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Thread: Not eating

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  1. #5
    BPnet Lifer Bogertophis's Avatar
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    Cool side should be lower- not above 80. The warmer he is, the faster his metabolism is & the faster he loses weight- and he's also not eating. The best thing (in hindsight) would be to never have handled him from the start. There's no way to know how long it will take now for him to de-stress after you've handled him for 6 wks. & now 2 weeks off- it's better not to mess up in the first place.

    When you get a snake, it's IMPORTANT to find out from the source exactly what your snake was raised on- rats or mice? live, fresh killed (f/k) or frozen thawed (f/t)? Then offer the same thing, in the same way. You also want to know HOW he was fed- from tongs? drop-fed? other? How have you been offering food? BPs prefer to eat after dark, in the evening hours. Dim the lights in the room too, & don't be very obvious (stand quiet if you watch). Many snakes will drop their prey & then refuse to eat at all if they notice you moving nearby when they first pick up their prey. That's instinctive- because in the wild, they themselves are at risk of being eaten by predators while they themselves are trying to eat their own dinner.

    Snakes that are rehomed are already stressed & confused- the more consistency you can provide in their life (with their food), the better your chance of success. Snakes are not the ravenous hunters that some imagine them to be- they're sensitive & shy creatures- especially when they're young (& some species like BPs more than others). If you aren't considerate, there's no guarantee they'll survive. When they come from a pet store or breeder, they've often been exposed to other reptiles that are sick & parasitized; when you don't allow them time to settle in, their immune system doesn't function so well either, so not only don't they eat, but they're more likely to become sick from things they were exposed to, & the lack of food only makes them weaker. I'm saying this for your future reference & anyone else that's reading this forum- it matters greatly how you treat a new reptile. Have patience & just watch them for a while, for best results. "TLC" first. Wait until they're eating, & also pay attention to their stool once they digest- sometimes that gives important clues about their health too.
    Last edited by Bogertophis; 10-12-2023 at 12:28 AM. Reason: I meant to say "handled for 6 weeks, not mos." -sorry
    Rudeness is the weak man's imitation of strength.
    Eric Hoffer (1902 - 1983)

    “The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated.” ~ Gandhi

  2. The Following 3 Users Say Thank You to Bogertophis For This Useful Post:

    Armiyana (10-11-2023),Homebody (10-26-2023),Oz781 (10-11-2023)

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