Hello, been a while....sorry for the long post....
So Mia seemed to be doing great and all of a sudden hit a wall.... She did not eat for over 2 months. No matter what she was offered, she refused. She did fine for a while, was acting normal just did not want to eat. (we thought she was a big young to go on a hunger strike or a fast or whatever it was she was doing)
After about 9 weeks my son notice that she had lost 12g. Now we were not sure if 12g was a lot or not, but my son was concerned so he made a dr. appt. for her and he took her in. Vet could not find anything wrong with her at all. No mites, nothing wrong in her mouth....he said she actually looked in really good shape and had we not said that she had lost weight he would have thought all was good with her.
He spent some time going over her enclosure, temps etc with my son and all seemed to be ok (according to vet).
The vet wormed her and said there was also a small appetite stimulant added in and told us if she didn't eat in 2 weeks to bring her back in.
Well, 3 days later she ate. I called and cancelled her appt. assuming she would be ok and go back to normal. Well, that was it, she hasn't eaten again since then.
This weekend will be 2 weeks since her last meal. She strikes at it, misses and then gets "huffy" and actually will turn her head sideways and slither away if you show it to her again. (it's almost like "woa'as me.... i missed now i'm gonna have a tude" type thing)
Last night he tried again and she completely ignored it and didn't even attempt to strike.
So we are a bit concerned on her new eating habits and not sure how long to let her go again before taking her back in.
She is 1 yr and 8 months old now. She is acting totally normal other than not eating.
Thanks in advance for any advise.
Re: Hello, been a while....sorry for the long post....
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Craiga 01453
How often are you offering?
She was eating a large mouse every 7 or 8 days.
He switched her to rats and she had a small rat, then 2 weeks later a small rat. Then went almost 10 weeks refusing food.
He gave her a large mouse a few days after vet visit (because we couldn't get a rat and he wanted her to eat "something") and she at it with GUSTO!
Tried another mouse a week later, struck missed and refused. (that was last weekend)
Tried small rat last night, flat out refused.
Re: Hello, been a while....sorry for the long post....
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Stewart_Reptiles
What's her weight? And what was she eating when feeding regularly (prey size aprox weight?)?
And 12 grams is nothing the amount they urinate or defecate at a year and 8 months account for a lot more than this.
12 grams is 0.4 oz
I personally thought she was very small for her age, but the vet says that she is fine. He said he would rather see them grow slow than to fast and fat.
3 1/2 months ago she was 385g.
2 weeks ago at vets she was 373g.
Not exactly sure how much the large mouse weighed. And i thought a small rat was to big, but she got it down with minimal effort.
Re: Hello, been a while....sorry for the long post....
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Maybeka
I personally thought she was very small for her age, but the vet says that she is fine. He said he would rather see them grow slow than to fast and fat.
3 1/2 months ago she was 385g.
2 weeks ago at vets she was 373g.
Not exactly sure how much the large mouse weighed. And i thought a small rat was to big, but she got it down with minimal effort.
At that size a small rat is a pretty big meal (assuming we're talking 60-80 grams or so).
I feed on the conservative side, so I can't speak from direct experience, but from I understand larger meals can often lead to food strikes and inconsistent eating.
It may be worth grabbing some weaned rats before offering the smalls.
Re: Hello, been a while....sorry for the long post....
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Stewart_Reptiles
Yeah that's very small for her age and your vet... (well I would fine another one if/when times come)
If you have not already downsize her to a 10 gallons or 12 quarts tub, leave her alone for a week and offer food.
She could be one of those rare picky feeders that only eat when they fee like it but it could be husbandry related so you want to rule this out if it persist.
Temps nothing hotter than 88 on the warm side and use a substrate like Aspen or coco chips.
We have used the same vet for our 100+ lb tortoises and our bearded dragon for close to 14 yrs. He is actually the only reptile/exotic vet I know of around here. I wouldnt know where else to find one.
He's the one who helped us when we first got her and she had issues with her tongue.
I had my son check her temps again today with the temp gauge and read him your message. :)
Here's a couple of pics of Mia at the vets office. https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...f6318ba26e.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...b4150cfdfe.jpg
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Re: Hello, been a while....sorry for the long post....
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Craiga 01453
At that size a small rat is a pretty big meal (assuming we're talking 60-80 grams or so).
I feed on the conservative side, so I can't speak from direct experience, but from I understand larger meals can often lead to food strikes and inconsistent eating.
It may be worth grabbing some weaned rats before offering the smalls.
I found a place just today that has live rat pups. He said he would kill one for us to see if she would like fresh but not live.
I also found a place to order rat pups online because no one around here carries them frozen. I think we are going to wait a bit and try a fresh killed pup first.
Thanks !
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