more feeding difficulties

julius STILL won't eat..


it has been a week since my last attempted feeding of her - and she has not been touched or anything since.. i have left her tank pretty much covered around all sides to make her more comfortable - but when I put her in her feeding box with her food, she just moves around fast and tries to get out of the box

it has been 3 weeks of her doing this now.. why is this happening?

thanks,
barry

Try feeding her inside her own home???

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Originally Posted by bchapman

julius STILL won't eat..


it has been a week since my last attempted feeding of her - and she has not been touched or anything since.. i have left her tank pretty much covered around all sides to make her more comfortable - but when I put her in her feeding box with her food, she just moves around fast and tries to get out of the box

it has been 3 weeks of her doing this now.. why is this happening?

thanks,
barry

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Barry, if I remember correctly, you were feeding her an awful lot when you first got her (like every three days, right?).

And you were also trying to bump her up in prey size rather quickly (if I'm remembering the details correctly).

Sounds to me like she's finally decided to let her body "catch up" with all the food she received early on.

My recommendation would be not to handle her at all until she feeds for you again, and wait at least two weeks before offering any food to her again.

Once she starts eating again, get her on a routine of only being fed once every seven days, and remember that smaller meals really are better, and more than enough to sustain healthy growth (and avoid fasts).

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Originally Posted by rabernet

Barry, if I remember correctly, you were feeding her an awful lot when you first got her (like every three days, right?).

And you were also trying to bump her up in prey size rather quickly (if I'm remembering the details correctly).

Sounds to me like she's finally decided to let her body "catch up" with all the food she received early on.

My recommendation would be not to handle her at all until she feeds for you again, and wait at least two weeks before offering any food to her again.

Once she starts eating again, get her on a routine of only being fed once every seven days, and remember that smaller meals really are better, and more than enough to sustain healthy growth (and avoid fasts).

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Up until her first shed she was getting food about every 4-5 days yeah.. but after her first shed it was once every 7/8 days.. the last 3 feedings she has refused, with 7 days between each one. i have not held her at all, and I even kept a cloth around her tank in an effort to make her feel a bit more secure

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Originally Posted by JLC

Try feeding her inside her own home???

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ive tried feeding her inside her home and her feeding box, on alternating occasions.. first week tried in her box, then her home, then box, and home last night.. she just skitters away or coils up.. although it seemed like she did strike at the mouse but didnt bite it or anything

i dont know:confused:

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Originally Posted by bchapman

ive tried feeding her inside her home and her feeding box, on alternating occasions.. first week tried in her box, then her home, then box, and home last night.. she just skitters away or coils up.. although it seemed like she did strike at the mouse but didnt bite it or anything

i dont know:confused:

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Is that her in your avatar?

-adam

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Originally Posted by Adam_Wysocki

Is that her in your avatar?

-adam

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yeah it is

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Originally Posted by bchapman

yeah it is

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Well since I can't see her or her setup in person, all I can do is guess ... if her environment is correct ( 82-84 on one side, 92-94 on the other, humidity 50% - 60%, all measured with a digital thermometer/hygrometer ... and she has ample small tight hides) ... based on that picture I would have to agree with Robin and suspect that she has been overfed (in my experience, that is a huge rat for a ball python that size) and her body is just "catching up" ... if it were me, I would wait about 3 weeks and then offer her either a chub or a small weaned rat.

Just my $.02

-adam

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Originally Posted by Adam_Wysocki

Well since I can't see her or her setup in person, all I can do is guess ... if her environment is correct ( 82-84 on one side, 92-94 on the other, humidity 50% - 60%, all measured with a digital thermometer/hygrometer ... and she has ample small tight hides) ... based on that picture I would have to agree with Robin and suspect that she has been overfed (in my experience, that is a huge rat for a ball python that size) and her body is just "catching up" ... if it were me, I would wait about 3 weeks and then offer her either a chub or a small weaned rat.

Just my $.02

-adam

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The mouse in that picture looks much bigger than it actually is.. She was MUCH wider in girth than the mouse in that picture..

Her temps are 94.9 on warm side / 82.3 on cool.. she has two hides (half logs that are blocked off at one end.. if i pick the log up, she usually comes up with it - that is how tight she fits in them) her humidity is about 50-55% at any given time

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Originally Posted by bchapman

Her temps are 94.9 on warm side / 82.3 on cool.. she has two hides (half logs that are blocked off at one end.. if i pick the log up, she usually comes up with it - that is how tight she fits in them) her humidity is about 50-55% at any given time

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Yup ... sounds like she's just catching up ... wait 3 weeks and offer her a hopper mouse.

