Nala's on a Hunger Strike!! UGGGHHH! Help!

I'm facing my first hunger strike with my BP's. Nala, my normal girl, hasn't eaten in three weeks. She shed last week and had a big poop--she hadn't pooped in almost a month--so I figured she wasn't hungry. She lost some weight, too--on March 21st she was 1345 grams and this past Tuesday she weighed 1241. Should I take her to the vet? I'm getting nervous. She's in an Animal Plastics T8 cage--humidity right now is 62, ambient temp is 84 and hot side temp is 90. She's on small/medium rats right now, and comes out of her hide when I warm them up with the hair dryer near her, so she is interested, but when I wiggle it near her with the feeding tongs she loses interest and goes back in one of her hides. I only handle her once a week, and she comes out at night to cruise around her cage. Feeding day has always been during the daytime on Sunday because that's more convenient, but I'll change it if I need to. Now Kovu, my male BP, decided today that he's not going to eat either! He did the same exact thing--seemed interested but went back in his hide when I put the rat near him. He's also in an Animal Plastics T8--he's in the bottom cage and Nala's is stacked on top of his. Both will be two years old this fall. I really don't know what could be going on with these two--my snake room is a spare bedroom with no heavy foot traffic or vibrations, so I'm nervous. Should I just keep trying and wait it out, or is it time for a vet visit? These BP's! I wish they would scarf their food down all the time like my other snakes!! Any advice will be much appreciated!

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Originally Posted by SnakeLuvnGirl

I'm facing my first hunger strike with my BP's. Nala, my normal girl, hasn't eaten in three weeks. She shed last week and had a big poop--she hadn't pooped in almost a month--so I figured she wasn't hungry. She lost some weight, too--on March 21st she was 1345 grams and this past Tuesday she weighed 1241. Should I take her to the vet? I'm getting nervous. She's in an Animal Plastics T8 cage--humidity right now is 62, ambient temp is 84 and hot side temp is 90. She's on small/medium rats right now, and comes out of her hide when I warm them up with the hair dryer near her, so she is interested, but when I wiggle it near her with the feeding tongs she loses interest and goes back in one of her hides. I only handle her once a week, and she comes out at night to cruise around her cage. Feeding day has always been during the daytime on Sunday because that's more convenient, but I'll change it if I need to. Now Kovu, my male BP, decided today that he's not going to eat either! He did the same exact thing--seemed interested but went back in his hide when I put the rat near him. He's also in an Animal Plastics T8--he's in the bottom cage and Nala's is stacked on top of his. Both will be two years old this fall. I really don't know what could be going on with these two--my snake room is a spare bedroom with no heavy foot traffic or vibrations, so I'm nervous. Should I just keep trying and wait it out, or is it time for a vet visit? These BP's! I wish they would scarf their food down all the time like my other snakes!! Any advice will be much appreciated!

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no need for a vet visit or to stress out. :) three weeks without food is nothing for a ball, especially for being that size. they can go months, i've even heard of a whole year, without eating. just be patient. as long as nothing has changed in your husbandry from when they were eating good, and you aren't seeing any signs of sickness, you should be fine. since you're keeping a male and a female in the same room, they might just be more interested in breeding right now than food. the first female i was raising up always ate like a champ and then the day i brought home a male she went off food for a couple months and was constantly roaming her cage at night.. and she never did that. she was ALWAYS in her hide. she wasn't even breeding size, but i assumed it was because she could smell him and she was more interested in trying to find him than eating. lol

Ok--I feel a little better, thanks! Nala still feels solid when I hold her and is still active at night and curious, and seems healthy. Kovu, too--both were always good eaters. Is this normally the breeding season for BP's? I'm not sure. I guess they could be "in the mood'" lol! I'll be patient! Thanks so much! :)

it's a little after the "breeding season" per say but not all females are on the same schedule and ovulate at the same time throughout the year. just keep an eye on them and as long as they seem healthy and don't show any signs of sickness like wheezing or mucous coming from their mouth or nostrils or anything out of the ordinary, you should be fine.

Ok--great! That definitely makes me feel better! Thanks again!