I need help. Im going crazy!

[OutOfTouch]

My 4 and a half year old female bp wont eat. I know that they are common for going periods of time without eating. But I got her when she was 3 and she was eating for a while and then about 10-12 months ago she stopped eating. Its driving me nuts. Ive tried EVERYTHING. Ive tried feeding her colored, white, and dead mice. Shes always ate live though. Ive tried feeding her a dead mouse with chicken broth on it and also put her in a paper bag with a dead mouse over night to see if she would eat it. But everytime Ive got no response and she shows no interest in it.

I got her a mate about 4 months ago. I keep them in the same cage. He eats prefectly fine. And Im pretty sure that hes not the reason why she has stopped eating because she wasnt eating before I got him anyways. Im also afraid that she might be pregnant. One of her spurs are missing and Insomnia (female) and Narcolepsy (male) have been sticking together like glue (they never use to). Is there a sure fine way of telling if shes pregnant?

Im sorry for bothering all of you but Ive tried asking a lot of people. The only vet I can go to says that it will cost me 250 dollars to get her checked on to see why she wont eat and I just dont have THAT much money. But please if you have any answers or tips reply back. It would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks for you time,
Jamie

[Kori]

Jamie,
I'm the last person to give you any professional advice but there are several people that will be glad to help you, just keep checking back and you'll get some great advice, I did.

[emroul]

Hi Jamie, Welcome here. And don't worry, you're not "bothering" anyone, I'm sure.

Anyway, just a thought. You never mentioned rats, have you tried feeding her rats instead of mice? She could just be a weird one. There is no way of knowing for sure if she is pregnant or not unless you begin to notice she lay "inverted" or "upside down" (belly up). This does usually mean she has ovulated, and is gravid. But I would doubt it if you haven't witnessed any copulation.

Get back to me.
Jennifer

[Mike]

well...if your housing a mature male, and a mature female togehter and your husbandry is near correct...shes probably pregnant. has she gotten fatter even though she hasnt eaten? let her crawl through your hands and GENTLY press two finger on her belly. see if you can feel a series of bumps in her belly. if shes pregant you will feel those bumps (which are eggs)
if you are trying to get her to eat (which probably wont happen while shes gravid) you shouldnt keep her in the same cage with another snake. it might not be obvious but it is stressful to both of them. they can also transfer disease or parasites to eachother much easier.
if you can confirm that she is gravid you should go buy an incubator. 10-12 months is a long time....but i guess if shes still not losing weight then shes ok. whats your setup like...what are your cage temps (hot end/cool end/night time)? do you have several hides throughtout the cage for both snakes? how big is your cage?

[Wizill]

such picky eaters. don't worry Jamie, i got one like her...

[OutOfTouch]

Thank you to everyone that replied back. It helped.

I never really thought about feeding her rats because she seemed to be fine with just eat a mouse every one to two weeks. But I think that I might try that and if she doesnt eat it the store that I go to will take it back and give me store credit. I havent noticed her laying with her belly facing up. But now Im just curious on how she lost one of her spurs then if shes not pregnant.

I havent really noticed her getting fatter but she hasnt lost any weight. The cage that I have for them is a 35 gallon tank (I think) its 36x18. The temp is normally between 82 and 90 through the whole day and night. I have a heat lamp on through the whole day and night too unless it gets too hot. I have a big hiding box that my male likes to go behind and my female normally goes inside. But lately shes been bathing a lot in the water.

Well I guess that Ive come to the conclusing that she is most likely not pregnant. Thanks guys .

-Jamie

[emroul]

Well, just some FYI, the spur being broken off really has nothing to do with fertility. It's almost like braking a finger nail. (except spurs don't grow back). So, that really has nothing to do with it. And a little further FYI, I would check her over JUST in case, for mites. Sometimes when they spend a lot of time soaking, this could be a factor. Otherwise, she probably just likes to soak, Since your temps sound right, she shouldn't be overheating. (I'm assuming your talking about 82 on the cool side and 90 on the warm side). I would give them two hides, so the other isn't out of a hide.

Just keep an eye out for eggs. I almost want to suggest that you give her an egg laying box just in case. If she doesn't have one of these, she may decide there is no where "good enough" to lay her eggs, and will retract from the process. This is called becoming egg-bound. If not dealt with, she could die. If you would like more info on an egg laying box, PM me or post here.

Jennifer

[Andariel]

Your tank sounds like a 40 Breeder. I have one and its 36X18X16. Nice sized tank.

-Chris

[Andariel]

BTW, THanks for confirming that females have spurs. I still hold out hope that my Andariel is a chick I gotta find someone in town that can probe her for me.

-Chris

[emroul]

Andariel, did you buy her from someone who sold her to you as a female?