and climbing and not settling. I tried to feed her again during these periods of restlessness but she still refused to eat. In desperation I finally left the mouse in her cage overnight and she ate it! Huge relief!
She has continued to eat for the past five weeks but only if I feed her in the cage and only after several attempts. It is pathetic to watch as she crawls over and over the mouse but can't find it. She noses it, loses it, mouths it, loses it and finally gets the job done. Her eyesight seems fine, her muscle tone is good, she is well hydrated. I was thinking maybe her Jacobson's organ was failing? Has anyone had a similar experience? Is there a super mouse scent that might help her?
Thanks!
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