Help for worried snake owners!

[seumas12345]

I've seen heaps of threads about people worried about their snakes not eating for a long period of time. So I created this thread hoping some of the experienced keepers could give tips or experiences they've had with snakes not eating, how long for, and how they got them to eat again etc... Also, any people with snake eating worries post here...
Cheers

 

[whyme]

I've got a jungle that didnt eat for 3 months. Just kept offering him rats and he refused. he's 2yrs old. All of a sudden he started eating again and he hasn't stopped. In saying that, some people may have genuine health issues with their reptiles, and so a trip to a good vet might not hurt. Better to be safe than sorry. Learn the habits of your reptiles and if something changes drastically look into it.

 

[Chris1]

my first bredli escaped after about 4 feeds (he'd only just arrived from the breeder) and the breeder said he should be ok fro up to 8 months,...

a diamond i picked up recently hadnt had heat for 18 months and regurgitated anything she got, for the 8 months before i got the guy to give her up he hadnt even bothered feedign her.

she was skinny as (could feel and see all her ribs) and weak (wobbled everywhere when lifting the smallest section of her body off the ground), but still alive, i'd say it would have been 18 months since her last digested feed. (shes about 3-4 years old)

(shes fine now, been feeding her twice a week and shes looking awesome)

so basically, they can go a long time.

but if someomes snake is refusing food there might be underlying problems that need to be addressed, its no good thinking someone elses snake lived for 18 months without food, so mine can too.

 

[Octane]

Re: Not feeding

One of my childreni stopped eating recently, missing meals then eating, then missing again followed by eating a few times then finally refusing four feeds in a row (1.5months). I could rule out environmental things because I have a pair kept in mirror conditions (same type of enclosure, same hides, same substrate, same heating regime, same food supply) and the other childreni was eating normally. I even screened off the enclosure to hide external movement and kept handling to an absolute minimum (cleaning and water change only).

After a range of advice (sometimes they do that, check your temperatures, it's coming up to winter, it will eat when it's ready, try changing the food supplier, braining, scenting, etc). Not satisfied I took the snake to the vet for a check. Checks on a faecal sample showed elevated levels of flagelytes (single cell bodies). A course of Flagyl and now snake is back eating as normal.

Rule out everthing before you just accept it as normal or some other theory.

Happy herping

 

[Jay84]

My diamond at approx 5 years of age stopped eating and didnt eat for a year. he didnt loose any condition at all. i kept offering him a rat one a month and then all of a sudded bang, eating every feed again. that was around 5 years ago now and he hasnt done it since.

 

[deebo]

one of my childerni shut down in feb last year and at first i was kinda worried but then i figured he will eat when he is hungry and in about sept he started eating again and he has juts gone off his food again this year so probably no more food for him until september again. I would suggest certainly keeping an eye on them the first time they go off food just to make sure it is nothing serious but they are animals and may not accept food every thursday at 7:00....as long as nothing is seriously wrong they will eat when they are ready again....one of myjungles also didnt feed for 4 1/2 months over the cooler months last year and didnt lose any weight.
Dave

 

[barbed_wire_dove]

A fella i know had a 8.5ft diamond that would eat a big rat every few days for 6 months, then not eat anything for about a year.
then same thing again. and its been doing that since it was little.
and i got a hatchy of him about 8 years ago, and when mine was about 3 years old, decided one day to not eat for 6 months. then just snapped back into it.
its weird.

 

[sacred_DUC]

had 5yr old darwin stop eating for 9months, eventually he ate at his own will even though i did always present rats nearly once ever fortnight in that time

 

[seumas12345]

Cheers for all the posts guys! Keep it up! I have a 15 month Darwin that hasn't eaten since January... she had an RI and is on injections until this Sunday... I have thought about assissted feeding but I have decided to wait.... Thoughts/advice?

 

[Chris1]

just weigh her, i wouldnt bother with assist feeding till she starts losing weight,....would probably be more stress for her than help,....keep the temps up though to help fight the ri,...

 

[Radar]

I've got a male carpet (5-7 years old prossie) that has a pattern of not eating for around 8 months each year. He stops at the end of march and picks up around november/december. He starts pacing his (large, multi-leveled, well furnished) tank around march, and if he's not paired with a mate, won't eat until the end of december, at which point he must realise he's not getting any. If paired, he typically eats a few weeks after the female lays, no matter how long he has been removed from her. Temps are fine throughout the year, handles well, etc, etc, just doesnt want to eat while he's looking for a mate. To compensate, he gets 2-3 decent feeds a week during the period he will eat. Body wieght barely fluctuates, other than looking a bit chunkier when he's got food inside.

 

[mysnakesau]

Even though the experts say snakes can go months without food, doesn't mean it is healthy for them - unless they are obese. I still believe that there has to be a reason for refusing to eat. Like, temperatures too cold, moved to new enclosure or house, sick, injured, too much handling, whatever.

Temperature & their environment seem to play a huge part in snakes not eating. Even if you have your heatmat at correct temperature, doesn't mean your snake is warm. He spends time in his cool end he gets too cool and may refuse to eat. His warm end might be 30c, but if you have him in air conditioned room, his cool end could be as low as 25 or 20c.

Environment - put into new enclosure, enclosure too big, no or not enough hides can all stress your snake. Not only is it scarey for your little friends, the temps gradient from one end to the other can be overhwhelming for little snakes. When I sell babies I sell them established feeding, in their tub that they know, and with their hide box. When I upgrade their click clack to a bigger size, I keep their same bedding, bowls and hides so they still have some familiar smells with them. I don't know if this helps them, but so far I have not had any problem feeders due to going into new enclosures and I don't really want to find out if my methods are feasible or crap. A happy snake keeps me happy.

Also, picking the right time of the day can make a big difference too. Nocturnal animals come out to feed at night time, diurnal animals feed during the day. Stick with your animals clock and it might just be the problem. Most of my snakes are not fussy. My olives would eat at 2am in the morning, during shed, they don't care. Four of my carpets will eat anytime of day, but two of them only eat in the evenings. Doesn't matter if my lights are blaring, they will not eat during the day but come night, they will take food after refusing early on that day. Every snake is individual.

Last thing we want is for our animals to get sick. If in doubt, ring a reptile orientated vet. Most often, ordinary vets who have no interest or experience with reptiles are just a waste of money. So find the right vet BEFORE problems strike so that your friend isn't suffering while waiting to find someone to help.

 

[Firsttimer09]

my carpets only a few months old.. he stopped eating at the end of march.. do yoiu think it couldbe the same thing? nothings changed in his cage hes been happy with everything until then.

 

[funcouple]

i have a bredli that goes off its food sametime every year even tho its enclosure temperature and day light dont change. im sure it can sence the start of winter and burmate's its self. i dont have another answer as to why

 

[cleopatra2285]

Firsttimer09,

When i got my female coastal at age 6month's, she stopped eating for 6 month's. I kept trying and then one day bam she started feeding again, she is a problem feeder now but she does eat roughly every month, hasn't lost any condition though, she is now 4 years old and looking great.

My big boys went 6 months without food last winter and will probably do the same this year. just think about what happen's in the wild, they go without food because it's too cold for them to digest it. They are very smart animals i think.

Hope you get him feeding soon though.

Bec

 

[KaaTom]

I had a 4yo female Diamond that was small for her age when I got her. She never fed for me and after 6 weeks took her to the vets as she had lost some condition. She died 2 days later from several things wrong with her.

 

[elapid66]

hey kaa tom what was wrong with that snake in the end sorry to hear tho cheers paul