Hypo Feeding Problems

I have a little female hypo born 7-16-07 and who has been in my care since 2-26-08. I purchased her from a respected and reputable breeder. I feed every 7 days; though when she was little I fed every 5 days. She is housed in a little 16qt tub with a small water bowl and two small zilla hides.
When she arrived she weighed 176g. She now weighs 210g.

Here's her records:
3-16-08: ate a f/t rat fuzzy (19g)
3-21-08: ate f/t rat fuzzy
3-26-08: ate f/t rat fuzzy
3-31-08: shed and poo and weighed 197g.
4-03-08: refused food
4-08-08: refused food and weighed 186g.
4-13-08: ate a f/t rat fuzzy
4-18-08: ate f/t rat fuzzy and weighed 192g.
4-23-08: ate a f/t rat pup (27g) and weighed 222g.
5-01-08: ate a f/t rat pup
5-04-08: poo'd
5-08-08: ate a f/t rat pup
5-12-08: poo'd and weighed 243g.
5-15-08: refused food
5-16-08: poo'd
5-22-08: refused food
5-29-08: refused food
6-05-08: refused food
6-09-08: weighed 210g.
6-11-08: shed
6-12-08: refused food
6-14-08: refused new prey of f/t mouse hopper.

I am pretty much at my wits end trying to figure out this girl and her eating issues. Any suggestions would really be appreciated. Thanks so much.

Let her be, I have a het pied female and pastel female doing the same thing right now. They are eating on avg every 3-4 weeks. All the others are eating great

But- are yours doing this yo-yo weight thing? Are they similar age?? Are they this little??

I think a small amount of a weight yo-yo is not surprising. However, the drop from 243 just after a poo down to 210 is pretty big. That's close to 15% of her weight.

Have you thought about contacting the breeder to see if they have records from before you got her? If she was very consistent in their facility it might point to something in your set-up or care of her. Not that I think you are doing anything "wrong", but maybe this snake is just extra particular?

Maybe she needs more security? Not just a good hide but a towel over her enclosure?

6qt tub, one 4" clay or plastic planter saucer, newspaper, small water bowl, possibly some balled up newspaper or paper towels.

Stick this whole thing in a dark place, where it remains dark the majority of the time. No handling, change water every couple days.

If you can get a live small adult mouse, try that. Sometimes they just need a few live meals to get back on track, then you can get her back on f/t. Her eating is the main thing and that much weight loss isn't making me feel good.

None of my babies her size have ever refused food, even if they are in shed. Even my Enchi male, who is a shy boy, will still go after his mouse once I close his tub.

Try pre-scenting for a good half hour to an hour with the mouse in a cage next to her tub, in the dark. Use a flashlight, drop the mouse in her tub by the water bowl or on top of her hide, and close the lid. Back away slowly so you don't distub her with movement, and leave the room. Come back in 30 minutes to an hour and see if the mouse is gone. If it is, great! If not, just wait until next week.

Some of my more shy juvies I have in 6qt tubs that are tinted a dark grey. Sterilite sometimes makes different colored tubs throughout the seasons. If you want to try one of these, I can always send you one if you can't find one in your area. I have red ones too.

Also, what are her temps? Higher they are, the hungrier they are going to be :) I keep my babies at 82-84 room temp (ambient) and 94-95 hot spot.

She's in a rack system so a towel is not needed. Also, because it's just a 16qt with 2 hides and a water bowl, there is no left over room!
I'm going to go through my paper work in the morning and read her records from birth- the breeder sent them along with the snake ;)
Awesome suggestion and one that I overlooked :oops:

Oh, and here's a picture of how I set up babies. Others may do it differently, but this is the general consensus of how a hatchling tub looks.

http://i167.photobucket.com/albums/u...PICT0008-3.jpg

http://i167.photobucket.com/albums/u...PICT0009-2.jpg

http://i167.photobucket.com/albums/u...PICT0010-3.jpg

That's the way mine looks Becky except for 2 zilla hides so she can go from the warm end to the cooler end when she wants too. This little one has just been a problem eater for ever. I hate like heck to try her on live because I don't have any way to get live rodents...

