Off-feed!

Hey, I usually wouldn't make a post like this, but i think it's time! XD. Tilly, my 5 yo BP hasn't eaten since November 2nd! I usually don't worry about things like this, because he has gone around 4 months without eating before, but this time, I'm just getting a little worried :S. The tank is set up perfectly: low 80's on cool end, low 90's on hot end, 2 hides, normal humidity, and he seems perfectly happy! He actually ate a medium mouse I gave him on November 26th, but that's it. I usually feed him large rats, but I felt like he would maybe eat the mouse, which he did. So, do you guys have any suggestions?

Thanks!

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Originally Posted by mocolo

Hey, I usually wouldn't make a post like this, but i think it's time! XD. Tilly, my 5 yo BP hasn't eaten since November 2nd! I usually don't worry about things like this, because he has gone around 4 months without eating before, but this time, I'm just getting a little worried :S. The tank is set up perfectly: low 80's on cool end, low 90's on hot end, 2 hides, normal humidity, and he seems perfectly happy! He actually ate a medium mouse I gave him on November 26th, but that's it. I usually feed him large rats, but I felt like he would maybe eat the mouse, which he did. So, do you guys have any suggestions?

Thanks!

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This is a common mistake to overfeed BP in captivity.

Well BP can and will fast to catch up if overfed, and feeding large rats can certainly lead to that.

If you want a BP that feed with consistency I would suggest you, to feed nothing larger then a small rat (4 weeks old) once a week. This is enough even for a large adult BP.

Keep feeding him mice, or try feeding him a rat the same size as that mouse he took ;)

BTW I generally consider off feed to mean they wont eat at all, not that they wont eat what you want ;)

Well he's been eating large rats for about half a year now, and before that it was medium sized rats. I'm not really feeding him the large rats because I want to, I am just following the advice of feeding my BP a rat/mouse which is about the same size as his widest girth.

As for your concern with his fasting, I would not get worried if he hasn't lost alot of weight. What kind of weight loss has he experienced? Also, I have a friend who has a male that eats four meals a year, that's all he'll take. Also happens to be one of his best breeders. Hope that helps.