another 'my snake won't eat' thread...3 month mark

[BonoboBob]

I've had my snake about a year now, got her when she was about 6 months old.
Always been a picky eater, except for about a month and a half when she would eat everything i threw in the cage immediately. but unfortunately that didn't last long.

so the last time she ate was december 20th. the longest she's gone without eating before this was probably a month, and she had done that a few times.
but it seemed that every time she was fasting, at about the one month point she'd start eating again for a few weeks at least.

but i dunno about this time...originally i was trying to switch her from live adult mice, to wiener rats. i fed her live wiener rats at first but she had a hard time killing em, so i switched to prekilled, which to my surprise she ate a few times.
but i've been switching back and forth, trying everything to see if she'd eat.

i feed her in a separate cage because i have bedding in the one where she stays. i heard originally that if they swallowed the bark it was bad for them, so this is why i did it (i know now that it doesnt matter, but ive always done it this way so i figured it was what she was used to). plus her cage wouldn't really be ideal for feeding the way i have it set up anyway.

ive tried feeding when she's hot, cool, day, night, ive put the rats in her feeding cage before i put her in to entice her with their sent, i put a hide in her feeding cage so she'd be more comfortable and strike from there (she did hide when i put her in and stuck her head out, but still had no interest in the rat).

i haven't really been worried because she hasn't been losing weight. but i took her out tonight, and usually she's pretty active and crawls around everywhere when i put her down. but tonight she seemed incredibly lethargic and didn't really move at all.

so i dunno...i'm out of ideas...

[Stewart_Reptiles]

Here is the thing with going off feed try to go by elimination and ask yourself is it due to breeding, husbandry, overfeeding, illness, stress?

What are your temps and humidity?
What type of thermometer do you use to measure them?

[JLC]

Where did you get her from? Has she been checked out by a vet? It could be she's dealing with internal parasites that need to be treated.


(Plus the things mentioned already in the post above mine. )

[BonoboBob]

haven't bred her, no overfeeding (couldn't even if i wanted to), not over stressed (only been getting her out once a week besides when i try to feed her), don't think she's ill.

humidity stays around 50. i live where its really dry, and i mist two times a day at least, so there isn't much i can do about it.

hot and cool side don't really matter because she has a favorite hide, and never really changes sides (only seen her hiding on the other side maybe twice). but on that side i keep it around 80 during the day, then at night i put the heating pad on. stays around 71 in the house.

i usually have towels over the top, sometimes saran wrap.

[BonoboBob]

i got her from a local pet shop, pets plus.
the guy that sold her to me seemed to really know his stuff too. and ive talked to other people i know that have snakes around here and they also had the same opinion of him.

i'd be really surprised if she had some sort of disease because i haven't exposed her to any other snakes, and have had her a year without any problems. i don't take her outside or anything so i don't know how she'd catch anything.

[Stewart_Reptiles]

hot and cool side don't really matter because she has a favorite hide, and never really changes sides (only seen her hiding on the other side maybe twice). but on that side i keep it around 80 during the day, then at night i put the heating pad on. stays around 71 in the house.

Well yes it does matter because you should offer a temp gradient to your BP so your BP has the choice and can thermo-regulate his body.

You should not have a night drop in temperatures and your temps should be 80-84 on the cool side and 90-94 on the warm side, ideally measured with a digital thermometer/ hydrometer as stick and dial are not accurate

[BonoboBob]

no drop in temp at night as i leave the lamp on.

and even when shes thermo regulating she stays on the same side.

[Stewart_Reptiles]

no drop in temp at night as i leave the lamp on.

and even when shes thermo regulating she stays on the same side.

Because your BP chose the same side does not mean you should not have a gradieant temp.

I'll ask again do you provide 80-84 on the cool side and 90-94 on the warm side and do you measure your temps with a digital thermometer?

[BonoboBob]

i have two stick ons

and i can't provide 80 on the cool side and 90 on the warm side with one heat lamp. and in the town homes where i live i short out the power if i try to plug in two.

i used to leave it at room temp on the cool side, and 90 on the warm side. but i never once saw her on the warm side, so i figured it was better to bump up the cool side.

so really how it works is that on one side of her hide its probably around 84, and on the other side its around 80, and she just switches sides. if shes too cold shell get on top of her hide and bask, but she doesn't do that very much.

[Stewart_Reptiles]

i have two stick ons

and i can't provide 80 on the cool side and 90 on the warm side with one heat lamp. and in the town homes where i live i short out the power if i try to plug in two.

i used to leave it at room temp on the cool side, and 90 on the warm side. but i never once saw her on the warm side, so i figured it was better to bump up the cool side.

Well the first step would be to get a digital thermometer/hydrometer like this one to get an accurate reading of temps on both sides (you can get it at Walmart or Lowes for 12$-13$) and then make sure you have optimum temps.