Snake Not Eating and Getting Thin! Help!

[Skittles1101]

I think as long as your husbandry is correct, you should try the live prey in his enclosure. If it's a hopper you can leave it in overnight without having to supervise, the gerbil and ASF will need supervision I think. Either way good luck. Have you ever had a fecal test done for parasites?

[KigerTiger]

Could bad breeding have an effect on his eating habits? I have read previously that if bred to be too docile, it may affect their eating. I'm only asking because I remember now that his "sister" that was also for sale at the time I chose him was refusing to eat. I don't believe she ever ate actually, and even after the guy force fed her, she regurgitated. I think she may have ultimately died as a result of it.

[KigerTiger]

No. He's never been to the vet. Nor is there currently a fecal sample for me to take in. But that's why he's off to the vet if this behavior continues.

[AK907]

Could bad breeding have an effect on his eating habits? I have read previously that if bred to be too docile, it may affect their eating. I'm only asking because I remember now that his "sister" that was also for sale at the time I chose him was refusing to eat. I don't believe she ever ate actually, and even after the guy force fed her, she regurgitated. I think she may have ultimately died as a result of it.

Yup, genetics could most definitely play a role. I won't go into much detail, but we know a guy who has balls that seem to genetically not want to eat. We originally bought one from him, never ate right for us and died. The guy was nice and agreed to replace it when his next clutch hatched earlier this year. The clutch hatched and he had feeding issues, so we waited. After he claimed it ate 3 times we picked it up. The card was full of force feeds and only one alleged feeding on its own. Well, we had the same issues with the ball. It didn't want to eat. It ate once for us. Last I heard from the guy he was still having feeding issues with the others. He is someone I would definitely never go through again. Others I have spoken to have also had problem feeders from him.

[FireStorm]

While there is a possibility that genetics are the issues, there are a few other things I'd suggest before jumping to that conclusion. The first suggestion would be to ditch the tank. Tanks are really not ideal housing for BPs. They seem to make them feel much too vulnerable. If you're not willing to get rid of the tank, at least try covering it completely 24hrs a day for a while. Leave the snake completely alone, other than to give water or clean and give him lots of hides and crumpled paper/vines in the tank. Also, make sure your temps are stable (you will probably need to replace the hot rock with a UTH and thermostat). Then offer a live, appropriately sized prey item (whatever he normally eats when he eats) after a week or so of leaving him alone. Offer it in his enclosure, preferably at night. Put the prey in the enclosure, and cover the enclosure up with a towel. Leave him alone for 15-20 min. If he doesn't eat, wait a week before trying again. Offering prey more often than that is just stressful. If he continues to refuse after a few weeks of this, then take him to have a fecal done since he's never had one.

I would strongly recommend against feeding gerbils, especially live. For one thing they're expensive if the snake imprints on them. Also, they're fairly aggressive and capable of doing some damage. I bred them as a kid, and my chow used to knock over the tank and try to get the gerbils. One day I heard a crash, and yelping. When I walked into the room, I found the gerbil hanging off the dog's nose by his teeth...

[KigerTiger]

Thank you everyone for your input! I just wanted to update and let you all know that he finally ate! I got him a mouse that was a little smaller than normal this afternoon and offered it to him. I had noticed the past week or so that he had been extremely active in his tank at all hours of the day. This used to be his way of telling me that he was hungry. So I went and got him food and within two seconds of dropping it into his feeding box he went for it. He was just confused by having it in his tank before. So I decided to go back to trying his feeding box and it worked! Hopefully he keeps it up and eats every week like he used to!

I'm so relieved. Maybe he was just going through a phase. But either way, he's not a voracious enough eater to reach the size I'd like him to be, I don't think. Oh well. He'll just be my munchkin forever.

[Rylmad]

I had a fire girl that we tried everything on. I finally decided to try an ASF, that did the trick and now she has not refused a meal. Now just trying to figure out if I can ever get her off of the ASF's and back to rats. Good luck, I know it is so frustrating when they will not eat!

[KigerTiger]

Very frustrating. Especially since I was spoiled with a large female who never refuses, and used to be so food aggressive that she's go for my hand before I changed her feeding enclosure to the bath tub. lol. It was the only thing large enough that she was distracted long enough for me to drop the food in. Other than that though, she's a sweetie.

I searched for ASF's, but couldn't find any in the area. So I had to go back to mice. He's a mouse eater. Turns his nose up at rats. That's another reason he's so darn small. Oh well. Good luck getting your baby back on rats!

[Kaorte]

Very frustrating. Especially since I was spoiled with a large female who never refuses, and used to be so food aggressive that she's go for my hand before I changed her feeding enclosure to the bath tub. lol. It was the only thing large enough that she was distracted long enough for me to drop the food in. Other than that though, she's a sweetie.

I searched for ASF's, but couldn't find any in the area. So I had to go back to mice. He's a mouse eater. Turns his nose up at rats. That's another reason he's so darn small. Oh well. Good luck getting your baby back on rats!

I bet if you started feeding her in her regular enclosure she would become less food aggressive. You are really setting yourself up for a bite by feeding in a separate enclosure. You are just giving the snake many more opportunities to bite you.

[therunaway]

That is probably the reason he won't eat, try feeding him a live mouse or rat in his enclosure. Removing for feeding is unnecessary and stresses them out. UTHs do get very hot, that's why a thermostat is necessary for them. I suggest switching back to the UTH and get a thermostat for it to regulate the heat. An ASF is an African Soft Fur, a type of prey. They tend to go for them if they are picky because they are what they eat "in the wild" I believe, there are breeders here and there for them. It's usually what people will switch to if they cannot get their balls to eat.

what about tank aggression?