Hello, friends! I know I'm probably just being an over-bearing mom, but I thought I'd just weigh in with some fellow Dumeril's keepers to make sure I'm doing the best I can with my little one. Fresh eyes are often helpful.

I brought my Dumeril's home almost exactly 1 year ago, when she was 6 months old. The owner of the pet store where I purchased her fed her in front of me, I guess to prove that she was established and a good feeder? She took the mouse instantly and that was the last time I saw her killer instinct.

She has always been a trouble feeder for me. She's perfectly healthy, has a great temperament, and is an absolute joy. The pet store owner told me he was feeding her hoppers on a 7 day schedule back then. I think she may have humored me on a 10-14 day schedule a few times back in the beginning, but 7 days? Never. On average, I'd say these days she eats maybe once a month? I think she fasted in July, again September-October, and she hasn't eaten since December 29.

She is shedding normally and hasn't lost any weight, so I'm not overly worried. It's just that she's still so small for her age (30 inches and 205 grams at a year and a half). I want to make sure she's skipping meals because she's not hungry and not because she is stressed out. When I tried to feed her a couple days ago, she struck defensively twice and seemed visibly agitated by the mouse, so I turned out the lights and left it overnight. No dice. I'm realizing that in the past, when she's "seemed interested," I think she's actually just territorial. She doesn't like the prey to touch any of her hides.

Anyway, I'd just like to run through some husbandry things to see what you guys think. I moved her from an 18x18x18 into her old 10gallon at Christmas because I was going to be out of town and I was worried about keeping temps/humidity up while I was gone (really for the scrub, not so much her). They'll both get moved back this month. She has a branch with foliage, 2 tight fitting hides, lots of substrate to burrow under, as well as a pile of sphagnum moss. Her humidity ranges from about 40-55% on average. I just lowered the thermostat slightly, thinking maybe I was keeping her too warm (she's been less active than usual the past few months). Just checked her temperature gradient with a gun and the coolest spot (her cool hide) reads 76 and the warmest spot 86. Warm hide internal temp is 83 and she alternates regularly between the two. Two sides of the enclosure are covered with a desert scape.

For heating, she has a 60W CHE and a basking bulb on a 12 hour cycle. Now that I type this, I realize I turned off her basking bulb because it makes the smaller enclosure too hot. She is definitely less active since I did that.

As far as feeding goes, I've tried varying prey items, braining, feeding in the dark, leaving overnight. Can't seem to find an obvious pattern that suggests a preference. Hell, maybe I'm overthinking all of it and she'll just eat when she's hungry. Just thought I'd make sure nothing is glaringly out of place. Of course, I will cease handling until she eats again. Thanks for any advice!