Time to go to the herp vet???

I have a feb 08 male BP. He has been fasting since Nov 14 09 ( first live asf refusal ). Husbandry is consistant as usual. He has gone from 832g to 713. he's lost about 15% body weight. He still has urine and urate and has had a successful shed in Feb. I have been offering live asf weekly. 2 weeks ago he struck and killed it, but didn't eat, just laid on it all night :-)
Is is time for a trip to the vet? No signs of RI, mouth rot, star gazing, injury etc. Thanks, Taylor

My oldest BP, a male didn't eat since Nov also, He just started feeding 2 weeks ago. He has fed last 2 Saturdays, but I'm still not completely sure if he is back on feed. I would say wait a little more.

I dont really think there is much a vet can do to get your BP back to eating.

I was informed by members of this forum to try to get a vet or a breeder with knowledge to get an injection of Flagyl for him. But as soon as I started making plans for it, he started eating again. Maybe he knew what was coming... lol.

how are you offering him his food?
do you feed him in his bin?
do you transfer him to another bin for feeding?
do you feed at night?
is there any form of distraction in the room when you feed him?
was he a strong feeder to begin with before he went off food?
what are your temps/humidity?
how quickly did he drop his weight or has that been gradual?
can you show a pic of his set up?
has he been out hunting for food?
oh and what size prey are you offering?
sorry to bombard you with so many questions but these are all things that are relevant when it comes to a snake getting stressed on feeding day?
john

If he is housed near a female, her scent may make him go off feed! Also feed in the dark and leave him alone for a half hour! Don't keep peaking in on him! I wouldn't worry too much for a least another month then you may need to assist feed!

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Originally Posted by bads15

how are you offering him his food? Once weekly now
do you feed him in his bin? yes, always have
do you transfer him to another bin for feeding? no
do you feed at night? yes between 11pm and 12 am
is there any form of distraction in the room when you feed him? no, I make sure it's quiet and darkened. I do supervise, but I do not hover over his enclosure
was he a strong feeder to begin with before he went off food? yes to an extent. he always refused when close to or in blue
what are your temps/humidity? low side 82, high 91 humidity at 55
how quickly did he drop his weight or has that been gradual? gradual it's been since November
can you show a pic of his set up?no pic, but I'm confident in it. 2 plastic tight hides, water dish, newspaper substrate, nothing has changed for him in his set up
has he been out hunting for food?
oh and what size prey are you offering?
sorry to bombard you with so many questions but these are all things that are relevant when it comes to a snake getting stressed on feeding day?
john

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John, sorry I ran out of space.
he has not been out hunting at night, I just get a couple head peeks.

and

he has always been fed live asf appropriately sized to his diameter.
No stress in his life, he has it good so to speak.
He like staying in his hide, unexposed to feed, and then normally strike out as the rat goes by his entry.

Hope that's enough info :-)
thanks,
Taylor

You can try bumping his temps a degree or two and getting him a little more indirect light, so he knows it's spring. And move him away from any females: if he can smell them, he might keep on fasting. Hope springs eternal and all that.

If you do take him to the vet, you might ask about a vitamin B shot to stimulate appetite--that's what my herp vet gave my '08 piebald when she stopped eating after being treated for flagellates. It's low-key, non-invasive, and it worked with the pied.

But really, this is still pretty normal. My 2008 het pied male stopped eating Nov 22, 2009. Last week he finally ate a teensy tiny live hopper mouse, just shy of the 5 month mark. In October he weighed 880 grams; today he weighs 600. But his muscle tone is still good, and he's at least tracking the f/t mice when I show them to him, instead of hiding his head.

(I recommend the live hopper mice, by the way. It might not work if your snake has been living on a strict ASF diet? But the constant hopping around is apparently hard to resist, and you can leave them alone for half an hour without any real danger to the snake.)

Anyway, if none of that works, and if he comes back with a clean bill of health from the vet, I think you'd be best off switching to an every-other-week feeding schedule for this snake. Just to preserve your own sanity, right? If his muscle tone is still good, then he's still healthy. He'll eat when he's good and ready, not before, and he'll make you crazy if you let him.

You could try a car ride... I have no idea why but some people have said that this works for some mysterious reason. Don't ask me to explain why, I have no idea!

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Originally Posted by Kaorte

You could try a car ride... I have no idea why but some people have said that this works for some mysterious reason. Don't ask me to explain why, I have no idea!

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Really? I might have to try that, LOL. I have a large female who hasn't eaten since October (possibly even before that), and has gone from about 1900g to 1750g... I've been told by folks here & by her breeder not to worry, unless she starts looking triangular. :cool: She does look pretty skinny to me, but her weight shows it's nothing serious yet. Not sure what else to tell you, except that it's not unusual for a ball!

I don't see how the stress of a car ride will help them to start eating. You may want to try dipping the rodent in chicken broth. Have you reduced the size of the rodent? This sometimes will work.

Good Luck!
Jim Smith

we still don't know how are you offering the meal? are you at least presenting the room or are you just offering it to him?
i'm not trying to sound like a hard a$$, im just trying to help you out so don't take this the wrong way but if you can answer all the questions with data instead of opinions someone one here will definitely be able to tell you what is going on. some people come onto the forums and say things like " my temps and humidity are bang on " when in actuality it was the problem the hole time.:)
john

Well, I have heard numerous reports of the car ride working. I have never heard of the chicken broth working :/

John,
I prescent for 30 min. Before which I remove the hide he's not in plus his water dish to give him ample striking room. After 30 min, I put the live asf in his enclosure.

