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  1. #1
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    Doesn't Want To Eat...

    So for the first time in her life Xena has stopped eating Up until the beginning of November I couldn't seem to fill her up! 5-7 days after a large FT rat and she was tracking the glass and striking at anything that moved, by day 10 she would pull her lighting down, rip up her probes and on one occasion smashed through the vent and went for an adventure around the house!
    Now I can't get her to eat anything?! We changed rat suppliers (back to ones we'd used previously) and she didn't seem keen but she's never been fussy like that so I kept trying knowing she'd eat if she really was hungry! But it's been nearly 2 months and she's only had 1 or 2 feeds? She is so active and seems to be hunting but when I get her a rat she just looks at it and tries to go past it!
    Is this normal? Is she looking for a male? How long will this hunger strike last?! I'm used to my BP being off his food but this is the first time it's happened with Xena and it's got me worried! Any advice would be appreciated!

    Sent from my E5823 using Tapatalk

  2. #2
    BPnet Senior Member Sonny1318's Avatar
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    Let me get this straight, you are feeding large rats every five to seven days? And you wonder why she is taking a break? Would love to know the weight and age.
    1.0 Black Pastel Pinstripe
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  4. #3
    Registered User Weremey59's Avatar
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    My females do the same thing sometimes. They will slam food like she has never seen it before for about a month then fast. I wouldnt worry as long as her housing is correct. My one female went 6 months without eating at one point. It can be very worry some but dont fret, they will decide when they want to start feeding again. Sounds to me as she is cruising for a male.

  5. #4
    Bogertophis's Avatar
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    Could she have been exposed to anything toxic (like pesticide on floors) when she was roaming?
    I was also wondering about the amount of food compared to the size & metabolism of the snake...?

  6. #5
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    Re: Doesn't Want To Eat...

    Probably should have included her age, weight and size  she is just over 3.5 years old, weighs around 2.5kg and is just over 7.5ft long.
    Sonny - Like I said I know she was eating quite frequently for her age but as I tried to hold her out she was destroying her vivarium, could have caused herself harm by striking at the glass, pulling her lighting down, messing with her probes which in turn changed her temperatures... As soon as I fed her this behaviour stopped, I was doing what I thought was best for her. I sought advice from her breeder and he said he'd rather feed more often than too large prey size so I followed that advice.
    Weremey - I thought this might be the case given her age and size she may be coming into breeding size. Just wanted advice from experienced people with carpet females this age. As she's my first 😊
    Bogertophis - I am pretty sure that she wouldn't have been exposed to anything dangerous, it was over a month ago and she has seemed completely herself since and has shed in that time too. Like I said above she's just over 7.5ft and around 2.5kg and the rats are 200-250g in weight and she has a visible lump for around 24-36 hours after feeding.


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  7. #6
    Registered User Weremey59's Avatar
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    I didnt read the large rat thing, I would agree.

  8. #7
    BPnet Lifer Reinz's Avatar
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    Re: Doesn't Want To Eat...

    Quote Originally Posted by FlowerKez View Post
    So for the first time in her life Xena has stopped eating Up until the beginning of November I couldn't seem to fill her up! 5-7 days after a large FT rat and she was tracking the glass and striking at anything that moved, by day 10 she would pull her lighting down, rip up her probes and on one occasion smashed through the vent and went for an adventure around the house!
    Now I can't get her to eat anything?! We changed rat suppliers (back to ones we'd used previously) and she didn't seem keen but she's never been fussy like that so I kept trying knowing she'd eat if she really was hungry! But it's been nearly 2 months and she's only had 1 or 2 feeds? She is so active and seems to be hunting but when I get her a rat she just looks at it and tries to go past it!
    Is this normal? Is she looking for a male? How long will this hunger strike last?! I'm used to my BP being off his food but this is the first time it's happened with Xena and it's got me worried! Any advice would be appreciated!

    Sent from my E5823 using Tapatalk
    If I remember correctly, you have a stunning Jag?

    I have two female Coastals, one is 5 and the other is 8. The 5 year old started getting finicky between 3.5 and 4 years from September and into the Spring. My 8 year old does the same, but I don’t know when she began doing it since I obtained her when she was 5. My 5 year old Male rarely skips a meal.

