How much weight loss is too much?

[KatStoverReptiles]

I had a male het pied shipped to me at the beginning of Oct. He ate a small ft rat at the breeder's on 10/2 (43 days ago). He hasn't yet ate for me. I figured he's going into the winter fast (he's an '08).

He was 974 grams when I got him and is now 871 grams. He's not being paired this year. But there is a female in the rack with him (not in his tub obviously though). He shed shortly after I got him.

I've tried ft rats and mice and a live mouse. Absolutely no interest. Slight tongue flicking and no tracking. Much more interested in hiding his head than the prey.

He's in a 28 qt tub in a rack. 80 on the cool and 90 on the warm. Tried giving him a hide, but he prefers to go under the paper towels. I'm going to fashion a piece of cardboard to fit over the front of the rack in his slot to block the outside view. Maybe even more privacy will help?

How much weight do I let him lose before I start freaking out? It seems a bit early in the season to have lost that much weight.

Any thoughts/suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks!

[mschmied]

They tend to lose very little weight even during long fasting periods. In a recent video Bryan from BHB was saying he had a girl fast for 12 months and she only lost around 150 grams Their weight will fluctuate depending on what is in them. You could have weighed him when you thought he was empty but in reality he wasn't. I wouldn't worry too much.

[KatStoverReptiles]

Bump. Advice anyone?


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[AK907]

I wouldn't worry just yet, but definitely monitor him closely and keep offering food every week or two. Give live asf or gerbils a try too. They are hard to resist.