My boy skipped meals when he shouldn't
Hi everyone! This is my first post in the forum but I've read a lot of threads from here and it helps me and my boi Mi a lot, so first of all, thank you guys so much.
However, my snake has not eaten in 2 weeks and he just shed last month. He has always been a good boy, never skipped a meal unless he's going to shed. My bet is that he's too big for his cage now and it stressed him out, I have a 20-gallon tank and he's about 83 cm and weight 730g.
It's winter here so I try my best to keep the humidity at 50 (I know it's still low) and the temperature in his tank is 90.https://ball-pythons.net/forums/cach...ur.com/VWwyWFu
He has been very active so for a second I thought he had stargazing symptoms, thank god he didn't have it.https://ball-pythons.net/forums/cach...ur.com/VWwyWFu Still, he keeps refusing meals and I'm worried.
Anyone can suggest any ideas? That'd be helping me out a lot. Thank you!
https://ball-pythons.net/forums/cach...ur.com/VWwyWFuhttps://ball-pythons.net/forums/cach...ur.com/VWwyWFu
Re: My boy skipped meals when he shouldn't
Quote:
Originally Posted by
mandymg86
Is his entire tank 90 degrees, or just his hot spot? I'm not an expert, but I know that husbandry can put snakes off feeding.
Oh sorry for not specify, that's his hot side. The cool one is 75.
Re: My boy skipped meals when he shouldn't
Quote:
Originally Posted by
mebemi
Oh sorry for not specify, that's his hot side. The cool one is 75.
Okay, whew! While 75* is a bit too low (really should be closer to 78-80), I'm glad your ambient isn't 90!
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Re: My boy skipped meals when he shouldn't
Quote:
Originally Posted by
craigafrechette
Hello and welcome to the forum.
Two weeks is absolutely nothing in the world of a snake. They can go months very easily with no negative effects.
You only mention the 90 degree temp. Is there any temp gradient? How are you heating the enclosure? And how/where are you measuring temps?
Also, how often are you offering food? Offering too often can stress the snake and lead to more refusals.
As for the tank being too small, that shouldn't stress him. However I don't see any proper hides in the pics.
Are you handling the snake?
Also, humidity in the 50s is perfectly fine.
Thank you so much for your reply. I got a heating lamp on top of the tank and two thermometers inside. The cool side is around 75.
I used to offer him once every 2 weeks but since he switches to medium rats I fed him once per week. He got 2 hides but he prefers the one on the left more.
I used to handle him a lot since I got him and I can see that it stressed him out, like almost every day. Now I handle him once or twice a week.
Here is a pic that I took that show the whole tank: https://imgur.com/a/ivGuqCL
Re: My boy skipped meals when he shouldn't
Quote:
Originally Posted by
mandymg86
Okay, whew! While 75* is a bit too low (really should be closer to 78-80), I'm glad your ambient isn't 90!
Sent from my Moto Z (2) using Tapatalk
Oh no I don't want to fry him yet :)) Thank you so much for your reply. I'm going to offer him a rat again tonight, hope he got the appetite.
Re: My boy skipped meals when he shouldn't
Quote:
Originally Posted by
mebemi
Oh no I don't want to fry him yet :)) Thank you so much for your reply. I'm going to offer him a rat again tonight, hope he got the appetite.
Good luck! He's a very pretty pied!
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Re: My boy skipped meals when he shouldn't
Quote:
Originally Posted by
mebemi
I used to offer him once every 2 weeks but since he switches to medium rats I fed him once per week
Ah ok. I think that's your answer right there. Most males never need anything larger than small rats. Im guessing he's just not hungry. Feeding larger meals also causes them to go on food strikes.
