9 month old not eating.

[Yzmasmom]

My 9 month old refused a rat one week (for the first time ever) then ate normally the next week and then refused the next 2 weeks.... I thought Spring was the end of fasting, not the start? And, she's 9 months old.... shouldn't she be starving?

Because of the t-state probe being massive, only about 2" of her heat pad is actually stuck to the glass, (probe is in the center so just a bit of the pad sides are stuck to the glass,) but the temp gun reads 88 to 91 on that spot. It's 87 of top of the bedding (with her IN the hut) and there's a heat lamp above it to make sure her hot hide stays in the 88 to 91 range because of the stupid pad not being big. So, she has a 2" belly heat spot and a warm, heat lamp heated hide over the spot. I'm sure it's more like 90 inside on the chips - we couldn't measure any farther in because her big butt is in the way. She's had this set up from day 1 and it's been fine. Cold side is 78 to 81. Humidity 55% to 65%. Bev and Pitt said a 2" hother pot is totally fine, so I'm not super worried.

Is the fasting most likely a winter to spring transition thing or would it be heat related?

[Hannahshissyfix]

How much does she weigh? Seems they fast a little bit around 1000g but I'm guessing yours is much smaller than that. Hard to say without knowing more about the set up and your approach and time of food offerings.

[Yzmasmom]

She's 532g.
She's in a 20 long with an uth and a thermostat. I also use a black light heat light over her hot hut. We use one over her cold hut too. Hot spot ranges 88 to 91 and cold 78 to 81. Humidity btwn 50% and 65%. Cypress Mulch, water bowl, climbing trees and foliage.
One f/t weaned rat per week (around 7pm.) Thaw over night in fridge then warm up in hot water for an hour or so. Blast with hair dryer and dangle in front of her. She's always eaten before.
I ordered a Herpstat 2 tonight, to run her and my other bp's uth. The smaller probe will allow more pad to be touching the glass. Will she be ok until it arrives? I'm in Canada..... snail mail.
She's also pretty big for her hides.... we bought the next size up and will put them in on Friday after we clean her. We use the repti rock caves.

[Hannahshissyfix]

2 weeks really isn't a big deal at all as far as her general health. If you have different tank stuff coming in I'd just wait 2+ weeks to offer again so she has plenty of time to adjust to the new environment and is definitely more hungry. I'd wait til later in the evening to offer the food after lights have been off a while if you're feeding at 7pm. It's still light here at 7.

[Yzmasmom]

9 month old bp is 532g (after missing 2 meals,) and has refused a third.... when do I worry? Can I offer every 2 weeks? I feel like it's wasting rats with all the weekly refusals...

Finally got a herpstat2 set up, so the hot spot should be more consistent. Just upgraded her hide size this week too, because she was wearing the old ones, lol.

[Bmocken]

Need a little more information to help determine the type of issue it could be. What are the temps, how long have you had him, did he eat before you made changes, and are you offering the same food he was on or did you change it? A lot of things can make a BP go off food. Even something as simple as changing their hides. Generally speaking though they can go two weeks between feedings and longer in some cases. Just keep an eye on weight to make sure he is staying healthy. Also hold off on any enclosure changes unless they are to fix temperatures or humidity and hold off handeling for a week. This will help reduce his stress and get him comfortable enough to possibly eat. If everything else is on point then he might have just went off food for a bit. That happens too.

[Craiga 01453]

No need to worry yet. BPs are finicky. At that age and weight, she seems to have been eating well. She just may not be hungry. She may have enough "reserves" built up that she's content going without food for now.

I would just keep handling to a minimum (especially prior to attempting to feed her), keep things as steady and consistent as possible inside her enclosure and try again in a week. Waiting two weeks to offer won't hurt anything, so that's fine too.

[Yzmasmom]

Hot side is 88 to 90, cold is 78 to 81. Humidity is 55% to 66%. Identical hides on both sides with fake foliage for extra security. Water bowl and climbing tree. 20g long. Had her for 7 months with zero feeding problems. Just started in April with food refusal. We only Nile maybe twice a week for 5 to 10 mins at at time. She was wearing her huts so we went bigger but she was refusing before that.

Is there at weight when I need to be concerned? I don't want to go live food.

[Bmocken]

Hot side is 88 to 90, cold is 78 to 81. Humidity is 55% to 66%. Identical hides on both sides with fake foliage for extra security. Water bowl and climbing tree. 20g long. Had her for 7 months with zero feeding problems. Just started in April with food refusal. We only Nile maybe twice a week for 5 to 10 mins at at time. She was wearing her huts so we went bigger but she was refusing before that.

Is there at weight when I need to be concerned? I don't want to go live food.

i would wait another week with no handling or changes and try again. All your numbers are in line so it could be she just doesn't want food.

[Yzmasmom]

Perfect! Her breeder guessed offering every 2 weeks. If she won't in 2 weeks, try a very fuzzy.