Silly me for not mentioning the balled up newspaper trick! But you say there is no room anyway in her enclosure.

Even in a rack I think you could darken her enclosure, either with a tinted tub like Becky mentioned, or just tape a towel or paper to the front of her tub (outside of it obviously with the tape).

When you say this one has been a problem eater for forever, does that mean while she was at the breeder too? In that case, I think I'd be a bit miffed the breeder didn't mention that. Maybe you could call and ask if they remember this particular snake and did they have any tricks that seemed to work with her?

Getting her to eat is the main thing, and that weight loss is a big concern. Babies her size should be eating, alot.

Do you have a way to get live mice? You can always switch her back over later, but getting her eating is your main priority. She can't really afford to lose weight.

I know it's easier having her in a 15qt tub, but she probably feels exposed in there. Try the smaller tub, they can easily thermoregulate just by getting on top of their hide or going next to the water bowl. I know Adam most likely had her in a 6qt baby rack. I've never used the Zilla hides, so I can't comment on those. I've had wonderful luck with the clay and plastic planter saucers. They are round and low to the ground, and the snakes just really take to them.

I have no idea about the live mice issue...except maybe for Petco {shudder}......
What size would I be looking at? And, oh gods, what do I do with it if she refuses???? :weirdface

Quote:

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Originally Posted by SatanicIntention

6qt tub, one 4" clay or plastic planter saucer, newspaper, small water bowl, possibly some balled up newspaper or paper towels.

Stick this whole thing in a dark place, where it remains dark the majority of the time. No handling, change water every couple days.

If you can get a live small adult mouse, try that. Sometimes they just need a few live meals to get back on track, then you can get her back on f/t. Her eating is the main thing and that much weight loss isn't making me feel good.

None of my babies her size have ever refused food, even if they are in shed. Even my Enchi male, who is a shy boy, will still go after his mouse once I close his tub.

Try pre-scenting for a good half hour to an hour with the mouse in a cage next to her tub, in the dark. Use a flashlight, drop the mouse in her tub by the water bowl or on top of her hide, and close the lid. Back away slowly so you don't distub her with movement, and leave the room. Come back in 30 minutes to an hour and see if the mouse is gone. If it is, great! If not, just wait until next week.

Some of my more shy juvies I have in 6qt tubs that are tinted a dark grey. Sterilite sometimes makes different colored tubs throughout the seasons. If you want to try one of these, I can always send you one if you can't find one in your area. I have red ones too.

Also, what are her temps? Higher they are, the hungrier they are going to be :) I keep my babies at 82-84 room temp (ambient) and 94-95 hot spot.

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Oh gods, this post didn't show up when I first checked in! Now I get why you put the pictures in!! Okay, temps: ambient is 82 and hot spot is 92. I'll move her place in the rack so that it is warmer.
So, an adult mouse will not intimidate her or harm her? Sorry for the newb question- dead rats never bite and are hardly intimidating! ;)
Okay, moving tub now....

Change her enclosure and hides, wait a week and let her settle, then offer.

I bought live mice at Petco for quite awhile when I had a small number of snakes. At $2 a pop, it's not cheap, but if she'll eat it, that's what you have right now. As an adult, all she would need are 3 adults, no biggie.

Try a small-medium adult, weighing around 20-25g. If you have to buy it now, and grow it up for a week to ensure it has had proper food and water(and to get a little bigger), that's fine too.

If she refuses, you can either return it to the store, or keep it until the next week.

But really, if their environment is correct and they are happy with it, I've not really seen a live mouse refused(unless you have my first snake Amani, who likes to do this winter fast crap, doofus snake).

Wasn't I just talking about not wanting to be a rodent farmer :weirdface Good grief...:O
Okay... Petco on Monday :gj:
Thanks Becky :hug:

No prob! Honestly, if you can get her in a smaller tub, she would do ALOT better. You can always move her back when she's bigger and more confident.

