Dealing With Winter Fasting

[Spirit_Scale]

Whats the best protocol to deal with winter fasting?

My male bp is about 950 grams and is almost two years old (and three feet n change) and as of three weeks ago he quit eating (he began to slow down a bit the week before that and went a few days longer than normal before he got hungry and ate).

He was treated for mild scale rot with baytril injections and disinfectant wipes (plus polysporin with no lidocaine) for 10 days, during which we offered food on schedule but he obviously refused it---a week after the course of the injections were done we offered food again, and then yesterday I offered more food. No luck.

His scales are looking much better, but obviously a shed is in order to get him back to 100%.

His temps are 95 on his heat mat and an ambient/cool side temp of 77-82 (depending on exact location) and about %50 humidity (was much higher but in rigging the heat lamp obviously the tub is drier). Since adding in the infared lamp he's very active and curious and drinks water regularly.

He just doesn't want to eat.

Should I keep offering him food or just leave him be 'till spring?

[Capray]

Offer him food less often, like every other week, because you know the fasting is prompted by breeding season, and you will waste less rat etc. When spring comes, he should be eating regularly again.

[gsarchie]

Keep offering on the same schedule that you always do and if possible try and bump up the ambient temps to keep them above 80 and bump the humidity up to 60%. If that doesn't get him eating then you will just have to wait until he's ready! I have had my male being exceptionally picky in the past but he has been eating well lately, no winter fast yet. Good luck getting him eating!

[LLLReptile]

Generally, I offer food every other week with snakes that are clearly fasting for winter, and at the height of the season I might just skip an entire month if the snakes are all breeding.

With yours, it may just be stressed from the treatments. If I were in your shoes, I'd keep offering food weekly for another month, and if he is still refusing each week, then skip to every other (or even every 3rd) until he does start eating.

-Jen