Assist feed or no?

[chaddeus71]

Ok so i posted awhile back about my 09 female spider not eating since December 22nd. Well she is still not interested in food. She has shed once in this time,all in one piece and fairly fast. Her weight loss is not noticeable to the eye,and i do not have a scale. her habitat temps are daytime 92-95 warm side,,,and 82 85 cool side,,with around 50% humidity.nightime temps are 75 77 cool side and 82 85 warm side. I have a modified humidifier i use to keep the humidity up and it works great. the size of the enclosure is a 40 gallon breeder, with three sides blacked out. I have a cobra under tank heater on a thermostat under the warm side as well. She comes out of her hides at night and roams around her cage and seems fairly active. When i get her out to handle her she is quite active and doesnt seem to be sick or feeling ill at all. So my question is should i try the assist feeding thing where i put the mouses head in her mouth and gently coax her into swallowing?,or should i just keep on waiting for her to eat on her own?,,,,Oh yeah the last time she ate she ate four live adult mice. the week before that she ate a live weaner rat. So i know she can eat. I dont want to sound like a broken fricken record,,,its just that this is frustrating the hell out of me and i want help my snake if she needs it ya know what i mean?

[dr del]

Hi,

Here are some of the basic things to try that jump out at me from your post.

Stop dropping the temps at night.

Put her in a smaller enclosure.

Buy a $10 food scale for heavens sake. Knowing their weight and how it is fluctuating is the main guide.


dr del

[stratus_020202]

First, I would bump her night time temp up. 82 is way to cool. They are night creatures, so this is the time they are really looking for a warm spot to settle into.

Second, I would get a scale to monitor her weight. That way you know for sure how much she is loosing instead of eyeballing it. It will be much more accurate.

Third, I would get a frozen thawed rat, warm it up really nice, and leave it on her warm side all night.

I had a girl who just broke a 9 month fast, and has eaten two big frozen rats in two weeks! Assist feeding should only be a last resort, after you have tried everything and it's life or death.

Is she sleeping during the day? Or, out roaming a lot?

[chaddeus71]

First, I would bump her night time temp up. 82 is way to cool. They are night creatures, so this is the time they are really looking for a warm spot to settle into.

Second, I would get a scale to monitor her weight. That way you know for sure how much she is loosing instead of eyeballing it. It will be much more accurate.

Third, I would get a frozen thawed rat, warm it up really nice, and leave it on her warm side all night.

I had a girl who just broke a 9 month fast, and has eaten two big frozen rats in two weeks! Assist feeding should only be a last resort, after you have tried everything and it's life or death.

Is she sleeping during the day? Or, out roaming a lot?

During the day She is usually always in the cool side hide,,,until i turn on the humidifier if the humidity gets too low,,,,then she makes a beeline to where i have the mist or fog coming into the cage,,,she for some reason loves the cool humid fog and kicks back under the stream of fog until i turn it off,,,then she goes back into her hide. Yesterday though i noticed she was coiled up outside her hide on the warm side of the enclosure. First time she has ever done that. If i get her out and handle her during the day, when i put her back into her enclosure, she roams all over it for about a half hour,then goes back into her hide to sleep.

[stratus_020202]

That's good that she doesn't seem stressed. I would still bump up the heat a little.

It's strange that she was sleeping outside of her hide on the warm side. Are you sure it's not too big/small? Are both hides the exact same? What are you using as substrate? I usually keep all mine on paper towels, but my little non-eater always wanted to sleep under them. So, I switched her to shavings to make her more comfortable. I'll probably switch back after a few more steady feedings.

Another thing that was suggest by Dave Perkins, was to thaw out a frozen rat and stick it into a paper sack then into her cage. Leave it there overnight. Some snakes just don't like to be watched. Not recommended with live!

Try and see about getting a scale too. Eyeballing my female you wouldn't know she's a non feeder, she just looks young. But, by weighing her, I know she lost 100 grams through the month of May. That's when it's time to worry.

[chaddeus71]

That's good that she doesn't seem stressed. I would still bump up the heat a little.

It's strange that she was sleeping outside of her hide on the warm side. Are you sure it's not too big/small? Are both hides the exact same? What are you using as substrate? I usually keep all mine on paper towels, but my little non-eater always wanted to sleep under them. So, I switched her to shavings to make her more comfortable. I'll probably switch back after a few more steady feedings.

Another thing that was suggest by Dave Perkins, was to thaw out a frozen rat and stick it into a paper sack then into her cage. Leave it there overnight. Some snakes just don't like to be watched. Not recommended with live!

Try and see about getting a scale too. Eyeballing my female you wouldn't know she's a non feeder, she just looks young. But, by weighing her, I know she lost 100 grams through the month of May. That's when it's time to worry.

The substarte i use is Repti Bark. and the hides are both the exact same size and definitely not too small,,,,i will try to post some pics of her setup right now

[chaddeus71]

The substarte i use is Repti Bark. and the hides are both the exact same size and definitely not too small,,,,i will try to post some pics of her setup right now

MAN i cant figure out how to attach some pics,,,,,,what a retard

[dr del]

Hi,

Well the first thing is to get them hosted somewhere online.

You can put them in your gallery here - this tutorial is a bit old but the basic procedure is the same I think.

And here is another one in video form that might also help.

You can also use a site like http://photobucket.com/

They should also have tutorials to help you.

If you still have trouble just ask any member of staff and we will do our best to get you sorted.


dr del

[chaddeus71]

Hi,

Well the first thing is to get them hosted somewhere online.

You can put them in your gallery here - this tutorial is a bit old but the basic procedure is the same I think.

And here is another one in video form that might also help.

You can also use a site like http://photobucket.com/

They should also have tutorials to help you.

If you still have trouble just ask any member of staff and we will do our best to get you sorted.


dr del

Alright thanks alot Dr Del ,,,,the pictures of her setup are now in my gallery,,,along with a picture i took of her today kicking back on the warm side of her enclosure

[wolfy-hound]

I would raise the temps a bit at night, and cover the 3 sides of the tank. Black constructon paper can just be taped on to cover it. Then maybe put some more fake plants in the corners so there's more hiding spots for her to feel really secure.

You could then not handle at all for a week, then try feeding. See if getting her completely secure and relaxed in her home makes her realize it's okay to eat.

You could also try putting humid moss in the hides, so the hides will act as "humid hides" since you say she goes to the fogger when it's on.