Not Eating

yeah it hasn't been long and i shouldn't be worried, but i thought i'd ask for some input. since getting Khan (Western Hognose hatchling) i've been feeding him every 5 days. the first 3 were live pinkies because the petstore didn't have any f/t. he ate those with no hesitation. After that i've fed him 3 f/t pinkies and again no problem. Now the last 2 times i've offered, he's just hissed a lot and refused to eat, which is very unlike him. I have him in a tank setup and the only thing that has changed is that i covered 3 sides of the tank with brown construction paper, thinking it would make him feel more secure. The heat hasn't changed, the humidity is still a little high (45-48%) but it never bothered him in the past. i thought maybe he was getting ready to shed, as he hasn't done so since i got him, but his eyes are still clear. I know that its only been 2 feedings but still, i'm new to this.

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Originally Posted by kitsunex

yeah it hasn't been long and i shouldn't be worried, but i thought i'd ask for some input. since getting Khan (Western Hognose hatchling) i've been feeding him every 5 days. the first 3 were live pinkies because the petstore didn't have any f/t. he ate those with no hesitation. After that i've fed him 3 f/t pinkies and again no problem. Now the last 2 times i've offered, he's just hissed a lot and refused to eat, which is very unlike him. I have him in a tank setup and the only thing that has changed is that i covered 3 sides of the tank with brown construction paper, thinking it would make him feel more secure. The heat hasn't changed, the humidity is still a little high (45-48%) but it never bothered him in the past. i thought maybe he was getting ready to shed, as he hasn't done so since i got him, but his eyes are still clear. I know that its only been 2 feedings but still, i'm new to this.

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They can be finicky eaters. I have a trio of mexicans and none of them are regular eaters.

We've gone through periods where they will eat only live, then only F/T with the heads split. Recently, two of them will only eat rodents after they've been rubbed with either shed monitor skin or tree frogs. We've dipped in tuna fish, marinated in trout and gone to an all frog diet. After a while, it never fails, we have to switch it up.

Without knowing the specifics of your snake - his weight, his feeding history prior to you buying him, if he's been checked for parasites, etc. it's hard to say whether or not he's being picky or there's another issue.

I would try putting him in a deli cup or paper bag with the prey overnight and see if that triggers something. My male went through a 4 month spell where he would only if placed in a bag with the F/T mouse - this was after eating F/T for 6 months with no issues.

You can try splitting the heads or rubbing the mice down with an anole or a tree frog.

well the breeder said that he ate regularly without issues. i'm wondering if for some reason the construction paper that i put up on the 3 sides is freaking him out and he preferred when all the sides were open?

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Originally Posted by kitsunex

well the breeder said that he ate regularly without issues. i'm wondering if for some reason the construction paper that i put up on the 3 sides is freaking him out and he preferred when all the sides were open?

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Take the construction paper down and give him a few days and try to feed again.