BP Won't Eat!

[bdehlin]

My snake has stopped showing any attention to food in the last few weeks. She is very healthy and the temp and humidity in the enclosure is perfect. She usuall eats P/K and since she didn't like that I tried feeding her live. That didn't work so I tried the "exposing blood/brain" method, and to no avail. I just got her about a month ago and she has eaten every time but now shows no interest. She is not in the blue and seems to be active (only at night). She is only a few months old and should eat a mouse at least once a week. If you have any suggestions that would be great.

[gmmuscle91]

i wouldnt worry too much at this stage. she probably just isnt hungry or is fasting at the moment. they can fast for many months before they start to lose weight if they are healthy at the start of the fast.

[tigerlily]

How often are you feeding?

If this is a young bp, and not eating, I would double check the environment. Are you measuring temps and humidity digitally? (no dials or strips, as they are notoriously inaccurate) If you are absolutely positive that your temps are 82-84 cool side and 92-94 hot side, then I would look at your hides and double check that your snake is parasite free. (a fecal is always a good start) The hides should be very small. Tight and cramped is good. You may want to try throwing in some loosely crumpled newspaper in the enclosure.

[dinger51]

Its been a while scince I have felt I have needed some help. I have done my DD but need some opinions. It has been coming up on 4 months and my BP hasn't found interest in food either. Temps and humidity are fine.

He seems to be active at night, but has thinned out. How long should I wait before I need to get some serious help? I have heard of BPS going off feed for a while. This is the first time he has been off of food this long. Any opinions would be great.

[bdehlin]

So yesterday was feeding day and I figured I would try something new since my BP wasn't eating. I just lifted her hide off of her and tossed a live mouse in there. I couldn't believe my eyes when she struck at the mouse and ate it within a minute. So I guess she is a hunter and I will be feeding her this way from now on. My question is what do I do when she needs more than one mouse...just toss them both in?

[frankykeno]

I feed live and do have some snakes that eat multiples. Let the snake hunt, constrict and fully consume the first live prey (fully down in the belly)...then introduce the next live. Mine usually indicate they are ready for the 2nd course by going back into an alert hunting body posture. If they immediately head for a hide and curl up (rather than sticking their head out to lurk for prey) I don't even offer a second prey that week. Sometimes the second prey response is a bit less strong than the first one but generally mine still hit fast and strong if they want a second prey. If not I remove the live prey within a few minutes and just wait till the next week.



~~Jo~~

[tigerlily]

Ditto what Jo said. It's never a good idea to toss two mice in the cage. Definitely better to wait it out, and see if a second one is necessary.