Legitimate "not eating" thread

[Erratum]

Hey all,

My BP hasn't eaten for about 6 months so I figured it was time to get some opinions. Some background info:

She's just shy of 2 years old.

I got her when she was approx. 8 months old. For the first 5 months she ate with absolutely no difficulties. I even got her to eat on the second day I bought her.

When she was about 13 months old, she started to get a little bit picky. Skipping feeding times. At about 15 months old, she stopped taking the young adult rats. I tried mice and all of a sudden she was eating great again. Taking 2 or even 3 adults at a time with no problem. I've always fed her live and have no problems with it.

She stopped eating mice in mid February and hasn't eaten since. My husbandry hasn't changed and is pretty much bang on with recommendations. Her sheds have all been single pieces with no issues. Captive bred, never any health problems.

She was 1.18 kg when she first went off her feeding. She's just starting losing some weight in the last 5 weeks or so. She's lost about 80 grams and is at 1.1 kg right now.

I continue to try an adult mouse every week. I've also tried small rats a few times but to no avail. Rats are a little more aggressive, and tend to make her defensive, so I am sticking with mice until she starts eating again and I can try switching back to rats.

She's been more active in the past few weeks. Roaming around more than before. She takes interest in the mouse scent for a few minutes but then loses it and just starts wandering around, ignoring the mouse.

Opinions? At first I thought maybe she was just going off feed for a few winter months, even though February seemed late, but it's obviously getting late into the summer. I figure it's about the time I start trying to get a little more creative. Maybe a gerbil? Lastly, I have always put the rodent in her enclosure, removed the hide she's not currently in, and let her grab whenever she's comfortable. Should I start trying to hold the mouse in front of her with forceps?

Thanks!

[Homegrownscales]

I wouldn't bother with a gerbil honestly. If you've got a live feeder it's dangerous to put a live gerbil
in the enclosure for feeding. They are notoriously more aggressive, have much sharper teeth, and sharper claws. I'd keep with what she was eating.
A couple questions.
What's your set up like? Tank? Temps? How are you heating? Things like that with AS much detail as possible

Do you know this is an actual female? Males are notorious for breeding fasts. But girls are not exempt. Sometimes they hit the 1000g wall. Which it sounds like yours may be at. It's normal, but something that I've found is to feed weekly smaller meals, and keep them in a smaller enclosure. I keep girls in 15-28qt tubs depending on size. I don't move girls out of the 15 qts until they're a good 1500g. There abouts. It also depends on the female. So you could try a smaller enclosure.

Check out what's new on my website... www.Homegrownscales.com

[Erratum]

Thanks for the response.

I haven't probed her myself, but the breeder I bought from said she was female and he isn't an amateur. Hundreds of snakes.

She's in a terrarium that's 3' x 18" x 18". Her warm side is above a UTH that I have regulated with a rheostat. 90 - 93 F. Her cool side sits at 78-80 F. I use a ceramic bulb elevated above the terrarium to help keep that temperature up, as the AC would drop the low side without it. The bulb is on from 9 am - 9 pm with an exact timer. I haven't seen it drop past 74 F overnight. A little cool at night, occasionally, but she hasn't even been in her cool hide for months. She only leaves her warm hide to roam about.

Substrate is shredded aspen bed. Water dish is quite large and always fresh/full. I haven't measured her humidity with any accurate means but I'm fairly certain it's not an issue. Her water dish is a jumbo one, big enough she could get into, and my room is pretty humid due to my crested gecko being sprayed all the time. I also cover the top of her terrarium with a towel, 66% surface area, which I often dampen to make sure she gets any little extra she needs. Her sheds are also excellent; a single piece with no issues.

Picture linked. Cheers!

http://imageshack.us/f/26/imag0081eo.jpg/

[Slashmaster]

I have one female who started off a lot like yours. She would constantly take down small rats (I got her about a year old). Then she switched to mice, then nothing. I found that if I grab a rat by the tail with forceps and dangle it in front of her, she'll actually strike at it and get it. Otherwise she'll go sniff it, then wander around and around in the tub but never do anything about the rat.

Perhaps try that?

[Foschi Exotic Serpents]

It may be a waste every week but this has worked for me with certain snakes. If overly active rodents tend to make her defensive or more likely to avoid it since her fast, try leaving a prekilled or warmed FT small rat in her enclosure, in front of her hide, over night.

She may not take it but I would do this weekly or alternate between live one week, and prekilled/FT left in front of the hide over night the following week. You may wake up one morning and it's gone.

I have a female that would only take live for 7 years. All of a sudden, she will only take prekilled left at night. If it moves at all, she won't touch it. If it isn't fresh killed, she won't touch it, but she takes it every week now.

[martha1992]

My ball in 19 years old and she went through a phase where she only wanted gerbles and then went to hampsters then back to rats. Try another food type. She also went on a one year fast but I would keep offering food.