My KSB STILL won't eat!!

[SuddenEclipse]

So my KSB is on his 5th day of hunger strike. I am trying every other day and not messing with him much. He was such a great eater when I got him, eating 1-2 f/t fuzzies a week. Now he shows no interest.

Also, if I hold him to his water, he will drink for a long time. Skin is a tad ghosty, but not that ghosty yet if he's thinking about shedding.

He is in a 30 gallon tank by himself. I have an UTH in a little section for him, which he always chooses to bury himself at. I took the temp of it today and it was at 93, so I turned it down just a bit. I can't imagine that being the problem since he can go anywhere and pick his temp. He is in about 4 inches of aspen bedding.

When I get him out his tongue flickers and he seems fine, strong, moves around a little bit, seems pleasant. But he won't eat!!!! He LOVES to drink the water and then dunks his head under it. whyyyyyy?????

[muddoc]

Turn up the heat. Provide him with a hot spot of about 100 - 102 degrees. I bet once you give him that extra heat that he needs, you will be amazed at how well he eats.

[Trolle]

they can be difficult eaters,dont force em tho
but if you are giving him 2 fuzzies a week try feeding him bigger preys
instead of fuzzies im giving mine hoppers and some who refused to eat started eating again just because of the bigger pray

[Daybreaker]

100-102 degrees seems like a bit too hot IMO, but I'm not familar with Kenyans so I won't comment too much more on that. I would imagine though that he could potentially get burned at those degrees if he's able to burrow directly over the UTH on the glass.

I think you're trying to feed too often and this might be stressing him out. Instead of every other day, try every 5 days to every week to give him more time inbetween to destress and relax.

If you don't have one already, I'd pick up a digital scale and monitor his weight to make sure he isn't loosing a significant amount. If he steadily looses weight I would look into trying live if you're giving him F/T.

[muddoc]

100-102 degrees seems like a bit too hot IMO, but I'm not familar with Kenyans so I won't comment too much more on that. I would imagine though that he could potentially get burned at those degrees if he's able to burrow directly over the UTH on the glass.

If you are not familiar with KSB, then why are you commenting on advice given?

I have been keeping KSB for about 4 years now. I have successfully bred them. With that said, I was having some issues with my animals breeding for the last 2 years, and specifically some issues with my males eating for the last year or so. Specifically they would kill the prey item, but not eat. So, I gave a good friend of mine a call one day (he happens to be one of the foremost breeders of KSB in the country and has been breeding them since 1979). He told me that my hot spot of 95 was too cool. He recommended I bump it up to between 100 and 105. Within one week, my KSB males starting eating like champs, and my females even seemed to bit a bit more active in their tubs and appeared to be thermoregulating more than they used to (i.e. moving around the tub more, rather than staying in one spot).

Every species of snake comes from a different location and has a different reuirement. I see from your species list in your signature, that you don't really keep any animals that come from the more extreme environments, such as KSB, Diamond Pythons or Coxi for example. All snakes cannot be kept at 80-90 degrees.

I hope that helps,

[SuddenEclipse]

I have a digital thermometer that I put in (that's how I knew the temp to begin with.) I just didn't want him to get burned on the glass. I bumped it up. He has a large enough tank to get to go however warm or cool he wants. I just didn't want him to get burned.

I will wait to feed him again until Sunday afternoon.

[SuddenEclipse]

Okay the temp now is 101.2 on the UTH. I touched it, and while it is very warm it is not anything that's going to burn him or anything. I can rest my hand on the glass that rests on it just fine. AND his spot to hang on was not directly over the UTH but the spot right next to it. So I guess that's good, he is deciding his own temps.

[muddoc]

Okay the temp now is 101.2 on the UTH. I touched it, and while it is very warm it is not anything that's going to burn him or anything. I can rest my hand on the glass that rests on it just fine. AND his spot to hang on was not directly over the UTH but the spot right next to it. So I guess that's good, he is deciding his own temps.

That sounds perfect. I bet he will start eating again soon. However, if he doesn't eat the next meal, be patient. It may take a week or two for him to adjust to the new environment.

Keep us updated,

[Daybreaker]

If you are not familiar with KSB, then why are you commenting on advice given?

Because, like I mentioned in my post, I was just stating what I thought which was that it would seem like they could still get burned at that temperature. I never mentioned I was an expert on the species, no. I just wanted to point out the possibility of a burn, as I'm sure even though Kenyans might be more "hardy" when it comes to heat I would imagine they can still be susceptible to a burn.