I'm sorry I thought I answered all your q's, but I'll say again my temps are currently 82 and 91 with 56% humidity.

Thanks again

ps. I've opened all my shades in my room to let more natural indirect sunlight in during the day ( upon suggestion ). And last night he moved over to his warm hide... first time in months... good sign??

Definately a good sign. BPs dont need artificial light being nocturnal but they do need a photoperiod so they know what time of year it is. Things that will help trigger eating is longer daylight hours, warmer temps and an end to the wet season. All meaning winter and breeding season is over therefore it is time to EAT!

Heres hoping your BP eats for you soon..

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Originally Posted by Foschi Exotic Serpents

Definately a good sign. BPs dont need artificial light being nocturnal but they do need a photoperiod so they know what time of year it is. Things that will help trigger eating is longer daylight hours, warmer temps and an end to the wet season. All meaning winter and breeding season is over therefore it is time to EAT!

Heres hoping your BP eats for you soon..

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Thanks. I think so too! I'll keep all of you posted. Thanks for the help!

it sounds like things might be moving in the right direction. it's good to hear.
as far as removing his hide and water dish, some times even that could be enough to shy them away from eating when their coming off of a fast. i would try just tossing the rat in after presenting ( just like you have ) dim the lights down low ( just enough that you can intervene if needed ) and wait. try to have no distractions in the room. sometimes a smaller item helps. :gj:
john

I am going to def try a smaller prey item. I've been housing and caring for 4 adult male asf rats since his fast began. They're about 60-70g each. I'm going to try to sell them on craigs list and get some smaller ones this week from my supplier. Plus I'm proverbially "over" this group after 5 months!!! There's one I call Big Meanie who always finds a way to bite my knuckles when feeding or cleaning their bin. He has the Taj Mahal of feeder care but somehow knows my true intentions ;-)

did your snake eat asf before? I know some people say feed a problem feeder them. I have around 50 breeder ball pythons and I breed both mice and asf. I have a few snakes that will only feed on mice and I have a few that will only feed on soft furs. the rest it doesn't matter what I give them. my point is they all don't care for the soft furs like you would think being it's one of their food souce in the wild. feed it what it ate before the fast and if it was asf then the snake will eat when it's ready not when your ready, as long as the temps and every thing is in range. ball pythons will go off feed, don't panic.

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Originally Posted by don15681

did your snake eat asf before? I know some people say feed a problem feeder them. I have around 50 breeder ball pythons and I breed both mice and asf. I have a few snakes that will only feed on mice and I have a few that will only feed on soft furs. the rest it doesn't matter what I give them. my point is they all don't care for the soft furs like you would think being it's one of their food souce in the wild. feed it what it ate before the fast and if it was asf then the snake will eat when it's ready not when your ready, as long as the temps and every thing is in range. ball pythons will go off feed, don't panic.

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He has been on live asf for 1.5 years. I figured I'd try it once because my supplier's rats had been looking poor... skinny, diarrhea, snotty noses, etc. I didn't want to try to improve their health before feeding so I got a couple asf rats... what do you know??? It was like giving him filet mignon after a year of hamburgers. He had a great feeding response.
So, the answer is no. No change in feeder. I do think however, I am going to sell the 4 asf I have now bc they are in the upper 80g range and get a smaller batch to ease him in to eating again.

My female bp is still fasting also - she weighs about 1700 grams now and has lost about 40 grams in the past 5 months of fasting.

I have tried everything from scenting a rat with tuna, offering live, offering mice - she just will not eat.

But as mentioned in an earlier post, I have noticed that she is moving over to her warm side more often now - she stayed in the cool side hide for what seemed like forever all winter.

I've also noticed she seems to be out hunting at night but on feeding night she simply will not eat.

Each week I hope and pray that she will eat but nothing yet - very frustrating and worriesome to say the least.

If all that fails, fill his bin with crumpled newspaper and leave him alone for a week, then try offering again at night after you've prescented the room.

My girl was off since the beginning of February, interested, but never ate. Somehow that crumpled paper thing worked when everything else didn't. (picked this one up from one of the other post and thought I'd give it a shot since nothing else worked.)

Do you remove the crumpled paper prior to feeding??? Do I need to worry about the crumpled paper touching my RHP - I only have sooo much clearance and I think it would touch it - I don't want a fire.

Success!! After bumping up the temps and opening up she window's shades for a week, my boy ate after a very long winter fast. He took down a 65 g live asf rat with no problem last night. Now he's comfy, resting and digesting on his warm side. Thank you all so much for your pointers!!:bow:

:) :gj:

I was in a reptile shop about a month ago and some guy had the same problem, a ball python breeder told him to get a live gerbil from petsmart, prescent the room, then try to feed your live gerbil with tongs, dont just through him in there. Keep in mind if you do this gerbils and extreamly quick, so hold with tongs. I hope this works for you keep us updated!

-Payson!

don't do gerbils. you don't want to take the chance in getting your ball hooked on them.