Missed a meal

I know one missed meal isn't a big deal but my 8 month old JCP refused food for the first time last night. I offered him a rat weaner which he struck and coiled but then he left it alone. I reheated the prey item and tried again with the same results. I double checked my husbandry and everything is spot on. The only thing I can think of is that I had been mixing up his prey items (rats, chicks, and ASF's) and maybe he wasn't in the mood for a rat. Any other ideas? I'll try him again in 6-7 days and see what happens.

The only time that my juvie JCP refused food was when she was in the blue, but I did not know it at the time. Her eyes did not cloud up until a day or two afterwards. I did not notice the skin being real dark due to the red light and the fact that she lives in her water bowl, unless she is warming up on her perch.

The day after she shed she was back on track.



Esmarelda in hunt mode two days after a big meal. What a pig!
She was in this frozen state for at least two hours.http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/2016...0632c6d559.jpg

@ Reinz- He shed 10 days ago. Perhaps the weaner was a little big for him even though it didn't appear to be. He's 268g and the weaner was 48g.

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Originally Posted by EL-Ziggy

@ Reinz- He shed 10 days ago. Perhaps the weaner was a little big for him even though it didn't appear to be. He's 268g and the weaner was 48g.

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Read this out loud and out of context it sounds bad. Maybe he was looking for something else. Like a chick or asf.

Well I was afraid that he may have shed already. :(

Maybe you are right, that the rat was too big.

It may be that since he is fed regularly that he is not starving enough to go for a larger item.

I say maybe he just isn't hungry and you should try him on the next scheduled feeding cycle. All my ball pythons are refusing food now, except my candino male. He is the only one that is not breeding though. I wouldn't sweat it EL. :) All the hatchlings and yearlings are taking food.

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Originally Posted by Yodawagon

Read this out loud and out of context it sounds bad. Maybe he was looking for something else. Like a chick or asf.

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That was my thinking too Yoda. I think he may have just wanted different prey. I've heard of some snakes getting stuck on a specific prey item and refusing others. I'm going to wait until his next feeding day and try him with a rat again. I'll keep him on his staple diet for awhile with no diversity until he's a bit older.

@ AL- You're right. No need for concern yet. I'm going to consider this an isolated incident and try him again in a week.

My coastal has been a crappy eater since I brought her home. She has had a crack at everything over the last 2 years. Rabbits, rats, chicks, quail, live rats and only eats when she wants to eat. So far she hasn't eaten since November 11th. I would not be too concerned. A young snake like that will eventually resume eating.

I still waiver between BCC and locality coastal because of the picky eating pythons I have.

I'd give your snake a week or two and try again. Scent a rat with some chick or quail.

carpets are not immune to skipping occasional meals. though they won't normally go all BP on you, I have had adult coastals that participated in hunger strikes for 3-4 months. of course, your JCP is still a baby and I would expect he won't miss more than a couple of meals.

when it comes to baby carpets of any kind that were not started on rats, once I get them on rats, they don't see anything else for about a year. l want a strong imprint.

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Originally Posted by DennisM

when it comes to baby carpets of any kind that were not started on rats, once I get them on rats, they don't see anything else for about a year. l want a strong imprint.

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Thanks Dennis. That's the lesson I'm taking from this. I think I got a little ahead of myself by offering so many prey items in such a short time. We live and we learn.

I'd just keep offering this guy rats, most likely he's just skipped a meal.

generally once they've taken rats they don't stop. I've heard of some that have, but I have not experienced it in my collection. I've had a few that never took rats, so I might be a little paranoid. I'm fighting that battle right now with a young coastal female, mice and chicks only. she's nearly 1.5 years old and soon I will raise the white flag! even if she never takes rats, I am confident the day will come when rabbit is on the menu.

Maybe it was just a glitch in the matrix. The jungle did hesitantly eat his 34g rat weaner today. I did cheat a bit and scented it with a chick. He held the head in his mouth for a good 20 minutes before he finally decided to eat it. My coastal had smashed a small rat AND a chick in that time. :)