    Now my 5 year old female Jungle has never missed a meal. The 6 year old Male Jungle skips meals from September to Spring.

    I dont think you have anything to worry about.
    The one thing I found that you can count on about Balls is that they are consistent about their inconsistentcy.

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    Please excuse the spelling in my posts. Auto-Correct is my worst enema.

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  10. #8
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    Re: Doesn't Want To Eat...

    You do remember correctly she is a Coastal, axanthic jag, possibly caramel 👍

    Thank you so much for the reassurance! I only have a BP male to compare to and he eats for no longer than 60% of the year! 😂 I guess I'll have to get the other half to re-design her viv and make it more destruction proof!

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    Bogertophis (12-24-2018),Dianne (12-30-2018),Reinz (12-24-2018)

  12. #9
    BPnet Lifer Reinz's Avatar
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    Doesn't Want To Eat...

    Quote Originally Posted by FlowerKez View Post
    Probably should have included her age, weight and size  she is just over 3.5 years old, weighs around 2.5kg and is just over 7.5ft long.
    Sonny - Like I said I know she was eating quite frequently for her age but as I tried to hold her out she was destroying her vivarium, could have caused herself harm by striking at the glass, pulling her lighting down, messing with her probes which in turn changed her temperatures... As soon as I fed her this behaviour stopped, I was doing what I thought was best for her. I sought advice from her breeder and he said he'd rather feed more often than too large prey size so I followed that advice.
    Weremey - I thought this might be the case given her age and size she may be coming into breeding size. Just wanted advice from experienced people with carpet females this age. As she's my first
    Bogertophis - I am pretty sure that she wouldn't have been exposed to anything dangerous, it was over a month ago and she has seemed completely herself since and has shed in that time too. Like I said above she's just over 7.5ft and around 2.5kg and the rats are 200-250g in weight and she has a visible lump for around 24-36 hours after feeding.


    Sent from my E5823 using Tapatalk
    Carpets can surprise you with how large a prey that they can take. I’m not saying to throw caution to the wind on Carpets, but it’s ok to experiment within reason. If the prey item IS TOO big then she will regurgitate it. Not good, but not devastating either. All 3 of my Coastals are 8 footers and take XL/Jumbo rats.

    Lizzy, CCP. Finicky Fall/Winter

    Mack, good eater


    Etta, CCP. Finicky in fall/Winter

    My Jungles are 7 or more feet long and take large rats. However my female is a bit like Xena. She still begs for hours after her meal. And basically stays in hunting mode until her next meal 3.5-4 weeks later. I am seriously considering moving her up to an XL/Jumbo to calm her down. Here’s my reasoning:

    My 17 year old female BP used to be very food aggressive after eating. She would do the hovering S and track me for days, even after 4 medium rats! Obviously giving more did not help. Though members here tought I was nuts, I moved her up to 1 XL/Jumbo monthly. That satiated her and cured the food aggression. After a year I backed her down to a large rat monthly. Yes I was overfeeding with the XL, but see has always fasted for 6-9 months anyway.

    Esmarelda, JCP, a pure pig!

    Just some food for thought. Remember, everything is is not engraved in stone. Guidelines are just guidelines, not hard fast rules.
    Last edited by Reinz; 12-24-2018 at 04:47 PM.
    The one thing I found that you can count on about Balls is that they are consistent about their inconsistentcy.

    1.2 Coastal Carpet Pythons
    Mack The Knife, 2013
    Lizzy, 2010
    Etta, 2013
    1.1 Jungle Carpet Pythons
    Esmarelda , 2014
    Sundance, 2012
    2.0 Common BI Boas, Punch, 2005; Butch, age?
    0.1 Normal Ball Python, Elvira, 2001
    0.1 Olive (Aussie) Python, Olivia, 2017

    Please excuse the spelling in my posts. Auto-Correct is my worst enema.

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    Bogertophis (12-24-2018),FlowerKez (12-24-2018),Gio (12-30-2018),MR Snakes (12-24-2018),Sonny1318 (12-25-2018)

  14. #10
    Bogertophis's Avatar
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    Re: Doesn't Want To Eat...

    Quote Originally Posted by FlowerKez View Post
    ...by day 10 she would pull her lighting down, rip up her probes and...
    Your probes really oughta be on the outside of the enclosure...

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    MR Snakes (12-24-2018)

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