6 Months Off Feed

So I've been trying everything under the tuscan sun availalbe to me to get Autumn feeding again. I haven't had any access with "small" live rats because everything around here has smalls the size of med/large and I didn't want to endager her. I've offered her live mice and f/t weaned rats every 2 weeks to no avail. Tried getting in touch with my local Herp Society to see if I can find someone who breeds their own rats without any luck as well. Would love to breed my own but I cannot just yet.

I weighed her and she's at 755g, she was at about 840 6 months ago. Don't know when I should draw the line and take her to the vet. She's definitely starting to look skinnier yet at the same time is not emaciated. I would have taken a picture but I haven't handled her in six months beside tub cleaning so she was freaking out a bit.

I bought her from a petstore so I'm not sure her age, should I just take her to the vet?

If she's losing enough weight to cause worry I would probably take her to the vet, although in my collection I have a candoia that has not eaten since early winter and since he's wild caught and still in good body shape I'm not worrying at all. As I'm sure you've read they can go quite a while without food and be fine, but once they start losing mass and looking thin then you should take them to the vet.

Rich please refresh my memory about your lovely female snake. How long did you have her and what was she eating prior to the fast beginning? Was her weight prior to the fast a good weight for her? Is she a normally healthy snake? If she was recently acquired before the fast, where did she come from?

I had moved a female that had a similar weight to yours up from a 16 qrt container to a 32 qrt, she went off feed for 7 months. I moved her back to a 16 qrt and boom, she has started to eat again consistantly and takes food with very little effort now.

Not sure on your sitiation, but sometimes it can be a cage size issue.... and just what they do or don't feel secure in.

Hope she gets going again for you soon! :)

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by frankykeno

Rich please refresh my memory about your lovely female snake. How long did you have her and what was she eating prior to the fast beginning? Was her weight prior to the fast a good weight for her? Is she a normally healthy snake? If she was recently acquired before the fast, where did she come from?

---

I aquired her from a petstore, she was my first snake, in August of 05. She was a tiny little thing then, probably a little older than a hatchling. So she went off feed in mid-october where she would have been a year and two months old. She was 850g full last time she ate, it was a good weight for her. She had always been a little finicky with eating, she was constantly going off feed and then going through times where she could eat me out of house and home. That was back when she was in a glass viv, since Oct of 06 they've all been in tubs, which helped all my husbandry reqs. I forgot to mention she did receive a clean bill of health from the vet. Now that I think of it she was 121 grams when I got her.

I offered her a live mouse tonight and she seemed very interested and then she just slid away into the other hide and curled up.

Quote:

---

Not sure on your sitiation, but sometimes it can be a cage size issue.... and just what they do or don't feel secure in.

Hope she gets going again for you soon! :)

---

My boaphile rack should be here within the next week.
http://www.boaphileplastics.com/rhinoraxx_five_sideways_sterilite.html

Its coming with 5 of the larger tubs. But I think I might go pick up 2 sweater boxes and see how she does in that.

Thanks for the comments