Diamond Python Not Eating

[gford]

Hi,
Long time Lurker, first time poster.
I own only one snake, a Diamond Python. I used to have an Athertons Carpet, but swapped him with a mate that wanted to breed with him, for a more easy to manage young Diamond (the Athertons was 7ft long and agro as hell).
I have had the diamond for about 4 years now and have had no dramas with him at all, but he has refused to eat for about 3 1/2 months. He is about 4 ft long and was eating pretty well full grown rats. One day he was reluctant to take the rat, so I gave up, and sure enough he shed a day or 2 later. I gave him a few more days and tried again. He still was reluctant to eat, eventually he did eat, but I then found the rat regurgitated the next day. He was a bit lethargic and not right when I got him out this time. This didn't last long and he was soon enough back to his normal cheerful nature.
I gave him a couple of weeks and tried again, he flat out refused to eat.
Once again, a couple weeks later I tried again, still no dice.
That was the last of my batch of rats, so I once again gave him a couple more weeks and went to the pet shop to see what the reptile lady there would suggest. She suggested to try a Quail, as most snakes love them (her opinion).
I bought a bag with 3 small quail to try out.
Warmed one up tonight and held it for him. He was very interested, but didnt strike it. I left it on his rock for a few mins, he climbed all over it, thorougly sniffed it and checked it out. I warmed it a couple more times to make sure it was nice and warm for him, eventually he decided to eat it. I was happy, but 5 mins later when I checked on him again he had obviously swallowed half of it and spat it out again.....
He has no outward signs of being unwell, and is handled pretty regularly, so I would be able to tell if something was wrong.
Even though the weather is cooling off he is still warm, I wanted to get a last decent feed into him before cooling him off for winter.
Any ideas on what his drama might be?
Should I just cool him off for winter and see how he pulls up come summer time?
Any help from more experienced snake people would be greatly appreciated.
It is tough, the old athertons would eat pretty much anything, but this guy is a bit of a princess....
Cheers
Glen

 

[wranga]

sounds small for his age. i wouldnt stress about him not eating. he has probably already felt the drop in pressure and wont be interested in eating again till summer. i tried feeding my diamonds last wednesday night, only 2 out of 5 ate

 

[Defective]

possiblities: weather temp drop, vet check, enclosure temp check, have you tried braining the food or coving it in egg yolk to entice?? those work well

 

[longqi]

3 1/2 months ago was our hottest period so should have little bearing on winter feeding
If it had recently stopped I wouldnt be at all worried
But it seems you have possibly two separate but related problems here
With no idea about where you live or your housing conditions it is hard to give a definitive answer to either

At 4ft after 4years minimum it is definitely a bit small for its age
If it is also lean/skinny I would suspect worms
Regurgitating may also suggest that; but could also be temperature related as diamonds usually dont like it too hot or humid

Yes diamonds do slow down on feeding during winter but most still eat a bit even if kept outside in aviaries
The quail part has thrown me, because if they have worms they usually still get the food item down and bring it up later

 

[gford]

Thanks for the help.
Couple more details then. I thought he was a little bit small for his age, the Athertons grew pretty big quickly....
This guy looks healthy, he doesn't look lean, looks pretty well in proportion.
I live in Brisbane, so he might well be too hot, he does seem to like the heat though, his enclosure was 27/21 when I checked this morning, and he was in his usual place in the warmer end. The enclosure is in the garage, and probably the least humid area of the house.
I think the worms thing is something that I need to check. Will read up on it more.
Once again, thanks for the help guys.
Cheers

Haven't tried those tricks, he definately looked really interested in the quail (not so much in the rats I tried previously)....
He checked it out for maybe 15 mins before having a go at eating, then for some reason spat it out.
The lady I spoke to suggested that he might not like dripping wet food, so I made sure to keep it as dry as I could by defrosting in a bag, this worked well, but still no luck.

 

[jacks-pythons]

4yrs old and only 4ft.. he should be at least 6ft at that age.iv got 2 yearlings and they are 4 foot. have you always fed full grown rats. sounds like it must be quite fat. keep in mind a fat diamond python is generally a dead diamond python. try feeding it smaller and at that age you should have it start cooling as adults are healthest when hibernated. is he active???? and when was the last time it defecated. diamonds are best kept in temps of 28 and under as their dark scales pic up the light easier which heat them quicker. good luck hope all is good.

 

[gford]

4yrs old and only 4ft.. he should be at least 6ft at that age.iv got 2 yearlings and they are 4 foot. have you always fed full grown rats. sounds like it must be quite fat. keep in mind a fat diamond python is generally a dead diamond python. try feeding it smaller and at that age you should have it start cooling as adults are healthest when hibernated. is he active???? and when was the last time it defecated. diamonds are best kept in temps of 28 and under as their dark scales pic up the light easier which heat them quicker. good luck hope all is good.

Yeah, he does seem small, but he looks healthy. He has been on pretty well full sized rats for a while, usually not the biggest I can find, I pick the smaller ones. He isn't really fat, just in proportion. If you didn't know he was that age, you would think he was a healthy younger snake.
He defecated after his last feed, I had him out this morning and checked to see if there was any telltale lumps that might suggest some impacted faeces, but he felt fine.
He looks and acts really healthy, very active and a great temperament.
I would have him hibernated by now, but I wanted him to get a last feed into him and a chance to digest it before I do. Guess I will forget the feed and get him hibernated now.
He is usually kept around 27-28, sometimes it is tough in Brissie, being so hot in summer, but if it is hot days I just use an energy saver bulb to provide light and no heat.
Got some worming stuff today, should I do that before hibernating or leave it until after? Might be an idea to not mess with his insides too much before hibernating.....

 

[cement]

I would check inside his mouth for any sign of necrotic stomatitis/canker (cheesy, light brown gunk )that might be present around the gums.
If his mouth is fine and healthy, i'd worm him now and then give him another week of summer conditions (heat 30 -35). If he's not eating you might need to get some help (vet) injecting the wormer down to his gut.
If he craps out a pile of worms then keep him warm for another 2-3 weeks and get some food into him. Then let him cool after he has digested.
Don't worry about his size, for a male that is fine.

 

[gford]

I would check inside his mouth for any sign of necrotic stomatitis/canker (cheesy, light brown gunk )that might be present around the gums.
If his mouth is fine and healthy, i'd worm him now and then give him another week of summer conditions (heat 30 -35). If he's not eating you might need to get some help (vet) injecting the wormer down to his gut.
If he craps out a pile of worms then keep him warm for another 2-3 weeks and get some food into him. Then let him cool after he has digested.
Don't worry about his size, for a male that is fine.

Thanks mate, will do.