advise needed

[Dusty]

ok heres the deal ...

Louie my male BP has been off feed for the winter, he stopped eating back in Oct. (just after i got him taking F/T), his temps are fine, i've checked his mouth (fine there) plenty of hides, no stress ect...

so at what point should i start to worry? or even offer him a little help with a meal (placing the nose of his food in his mouth to give him a taste) ?

i have been trying to offer him F/T (that i got him to eat before he went off) even offered him live, he acted scared of it and went right back to his hide.

he has lost weight its visible to me but i'm not sure as to how much as i didnt have any scales when he went off to weigh him.

i have kept to the rutine all winter long with them offering them food and having them refuse it.

my female has been eating again now for three weeks like she never went off so with her eating again and him not i am getting a bit worried.

i know its not out of the norm for BPs to refuse a meal, but seeings how this is the first winter i have had them to do it (second winter of having them), i gotta wonder how long this will last and at what point should i worry

[JASBALLS]

I always try my males with live rat pups when and if they shut down for breeding. Some of the ones that shut down lose some weight and seem to be scared of the same size meals that they were eating before. Try and get a rat pup and leave it in over night. Good luck..

[muddoc]

I would not stress out too much. It is still a little early for everyone to e back on feed. About half of my snakes still aren't feeding yet. Give it another month or so and I bet he will be fine. Also, most of my snakes will eat through their fist winter, and start refusing meals during their second winter, so I would say that nothing is out of the ordinary in that department. Don't worry and good luck.

[Dusty]

ok, i'll hang in here and try not to pull my hair out while i give him more time.


how much of a weight loss would be to much? when i weighed him back in late Dec. he was weighing 620 grams and when i weighed him about 2 weeks ago he was at 600.
would that be about right considering he's not eating?

[kavmon]

20 grams is nothing to worry about. make sure the warm/cool temps are right, this has alot to do with them feeding reg.



vaughn

[Pythons Rock]

You are doing it right with sticking to routine, I think BP's do this just to let us know who is really boss!

[Dusty]

well he seems to be doing a great job at showing me

HE wares the scales in this family

[Dusty]

just a little update ...

the little bugger ate (1 sm live rat)



i took him out and was holding him while i was doing a little reading online then desided to go get the food ready for my other two and instead of putting him up i put him in my shirt and did what needed to be done.
once that was all done i put him back in his home and figured i'd try again expecting him not to eat and was just a matter of seconds!!! he had it... and waisted no time in gulping it down either.
not sure if it was the smell of the rats being thawed in the sink or he just likes moms rack better then his cage any way around it he ate

now just so long as i dont have to keep walking around the house with him in my shirt to get him to eat

[JLC]

now just so long as i dont have to keep walking around the house with him in my shirt to get him to eat

Congrats on the successful feed! It's always a load off the shoulders when the stubborn little boogers finally eat!

I would, however, definitely avoid that particular method of feeding again, if I were you. Good way to get bit by accident. What would be a good idea, is that on his feeding day, you put the rat in a container and set it near his cage so he can smell it for awhile...30 minutes or so...before actually giving it to him. Hopefully that will whet his appetite for you!