Please, please help me feed this ridiculously picky creature.

[smakemom]

so, afraid of mice and you can't get rats, afraid of tongs, and won't eat f/t. Sounds hopeless, good luck.

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lmao

[Absololol]

To be honest 185g does sound on the small side if you're certain he's 8 months old, so I understand why you're worried. I would be too. The good news is that snakes will almost never starve themselves to death - if they've eaten before they won't forget how to eat. If you're worried about his spine, do you have any pictures? It might be easier to judge the urgency of the situation for the folks here with lots of experiences with tricky eaters and those who go on these long fasts.

Hatchlings might never thrive but I'd expect an eight month old snake without any underlying problems to be able to continue eating. Remember that their metabolisms are super slow - a few days at this point without any contact or attempts at all will be a benefit for him stress wise.

Good luck with everything.

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[smakemom]

To be honest 185g does sound on the small side if you're certain he's 8 months old, so I understand why you're worried. I would be too. The good news is that snakes will almost never starve themselves to death - if they've eaten before they won't forget how to eat. If you're worried about his spine, do you have any pictures? It might be easier to judge the urgency of the situation for the folks here with lots of experiences with tricky eaters and those who go on these long fasts.

Hatchlings might never thrive but I'd expect an eight month old snake without any underlying problems to be able to continue eating. Remember that their metabolisms are super slow - a few days at this point without any contact or attempts at all will be a benefit for him stress wise.

Good luck with everything.

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I purchased him back in January, and he was about a month old then, so if my math doesn't fail me I'd say he's definitely about 8 months. I will be trying to leave him completely alone for a few days. And I don't have any recent pictures of him, as I haven't been getting him out much. I don't think there's too much I can do even if he's got a bit of a poky spine, is there?

[Absololol]

Yeah if you don't have any I wouldn't take him out now to be honest. Just try to completely ignore him for those days whilst you wait unless you need to clean out poop.

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[Mr. Misha]

I know you said that the sides are covered with some sort of transparent paper but it seems like you have a very scares BP so you want to make him feel as secure as possible.

Personally, I'd suggest moving him out of that large enclosure into a 20 gallon but don't know if that's available to you. A smaller enclosure should make him feel more secure and will also help you with heating issues.

Considering that the terrarium is on the floor, you have to really monitor the temps to make sure that they're not falling down even more during the night. Like someone already mentioned, your temps are very low. I'd suggest keeping the cool side at minimum of 80. You may also want to cover the top of the enclosure that doesn't have the CHEs with acrylic plexi glass. This should help with heat and humidity loss.

I'd also cover the back and sides with black or dark construction paper or something along that line to provide him additional security.

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[smakemom]

I know you said that the sides are covered with some sort of transparent paper but it seems like you have a very scares BP so you want to make him feel as secure as possible.

Personally, I'd suggest moving him out of that large enclosure into a 20 gallon but don't know if that's available to you. A smaller enclosure should make him feel more secure and will also help you with heating issues.

Considering that the terrarium is on the floor, you have to really monitor the temps to make sure that they're not falling down even more during the night. You may want to cover the top of the enclosure that doesnt have the CHEs on the with an acrylic plexi glass this should help with heat and humidity loss.

I'd also cover the back and sides with black or dark construction paper or something along that line to provide him additional security.

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He is no longer on the floor. He’s on a desk now. The floor was a temporary situation. The two quadrants without heaters has tinfoil covering it shiny side down atm. Also I would like to avoid changing his tank because he’s gone thru a few tank swaps already. I think consistency is key at this point. The tank is full of greenery and hides and i would rather add more decor to improve security than put him back in a smaller tank. also, the paper is translucent (light passes thru but not image) not transparent.

[rlditmars]

Can't say this will work for you but I had one snake that would only eat animals that were warmed to proper temps and then simply left for her. If I presented it, she backed away or did defensive strikes. So one day I just got tired of it and decided to leave it overnight. To my surprise, it was gone. Had to do that for a few months and even then it was occasionally hit or miss. She is now taking live rats regularly. I know you say you can't get live rats but perhaps once it gets eating regularly, you'll find something that works. Good luck.

[Zincubus]

Sorry , I haven’t time to read through all the above replies but the fact that he has/does occasionally eat for you is very encouraging to me ..

I also only skimmed through your lengthy opening post .. anyways try this method one day .

I leave the frozen mouse/ rat to defrost for hours , very near to the snake’s viv .
Then wait until evening and feed a very warm mouse/rat in dim/low light .

In my experience, It’s the details that make the difference in this method . Royals are nocturnal so feed evenings.. they use their heat pits and that’s where the dim light and WARM mouse come into play . The rodent smell is vital as well so I NEVER soak them in water .. some people have success by wiping hamster /rodent bedding all over the mouse/rat so that shows their smell can make a difference.

So down to the details ..

In dim light , wait until the snake is well settled UNDER a hide then give the mouse/rat’s head a really good blast with the hairdryer and INSTANTLY dangle it in front of the hide entrance .. they normally grab it instantly but as long as they keep showing interest you just keep reheating and dangling until they take it . You have to offer it INSTANTLY whilst it’s still warm to let their heat pits work.

Good luck. !


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[Craiga 01453]

All of this has been done over the course of a few months, I haven’t been doing this day by day lol. Also, he’s only 8 months old, not an adult. I’ll try bringing the temps up. I haven’t been handling him much at all but I will bring the amount of handling down to zero.

Forgot to reply with quote. This is in response to Craiga 01453.

Apologies, I thought I read he was an adult.

Still get those cool side temps up and be consistent with your offerings. Consistency is key.

[GoingPostal]

You need to fix the enclosure and temps first, that's probably 99% of your issue right there. Large open tank with fluctuating temps and humidity that are too low. I second or third putting him in a smaller tub setup with a heat mat, get his surroundings at proper levels, let him adjust and then try live. If he's eaten before there should be no need to force feed or try a million tricks.