Not Eating

My snake has been refusing to eat lately. It's been about a month now, but I've never had problems with her before. So I'm getting worried. She does have scale rot right now, and I'm hoping that she's just stressed out from that and doesn't have some internal problem. I've offered her a mouse today and yesterday, but no luck. She stalks the heck out of it and "S" positions, but as soon as it comes near her she shies away. But then, she goes right back to stalking it. Any input?

Going of feed can be due to several reasons, seasonal, husbandry, health etc, the most important is to monitor your BP’s weight and see if there anything that could be done for your BP to resume feeding!

Often sick BP will stop eating, which is understandable.

Also whenever you have a refusal do not offer the next day, it only contributes to more stress which lead to more refusal.

Can you give us info on her setup? Temps, humidity, type & size of enclosure, hides, type of thermometer used etc? (Pic would be great too)

How big is your BP?

How often do you handle your BP?

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Deborah

Going of feed can be due to several reasons, seasonal, husbandry, health etc, the most important is to monitor your BP’s weight and see if there anything that could be done for your BP to resume feeding!

Often sick BP will stop eating, which is understandable.

Also whenever you have a refusal do not offer the next day, it only contributes to more stress which lead to more refusal.

Can you give us info on her setup? Temps, humidity, type & size of enclosure, hides, type of thermometer used etc? (Pic would be great too)

How big is your BP?

How often do you handle your BP?

---

Because she's sick, I've got her in 10G right now on white paper towel with a log hide and water dish. UTH, day bulb, temps around 85, humidity at about 55-60%. I keep the front side covered with a towel so she doesn't me or the dogs walking by; the back is to the wall and the sides are mostly covered. I handle her for about an hour every day, and I've always done this; i haven't had eating problems until recently, however. She's about 2.5 ft and around 1 year old; not sure on the weight but I can tell that she isn't too skinny.

First I would recommend you to provide 2 hides, they must be tight and identical (Log hides do not really provide enough security so I would avoid those)

You also need to offer temp gradients 80-84 on the cool side and 90-94 on the warm side.

Do you measure your temps and humidity with a DIGITAL thermometer/hygrometer? If you don’t already do so I would also recommend you to buy a digital thermometer/hygrometer (dial and stick are not accurate)

And keep in mind because you have always done something or house an animal in the same conditions does not mean that over time it does not cause problems.

And most importantly no more handling unless ABSOLUTELY necessary, at least until your BP resumes feeding and start eating with consistency.

Make a few changes, wait a week (NO handling) and offer food.

Ok, thanks for the input!

Yeah, I probably wouldn't handle a sick snake anymore than neccesary. Especially if he quit eating!

If I recall you just took your two snakes to the vet and found out they had belly rot. I would only assume that they won't eat because they feel like crap right now. Wait a week until those antibiotics start working, then try feeding. My 2 cents

Well i definitely haven't been handling her NEAR as much while she's sick. Mainly only 5-10 minutes a day for her betadine bath, then maybe a few minutes afterward. But definitely no more than that. My male has been eating fine. he ate 3 mice this week, which is more than normal. But he hadn't eaten for like 3 weeks before then, so he was hungry. Also, his rot is no where near as severe as my female's either.

I wouldn't worry about her not eating, its gotta be because of her sickness. Do you have any idea how much she weighs? If she's good and healthy (weight wise) 2 or 3 weeks off food isn't too bad, is she getting shots too? Fortaz or anything like that?

Im really not sure what her exact weight is, but she still looks healthy. Not "plump" by any means, but normal. And yes she is on shots at the moment; one every 3 days.

does she eat FT at all? maybe try a PK or FT left right outside her hide. she may feel more shy of late because of the illness. Mine usually don't mind me watching them hunt and eat, but sometimes they need some privacy! :) good luck!