Vote for BP.Net for the 2013 Forum of the Year! Click here for more info.

» Site Navigation

» Home
 > FAQ

» Online Users: 2,927

0 members and 2,927 guests
No Members online
Most users ever online was 6,337, 01-24-2020 at 04:30 AM.

» Today's Birthdays

None

» Stats

Members: 75,031
Threads: 248,489
Posts: 2,568,446
Top Poster: JLC (31,651)
Welcome to our newest member, isismomma
Results 1 to 9 of 9
  1. #1
    Registered User
    Join Date
    12-24-2019
    Posts
    11
    Thanks
    0
    Thanked 2 Times in 1 Post

    Exclamation bp isn’t eating still! help!

    Hi everyone! A little while back i posted a question about my bp not eating. You guys told me to mainly make sure everything was right and stop feeding him in a separate tank. I began to follow those instructions but he still hasn’t eaten. Today i gave him a live rat off of a vets recommendation and he notices it’s there, but has yet to strike at it at all. I’m really out of ideas and the only option left it seems is to take him to a vet. If there’s anything that can help please share!!!!!

    cage info:

    36x18x12 (30 gal)

    warm side has a heat pad (temp regulated) and a temp that varies from 86-92 with an average of 90
    cool side has a temp that varies from 75-82 with an average of 78

    humidity: my humidity has been giving me a lot of trouble lately in that it hasn’t been staying super consistent. I’ll mist and it’ll spike to like 82% and drop to like 50% within 15 minutes. I would consider this a reason for his fasting but he stopped eating about a month before my humidity started acting weird. Any additional tips on stabilizing it is appreciated as well!!

    snake info:

    around 32 inches long
    486 g (started his fast at around 502 g)
    his fast started around nov 11
    i’ve tried sizing up, frozen rats, in cage feeding, and now a live rat
    ive had pluto for 1 year and 3 months but i think he’s around 2-2.25 years old

  2. #2
    Bogertophis's Avatar
    Join Date
    04-28-2018
    Location
    USA
    Posts
    20,183
    Thanks
    28,085
    Thanked 19,740 Times in 11,797 Posts
    A 2 year old BP that refuses food for a month (or several) isn't all that unusual, even though it's concerning to you, UNLESS he's underweight to begin with. Is he?

    How often are you handling him? How often are you offering food? What was he successfully eating when he quit? and how -exactly- were you offering it?

    His home might not feel "secure" (cozy) enough to him- might be too much open space, or the hides might be all wrong; without seeing his set-up, it's hard to advise you. Or it might just be that he knows it's winter. BPs frustrate many keepers precisely because they do fasts, & not always the time of year that even begins to make sense.

    How's his breathing? Any whistling or crackling noises? (hold his face near your ear to check) Excess saliva in or around mouth? blowing bubbles?

    Humidity: depends a lot on substrate you're using, some much better than others. You can also give him a "humid hide"- most snakes love that, & it should be somewhat near the warmest part of enclosure (you'll have to replenish the moisture periodically).

    BPs are Bps: this may all be completely normal for him, or there could be stuff you should be doing better. Many kinds of snakes don't fast in winter if their temps are good, but BPs...
    Rudeness is the weak man's imitation of strength.
    Eric Hoffer (1902 - 1983)

  3. The Following 4 Users Say Thank You to Bogertophis For This Useful Post:

    dakski (01-16-2021),EL-Ziggy (01-18-2021),Hugsplox (01-18-2021),Sonny1318 (01-18-2021)

  4. #3
    BPnet Lifer dakski's Avatar
    Join Date
    02-08-2014
    Location
    Connecticut
    Posts
    4,802
    Thanks
    8,109
    Thanked 9,691 Times in 3,863 Posts
    Images: 134

    Re: bp isn’t eating still! help!

    To add to what Bogertophis said above. If you offer live food and he takes it, it may make it difficult to get him back on F/T.

    BP's fast, and unless something is wrong, it can be totally normal.

    IF husbandry is good and the snake is healthy, I wouldn't sweat it at all and wouldn't offer too much. Shayna, my 8 year old BP female fasts every winter like clockwork. I only offer every 4 weeks or so until she starts eating again. NO need to stress her out.

    You mentioned in cage feeding as an option/try. You should always feed inside the cage.

    Finally, the amount of weight loss you describe is totally inconsequential. If he had lost 50-70G over that time, ok, but 20G, that could just be fluid, or waste. I don't worry at all unless the snake has lost 10% of his/her body weight.
    Last edited by dakski; 01-16-2021 at 07:05 PM.

  5. The Following 4 Users Say Thank You to dakski For This Useful Post:

    Bogertophis (01-18-2021),EL-Ziggy (01-18-2021),Hugsplox (01-18-2021),Sonny1318 (01-18-2021)

  6. #4
    BPnet Veteran Hugsplox's Avatar
    Join Date
    08-27-2020
    Location
    Georgia, U.S.
    Posts
    695
    Thanks
    1,695
    Thanked 1,130 Times in 534 Posts

    Re: bp isn’t eating still! help!