-adam

are you feeding dead or live??

if ur feeding dead then try live and vice versa and maybe try dangling the mouse in front of the snake...thats just my 2 cents, im far from an expert tho

well i went to check on julius again last night, and it appears that she is about ready to shed any hour now.. would this be why she was refusing feedings? do they get a 'that time of the month' type thing when a shed is coming on?

please forgive the expression, i just can't think of an analogy that works as well

:fork:

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Originally Posted by bchapman

well i went to check on julius again last night, and it appears that she is about ready to shed any hour now.. would this be why she was refusing feedings? do they get a 'that time of the month' type thing when a shed is coming on?

please forgive the expression, i just can't think of an analogy that works as well

:fork:

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lol. I'd say if she was "having her time of month" she'd be pigging out. But I see what your saying:oops: I have noticed with my big boys that they will not eat when they're ready to shed. Sometimes miss 1-2 meals, nothing to worry about. Missing 3 is fine especailly since they can go months without eating and without having any problems. I bet she may also be constipated. My Bp went off feed for 2 feedings and I noticd he didnt even poo'd during those 2 wks. But then on the 15th day out comes the horse. lol:rolleyes: and a day later he ate. So it may be because he is sheding (probably is the reason) or another is no poo comming out of his bum. Also if you fed live the mouse could've bitten the snake making the snake afraid of the food. This happens sometimes and to correct the problem you need to feed f/t or stunned mice. But I prefer f/t because I have never had a problem this way.:)

i havent seen her poop in a while... how do i get her to poop? i suppose milk of magnesia or an enema is out of the question? :)

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Originally Posted by bchapman

...i suppose milk of magnesia or an enema is out of the question? :)

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eehhhhhyeah. Definitely out of the question. Snakes don't poop on the same schedule as mammals...or anything even close to it. It really varies from snake to snake, but they can easily go 6-8 weeks without pooping and be fine. They just go when they're ready to.

If you're really concerned or freaked out about it...you can try letting the snake soak in a bath of water about 80-85 degrees, not deep enough to cover her back. Sometimes they'll go while soaking. But not always.

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Originally Posted by JLC

eehhhhhyeah. Definitely out of the question. Snakes don't poop on the same schedule as mammals...or anything even close to it. It really varies from snake to snake, but they can easily go 6-8 weeks without pooping and be fine. They just go when they're ready to.

If you're really concerned or freaked out about it...you can try letting the snake soak in a bath of water about 80-85 degrees, not deep enough to cover her back. Sometimes they'll go while soaking. But not always.

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i don't think she likes water... :) i have never seen her soak in her water, and she always tries to get out of the water baths i have given her

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Originally Posted by bchapman

i don't think she likes water... :) i have never seen her soak in her water, and she always tries to get out of the water baths i have given her

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i had to put my bp in a bath when I was treating him for mites, and he just hated it! poor thing liked it even less when I started spraying him lol

good luck with the feeding though (mine refused his last meal too, shedding)

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Originally Posted by Sapphire7

Also if you fed live the mouse could've bitten the snake making the snake afraid of the food. This happens sometimes and to correct the problem you need to feed f/t or stunned mice.

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Huh?

-adam

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Originally Posted by bchapman

i don't think she likes water... :) i have never seen her soak in her water, and she always tries to get out of the water baths i have given her

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My boys are the same way. It's like taking a 5 year old to the dentist to get them to soak! I finally gave up and got a round tupperware container,
punched holes in the lid, and that's what I use.
I clean out my kitchen sink, get the water the right temp and put a little in the bowl. Then I put the snake in, and put the lid on. I stop up the sink and run warm water around the bowl every few minutes to help keep the temp the same. And, I only soak them like this for about 20 minutes.
When either of my boys starts to shed, I use this technique and I've had a lot of luck with it. Just remember that 5 seconds is all it takes for something to happen....never leave your baby unattended while soaking! ;)

Adam-

Can I assume from the "huh" response that there may be no truth to the "bit and scared" theory?? Only reason I ask is because I have heard the same thing.

We recently "rescued" 2 BPs from a HORRIBLE owner. One is a larger 4 footer, and 1 is a slightly smaller 3 footer. Anyway, the lady we got them from said that somewhere along the way, the smaller was bitten (or attacked or something) by a rat, and ever since will have nothing to do with rats so she has been feeding it only mice.

Not wanting to change its routine....we fed it mice. It ate 2 mice back-to-back last Tuesday...then 3 days later was acting hungry (had that "on the prowl" look) so we offered it another mouse...and it snatched it right up. This makes me think it could definitely do with a small rat instead of mice. But if it has been bitten by a rat....can it be "afraid" and refuse them? Or should I just give her a small rat and see?....

Thanks!

-BT

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Originally Posted by Adam_Wysocki

Huh?

-adam

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When I first got my rtb they fed her jumbo rats and oneday her previous owner didnt think anything would happen and she was bitten. And they sold her to me because after that she became a problem feeder. She is still beautiful even though she has a scar and I fixed her eating problem. Some snakes will be frightened of live prey if they are hurt by their food source. Luckily at the tim eI still bred rats and had rats. So I stunned one of them and she took to the "none moving rat" and ate fine after that. Then the next meal I fed f/t and she was fine. She was 5ft then (dont know why she was on jumbos, mediums were fine for her every8-10days)