Cranky Snake

After being on hunger strike most of the winter, my snake finally started eating again six weeks ago when I started feeding him live...and now he's back to refusing food. He ignores it completely, almost like he doesn't recognize it as food at all.
Once again, I'm stumped as to what's up with him. He has 3 hides, water, ~90 warm side temps and ~80 cool. Recently the weather got much warmer here, but I've adjusted the heating in his tank accordingly so I don't think that's it. He comes out at night and roams around restlessly, as if he's hungry, but then won't eat whenever I try to feed him. Peculiarly, he also hasn't shed in quite a while.
Any advice? :/

Can you explain your setup more in depth? Such as size of enclosure, what you're housing him in, and how you're measuring temps?

How big (grams) is he?

Have you tried to feed when he is roaming around restlessly?

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Originally Posted by Daybreaker

Can you explain your setup more in depth? Such as size of enclosure, what you're housing him in, and how you're measuring temps?

How big (grams) is he?

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The tank is 3' x 1.5'. Measuring temps with dial thermometers in the cage. there is one hide on the warm side, one on the cool side, and a hollowed-out log in the middle, and a fake plant. the water dish is on the cool side.
I have never weighed him but he's 10 months old, almost 3 feet long and probably a couple inches in diameter at his thickest point. As far as I can tell, his behavior is normal.

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Originally Posted by riffraff

The tank is 3' x 1.5'. Measuring temps with dial thermometers in the cage. there is one hide on the warm side, one on the cool side, and a hollowed-out log in the middle, and a fake plant. the water dish is on the cool side.
I have never weighed him but he's 10 months old, almost 3 feet long and probably a couple inches in diameter at his thickest point. As far as I can tell, his behavior is normal.

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If those dial thermometers are from a pet srore they are pretty useless and probably +/- 15 degrees off. Are you controlling the heat source? Hollow logs are good to help aid shedding but unless you wanna figure out a way to clean poop off it i wouldnt keep it in 24/7.

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Originally Posted by Sunnyvale420

If those dial thermometers are from a pet srore they are pretty useless and probably +/- 15 degrees off. Are you controlling the heat source? Hollow logs are good to help aid shedding but unless you wanna figure out a way to clean poop off it i wouldnt keep it in 24/7.

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The heat source is a light with a dimmer on it and a UTH, but that's off now bc it's so warm outside. And I've never had any problems with poop on the log??

As said before ditch the dials, get a couple of the digital guages with humidity readout. I didnt see anything about what the humidity in the enclosure is, should be between 50% and 60%. I think your temps and humidity are the source of your problems, sounds like he's really uncomfortable in his surroundings, if he is he wont eat.

He knows it's food. He's stressed - probably by his surroundings. You said the weather broke recently... now is the time to make the necessary adjustments. If you have a dial thermometer reading 90 degrees up in the ambient air AND a UTH, chances are the surface temp where the snake sits is getting too hot.

Get a digital thermometer and until then I'd lower the heat on the hot end in case it is in fact too hot. A lot less harm can come from too cool than too warm when 'too cool' is still in the low 80s. They only need a 'hot spot' to digest, which your snake is not.

The cage sounds a bit large for a snake of that age. They prefer smaller spaces and can stress in open ones. The cage you described is more or less suitable for a fully grown adult, which your snake definitely is not if it's 10 months old and has refused feed for several months of that.

As stated, you need to get your temps and humidity in order using accurate electronic devices to measure them.

What is the size of the prey you are attempting to feed? How does the width of the rodent compare to the width of the snake? Try feeding something much smaller just to see if it will take it.

EDIT: Another way to help your snake feel more secure in the glass tank is the 'black out' the sides and back. This just means covering them with paper or anything you want. They really don't like to be out in the open and won't eat that way, since they're VERY vulnerable while they're swallowing prey.

Also, how big are the hides compared to the snake? They should be nice and tight fitting.

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Originally Posted by MrLang

He knows it's food. He's stressed - probably by his surroundings. You said the weather broke recently... now is the time to make the necessary adjustments. If you have a dial thermometer reading 90 degrees up in the ambient air AND a UTH, chances are the surface temp where the snake sits is getting too hot.

Get a digital thermometer and until then I'd lower the heat on the hot end in case it is in fact too hot. A lot less harm can come from too cool than too warm when 'too cool' is still in the low 80s. They only need a 'hot spot' to digest, which your snake is not.

The cage sounds a bit large for a snake of that age. They prefer smaller spaces and can stress in open ones. The cage you described is more or less suitable for a fully grown adult, which your snake definitely is not if it's 10 months old and has refused feed for several months of that.

As stated, you need to get your temps and humidity in order using accurate electronic devices to measure them.

What is the size of the prey you are attempting to feed? How does the width of the rodent compare to the width of the snake? Try feeding something much smaller just to see if it will take it.

EDIT: Another way to help your snake feel more secure in the glass tank is the 'black out' the sides and back. This just means covering them with paper or anything you want. They really don't like to be out in the open and won't eat that way, since they're VERY vulnerable while they're swallowing prey.

Also, how big are the hides compared to the snake? They should be nice and tight fitting.

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I actually said above that I turned the UTH off when it got warm again. Two sides of the tank and half of a third are blacked out and when he is in his hides it's a pretty snug fit around his body, although there is some space above his head in one of them.

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Originally Posted by riffraff

I actually said above that I turned the UTH off when it got warm again. Two sides of the tank and half of a third are blacked out and when he is in his hides it's a pretty snug fit around his body, although there is some space above his head in one of them.

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I would suggest using a different thermometer & hygrometer first. Once you get a better handle on the temps i would bet the snake starts eating again