    Quote Originally Posted by dakski View Post
    Finally, the amount of weight loss you describe is totally inconsequential. If he had lost 50-70G over that time, ok, but 20G, that could just be fluid, or waste. I don't worry at all unless the snake has lost 10% of his/her body weight.
    Just to throw one more comment in about this specifically. Like Dakski said, 20G could just be waste. You really have to pay attention to WHEN you weigh to make sure you're getting an accurate measurement. When I first started tracking my BP's weight, I made several mistakes of weighing him before he pooped or too soon after he ate, and then couldn't understand why it seemed like he wasn't growing. Truth is, he was, but I was just inexperienced and was weighing him when I shouldn't have been.

  7. The Following 2 Users Say Thank You to Hugsplox For This Useful Post:

    Bogertophis (01-18-2021),Sonny1318 (01-18-2021)

  8. #5
    BPnet Senior Member Sonny1318's Avatar
    Join Date
    07-02-2014
    Location
    Chicago
    Posts
    2,262
    Thanks
    4,720
    Thanked 1,538 Times in 1,148 Posts
    Images: 9
    You got a lot of good advice, personally I wouldn’t recommend trying so many different ways to get him to eat in such a short time. 90/92, I’d try 86/88 for starters, was the weight loss after a big poop? And unfortunately have you found any sperm plugs. I have four males, let’s just say I find more then I care to. Best of luck. My two 7 year olds stopped eating about a week ago. I be lucky if they eat once or twice till June.
    1.0 Black Pastel Pinstripe
    1.0 Reduced Pattern Clown
    1.0 Low White Pied
    1.0 Hypo Super Enchi

  9. The Following User Says Thank You to Sonny1318 For This Useful Post:

    EL-Ziggy (01-18-2021)

  10. #6
    BPnet Royalty Zincubus's Avatar
    Join Date
    02-22-2011
    Posts
    6,948
    Thanks
    2,510
    Thanked 4,897 Times in 2,992 Posts

    Re: bp isn’t eating still! help!

    Have we established what kind of thermometer you are using incidentally ??

    Is it one of those plastic , stick on the glass ones - something like these ??


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro




  11. The Following 2 Users Say Thank You to Zincubus For This Useful Post:

    Bogertophis (01-18-2021),Hugsplox (01-18-2021)

  12. #7
    BPnet Veteran nikkubus's Avatar
    Join Date
    12-20-2018
    Posts
    1,370
    Thanks
    2,509
    Thanked 1,847 Times in 972 Posts
    I would invest in a quality PVC terrestrial enclosure, not a fish tank "terrarium". Winter time especially, those are horrible at holding in heat and humidity. The ventilation is always at the top instead of on the sides, which doesn't make any sense for husbandry. Temporarily if you can't afford to dump that kind of money into an enclosure, insulate the back and sides at least with a couple layers of cardboard or something, and cut some plexiglass to cut off some of that airflow at the top.

    What sort of substrate are you using? Something that retains some moisture would be a good idea if you aren't already doing that.

    2 mos off feed for a male, especially this time of year, isn't a big deal though.
    7.22 BP 1.4 corn 1.1 SD retic 0.1 hognose

  13. #8
    BPnet Lifer EL-Ziggy's Avatar
    Join Date
    11-05-2014
    Location
    GA
    Posts
    4,194
    Thanks
    5,016
    Thanked 5,487 Times in 2,686 Posts

    Re: bp isn’t eating still! help!

    Quote Originally Posted by nikkubus View Post
    I would invest in a quality PVC terrestrial enclosure, not a fish tank "terrarium". Winter time especially, those are horrible at holding in heat and humidity. The ventilation is always at the top instead of on the sides, which doesn't make any sense for husbandry. Temporarily if you can't afford to dump that kind of money into an enclosure, insulate the back and sides at least with a couple layers of cardboard or something, and cut some plexiglass to cut off some of that airflow at the top.

    What sort of substrate are you using? Something that retains some moisture would be a good idea if you aren't already doing that.

    2 mos off feed for a male, especially this time of year, isn't a big deal though.
    I agree that two months off feed is no big deal for most snakes. I don’t believe that enclosure type has any bearing on a snake not eating though. Don’t get me wrong, PVC enclosures are my preference as well, but as long as an animals husbandry needs are met then the animal should thrive. I think tanks get a bad rep sometimes. I have snakes in tubs, tanks, and pvc enclosures, and right now the only one’s not eating are in pvc cages. For my snakes it’s a seasonal thing so I don’t really care when they don’t eat.
    Last edited by EL-Ziggy; 01-18-2021 at 08:01 PM.
    3.0 Carpet Pythons, 1.1 Bullsnakes
    1.0 Olive Python 1.0 Scrub Python,
    1.0 BI, 0.1 BCO

  14. The Following 2 Users Say Thank You to EL-Ziggy For This Useful Post:

    Bogertophis (01-18-2021),Sonny1318 (01-19-2021)

  15. #9
    BPnet Veteran nikkubus's Avatar
    Join Date
    12-20-2018
    Posts
    1,370
    Thanks
    2,509
    Thanked 1,847 Times in 972 Posts

    Re: bp isn’t eating still! help!

    Quote Originally Posted by EL-Ziggy View Post
    as long as an animals husbandry needs are met then the animal should thrive.
    Oh I agree, it's just harder to meet husbandry in a tank and OP said they were having trouble with humidity since around when this started.
    7.22 BP 1.4 corn 1.1 SD retic 0.1 hognose

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •  
Powered by vBadvanced CMPS v4.2.1