Dumerils not eating

[hessoscene]

I've had this Dumerils for over a year, never really had any problems with her. She stopped eating about 2 months ago. She had a shed last month, it was perfect. I tried feeding her in her enclosure, in a smaller feeding box, bigger. She'll strike at it, but wont kill it. They'll usually curl up in opposite ends and go to sleep. I'm surprised she isn't dead. I can't take her to the vet anymore since I am now out of work. I've tried raising her humidity and don't know what else I can do. She's pretty active. As a matter of fact, she's crawling up into my hair as I type this.

[JimiSnakes]

Dumerils are the ball pythons of the Boa World. They are picky eaters as babies and they go off feed. 99% of dumerils in captivity that I've seen look overweight. If she's healthy, active, and not showing any signs of losing weight...don't worry about it. She'll eat when she's ready. I'd just stop trying to feed her for a few weeks. As long as her backbone or ribs aren't starting to show, she'll be ok.

[wafisherman]

What is her setup right now? Temps? Humidity level? Substrate?
Sounds like you are feeding live? Try killing the rat\mouse first. Then just leave it in there for an hour or so at night. Make sure it is nice and warm (fresh kill or f\t and heated with hair dryer and\or hot tap water).

[hessoscene]

Her enclosure is 3'x1'6, I usually keep aspen 4" deep. Water on both sides, three hide spots, in case she doesn't feel like burrowing. A basking spot of around 90, during the day, with a cool spot of 85-87. Nighttime is around 75-80. I keep two sets of humidity gauges and thermometers on each side. I'm a little OCD. I do feed live. She absolutely refuses pre-killed and F/T mice. Wont even go near them. I tried after she stopped eating and now I'm down a couple of mice . My BCI wont eat them either. I usually try my Dumerils for about half a day. I'll sit around and watch TV and wait for a scuffle, but never too much happening.

[letstalksnakes]

Just an opinion that i am suggesting.
I have owned many a Dumerils.
I am not saying that i am expert on them but i have noticed that alot of them that i observed did seem to be ambushers.
They like the thrill of the hunt ,more or less.
So what i started doing was feeding the animal in the cage making sure there is a hide box for the animal to hide in.
Then i would dangle the mouse in front of the hide where the animal is hiding by way of tongs of course.
It worked out that a good 80% of the time they would take the mouse with no problem.
Then when they really started to eat good,about four times of doing this in the cage i slowly started feeding them in a bin with a hide in it and started doing it this way.
And it ended up being about the same results.
This at least worked out for me and the animal i was working with.

[aSnakeLovinBabe]

I have owned three dumerils and I will say that all three are/were not incredibly easy to feed. They DO like the thrill of the hunt... so for the one I recently got from a customer I have to "walk" the dead rat around the cage with my tongs when the snake is hiding. They love thinking that they got the better of that rat!!!

The first Dumeril's I ever owned was a stinker though, and was 100% evil. He would not eat anyhing unless it was a freshly killed, all white, MALE mouse. I had to kill it, lay it in front of the snake, and leave the room. If I didn't leave the room, even though his cage was up high he would still crawl up front and actually watch out his window and see that I am still there. After about an hour of me not being around I could come back in and the mouse was magically gone! I tried many live preys, he would not touch them!

[aahmn]

From your posts, it sounds like you're feeding her during the day. Try feeding her in the evening and see if that helps. Also, I would limit handling/stress until she's eating regularly. I do have to agree that 2 months is not a long time for a healthy snake to go without food.

I guess I lucked out on mine. He's a beast when it comes to food and I have to lob food (f/t rats) into the cage from a little ways away to keep him from striking at me instead.

[aSnakeLovinBabe]

since the one I have now has shed... it is suddenly an all you can eat buffet disguised as a snake!!! This thing is downright scary!!! It is pounding anything rodent flavored the moment it smells it!!! It was partially neglected by it's previous owner, and just a tad underweight. Not for long! It really is a beautiful snake too, I admire the intricate beauty of a Dumeril's