how long

how long can a baby go without eating? Im just curious because my guy was about 3 weeks old i think when i got him and he has yet to eat for me. I just got him not last friday but the friday before. I tried to feed him last monday because the reptile store i got him at said feeding day was monday so i decided to give it a try. When he didnt eat last week I decided to leave him alone all this week and didnt take him out or handle him at all and tried to feed him again tonight but once again he ignores the little mouse and pays it ZERO attention. I didnt bother to ask if he had actually eaten for them yet so im not even sure if hes had his first meal yet. He doesnt act like he knows the mouse is supposed to be food the way he blatantly ignores it. So how long exactly can they go before their first meal anyway?

are you feeding live or frozen/thawed?

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Originally Posted by hardball

how long can a baby go without eating? Im just curious because my guy was about 3 weeks old i think when i got him and he has yet to eat for me. I just got him not last friday but the friday before. I tried to feed him last monday because the reptile store i got him at said feeding day was monday so i decided to give it a try. When he didnt eat last week I decided to leave him alone all this week and didnt take him out or handle him at all and tried to feed him again tonight but once again he ignores the little mouse and pays it ZERO attention. I didnt bother to ask if he had actually eaten for them yet so im not even sure if hes had his first meal yet. He doesnt act like he knows the mouse is supposed to be food the way he blatantly ignores it. So how long exactly can they go before their first meal anyway?

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An adult can go for months (I had one just come off a 6 month stint :rolleye2: )...but a baby doesn't have the fat reserves so at about 6 weeks old it could become an issue.

First, remind us your setup (lets address stress as the reason first) - what are your temps, humidity, hides (layout), etc.

Also did you buy this animal as a Captive Breed or Captive Hatched meaning the seller knows that the parents were in captivity when it was born or was it a Wild caught baby. three week is a little soon for my tate to be selling an animal. Most breeders will wait till they get 5 or 6 good meals in them before selling them. If this animal want feed in the next week or so contact the breeder or seller and see if they can offer some help or as a last resort a replacement animal.

its a captive hatched. I think he said it was 3 weeks to a month old im not 100% exact on that. He has 2 hides which he spends about equal time in, 10 gallon tank. The warm end usually stays between 86-94 which i know is a little on the low end. Humidity stays mostly between 50-60% when it drops below 50 i give it a spray. He stays in his hide all day and comes out after i turn the overhead lamp out when it starts to get dark outside. Temperatures drop to the low end of the range i provided earlier when I turn the lamp out. I prescented the room and thought he was ready for it this week as i put the critter keeper on top of his cage for about 10 min prior to feeding (mouse was already in the same room for about 3 hours). And after about 10 min he came out and was looking up at the mouse like he was ready for it so i dropped it in and he seemingly ignored it for a good 40 minutes.

I recently got a little baby, 53g female, on the 28th of April. I set her up in a 6qt tub, one tiny clay pot saucer for a hide, a water bowl, newspaper, and temps are 94/84. I left her alone in a dark place in my rack for a week and around 10pm this past Saturday, I pre-scented the room for about 30 minutes to an hour, popped a live, young hopper in there and left the room. Came back in about 10 minutes and it was gone.

I would suggest trying a smaller enclosure, and putting the tub in a dark place with no traffic, such as a closet. Keeping the temperatures more stable will help too.

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Originally Posted by hardball

He stays in his hide all day and comes out after i turn the overhead lamp out when it starts to get dark outside. Temperatures drop to the low end of the range i provided earlier when I turn the lamp out.

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Why don't you use a red or black bulb instead so that the temperatures can remain constant?

And I think it might be worth while contacting the person you got him from to find out not only when it was eating but what and if he had a routine that differs from the one you are using. That way the snake will be somewhat used to the pattern.

Hope the little guy eats ok for you next week.



dr del

you don't wanna use black light, red light is fine, but not black light... I heard regular light and black light messes them up... Really no light is neccesary unless you really need it.

Well i was told not to leave the snake totally alone with live prey so i have had usually a little small light on the other side of the room on and laying on my bed peering over the bed post monitoring. I guess ill go look for a red bulb.

where can i get a red light bulb for my lamp? or just the red light in which yall are describing?