I've never had a problem with mine being intimidated by the mice. They usually just poke around wondering why they're in a new place(or they don't even touch the floor). Even the little babies who are under 100g don't have any problems. Just whambamthankyouma'am :)

Well, I tried to give you a good rep Becky but the stupid thing says I need to spread it around more...:weirdface
I think it is wrong that rep points can't be given when they are deserved.... :(

Haha! Well, I appreciate the effort anyway ;)

If you have any other questions just ask! I can even take pictures of what my babies your girl's size are eating(and them eating it).

I gave you some rep Becky becuse I have the exakt same problem iwth one of my hypos and this was very helpful! :gj:

I think my 02/03 Hypo male needs to have a talk with ya'lls snakes. He eats me out of house and home.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Mikkla

I gave you some rep Becky becuse I have the exakt same problem iwth one of my hypos and this was very helpful! :gj:

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Thanks so much for giving her rep points!!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by SatanicIntention

I think my 02/03 Hypo male needs to have a talk with ya'lls snakes. He eats me out of house and home.

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Yeah, my 15 other snakes eat really well every single week- just not this girl.... yet ;)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by SatanicIntention

Change her enclosure and hides, wait a week and let her settle, then offer.

I bought live mice at Petco for quite awhile when I had a small number of snakes. At $2 a pop, it's not cheap, but if she'll eat it, that's what you have right now. As an adult, all she would need are 3 adults, no biggie.

Try a small-medium adult, weighing around 20-25g. If you have to buy it now, and grow it up for a week to ensure it has had proper food and water(and to get a little bigger), that's fine too.

If she refuses, you can either return it to the store, or keep it until the next week.

But really, if their environment is correct and they are happy with it, I've not really seen a live mouse refused(unless you have my first snake Amani, who likes to do this winter fast crap, doofus snake).

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I've been having a similar problem and I was directed here. My thread is this one: click?

You said that you haven't seen anyone refuse a live mouse. My snake has refused live every time. :[

Also, this may be a dumb question but if I were to move him from my 20gal to a smaller tub, how on earth do you heat those things?
If I hooked up a lamp I'd be afraid it would melt it or something.

Oh jeez Jess, let me show you another thread that is going on in the boa section. Jimi posted great pictures of how you heat an individual tub. I'm sorry to be directing you all over, but the pictures are really good! The thread is here: http://www.ball-pythons.net/forums/s...t=68935&page=3

Quote:

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Originally Posted by blackcrystal22

You said that you haven't seen anyone refuse a live mouse. My snake has refused live every time. :[

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Becky didn't quite say that. She said IF their environment is correct and they are happy with it, THEN she has never seen a live mouse refused.

Snakes feeling insecure or otherwise unhappy with their environment (temps wrong, humidity too low, no good hides, etc) is a very common reason for feeding refusals.

Woo hoo hoo hoo!!!!!!!!!!!

Went to Petco this evening and picked up a 21g mouse (for $2.49) and took it home. Pre-scented for one hour; long enough for the mouse to chew through the little cardboard box and go scurrying around the half tub. Not to worry, she did not get out and so we picked her up and put her in the Hypo's side of the tub. We were in stealth mode, tippy-toeing and using a tiny flash light pointed away from the snake. We checked back in 30 minutes and the mouse was GONE!!!!

:bow: Thanks so much Becky for the excellent advice. :bow:
I needed to be told to break down and get a darned live mouse; not the end of the frozen/thawed world!!!!! :D

I suppose I'll be doing this for several weeks for her; actually I think I'll be doing this until she puts on a few hundred grams.

A question: Because she is becoming triangular in body shape, should I feed her every 5 days on this size of mouse for the next few weeks??

I wouldn't worry about it. Every 7 days should be fine so you're not shocking her back into non-feed mode. You want her to get comfortable with eating and get aggressive.

My babies get fed every 7 days unless they are under 100g, then it's every 5-6.

I'm so happy for you! :banana:

Okay- will do!! :D
I'll also keep feeding her on a Monday so that she gets only the mouse scent and not the rat scent when I feed the rest of the crew on Thursdays.
Oh, I am so happy Becky!! While I can't give you any rep points, I will give you big hugs :hug: