Mona's on a strike...

I'm not sure what's going on with Mona's feeding, as she hasn't eaten since August 11th. I had her in a 20gal tank at first, but switched her into a 41qt tub (not in a rack yet) over a month ago. She ate a couple of live rats in her tub, then I tried switching her to F/T... She refused for three weeks, so I gave her a live rat, which she ate happily. Since that time, however, she has been refusing both live and F/T, rats and mice. I do handle her frequently, and have done so since getting her - never seemed to be an issue. Here are her iHerp records for the last month, and I'd appreciate some input...

08/30 - Refused Food, Live mouse
08/30 - Weight, 1920g
08/25 - Refused Food, Live rat
08/18 - Refused Food, Live rat (killed but didn't eat)
08/11 - Feeding, Live rat <----- only waited a day, since I thought she just had a mishap with the last one.
08/10 - Refused Food, Live rat (killed but didn't eat)
08/10 - Defecated
08/06 - Weight, 2056g
08/05 - Feeding, Live rat
08/02 - Weight, 1903g
07/29 - Feeding, Live rat
07/26 - Defecated
07/25 - Shed
07/22 - Refused Food, F/T mouse (in shed)
07/16 - Refused Food, P/K rat (in shed)
Prior to 7/16 - Ate live rats regularly once a week

Any ideas what her problem might be?? :confuzd:

P.S. On a good note, Delilah ate FOUR mice and Toby ate three... they got Mona's leftovers, aside from one that's still in her tub (checking on it every few minutes). ;)

I was just thinking, could her strike be related to cold temperatures? I've had trouble maintaining her heat, even with the new tub... she's going in my new rack with flexwatt & a thermostat (helix) soon, as it should be arriving later this week. Should I just wait for another feeding attempt until she's in the rack, and her temperatures are stabilized?

Shes almost 2k grams...and you've had the temps a little colder than normal? My advice is...if you're planning on throwing Toby in with some girls this year, go ahead and stick him with her...;)

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Originally Posted by pavlovk1025

Shes almost 2k grams...and you've had the temps a little colder than normal? My advice is...if you're planning on throwing Toby in with some girls this year, go ahead and stick him with her...;)

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Really?? Do you think they're ready? He was about 440g last time I weighed, and then he pigged out on 3 adult mice tonight... so he could be at "breeding weight" pretty soon! :) And yes, I was planning to breed Toby this year.

Hmm if he's that small I dont know. But she sounds like she's ready for some action. I posed the same question about one of my bigger girls and that is the exact advice I got. When it gets to be around this time of year and they go off feed, doesn't hurt to throw a male in with her to see what happens. But like I said, I dont know if Toby'll be ready. =/

Well, I'd wait until he's at least over the 500g mark - which could be this month, since he's eating like a hog. :cool:

Good luck either way!

Thank you! Maybe she's confused about the seasons, since we only have one season in San Francisco - COLD! :D

Blech I was stationed in Monterey for a bit, I dont understand that whole central part of California. It looks nice and warm in pictures but there's nothing colder than that damn fog.

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Originally Posted by pavlovk1025

Blech I was stationed in Monterey for a bit, I dont understand that whole central part of California. It looks nice and warm in pictures but there's nothing colder than that damn fog.

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I love it, but I'm weird like that... plus, it's funny to watch the tourists shivering in their shorts. :rofl:

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Originally Posted by Lolo76

Thank you! Maybe she's confused about the seasons, since we only have one season in San Francisco - COLD! :D

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We just helped our friends move right outside of San Francisco, to Larkspur. We live in the Valley, and we ended up staying with them and their new place over the weekend. It was SO NICE to escape the 105 heat for a couple days! NOT fun to move in it though, lol.

After staying in Larkspur for a few days, I so want to move there. Or even the city. I would much prefer the cold and fog opposed to the heat and sunburns!

Good Luck on Mona and Toby!

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Originally Posted by Elise.m

We just helped our friends move right outside of San Francisco, to Larkspur. We live in the Valley, and we ended up staying with them and their new place over the weekend. It was SO NICE to escape the 105 heat for a couple days! NOT fun to move in it though, lol.

After staying in Larkspur for a few days, I so want to move there. Or even the city. I would much prefer the cold and fog opposed to the heat and sunburns!

Good Luck on Mona and Toby!

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Thanks! Larkspur is really nice, and they get a GOOD amount of fog. I love it here, but the cost of living really does take a toll... I might have to move, even though I really don't want to. :( I grew up in the Bay Area, so anything but mild weather is quite unpleasant to me.

Have you noticed her swelling at all? Like does she ever look bloated like she just ate but then the next day or later she looks normal again? If so, thats when shes ovulating. Or if she is acting in any way out of the ordinary other than refusing food. Like soaking in water bowl alot. Basking on the warm side with her belly up. Lying around on her side or with belly up. etc.. You may have just started her cycle and didnt know it.

Sometimes you do not have to cycle females at all to get them in the mood.

My female and male spider have already been locking up for the past 2 weeks. And i didnt change temps once. I wont be able to cycle warm side temps as i have all the flexwatt soldered in a series on one plug. all i can do is leave room temp alone and drop the heat tape temp down at night. Or you can leave the warm side alone and just cool the room down at night and warm room back in morning.

Either way when a female is ready she will not care if you cycle her. The males on other hand once mature is well a Male lol. Their ready all the time.