Help....naughty snake won't eat.....

[grannieannie]

I have a 3 yr old stimmie. He ate on Sept 14th for the first time in 5 months...that was fine. He looked hungry straight after that so on the same day I offered him another mouse...he rejected it.
Sept.21st I offered another mouse....rejected.
Oct. 3rd I offered another mouse....rejected.
Today, Oct.13th offered another mouse....rejected.

He's very active and I keep thinking he's looking for food, but when I offer it he backs away as if he thinks I'm trying to poison him. He's great to handle, there seems to be nothing wrong at all...he just doesn't seem to want to eat. You'd think that having had him for 2 yrs I'd know his eating habits, but I just don't know when to try food again. Any suggestions ??? :?

Thanks, Annie

 

[DeadCricket]

Has he always eaten mice?

Could there be any change in environment that has him stressed?

Pretty much all you can do is just keep offering weekly and make sure your temps are good

 

[grannieannie]

Cricket, nothing has changed for him in the 2 yrs I've had him....bought the mice from the same place, has always had mice. He checks them out looks interested, then just turns away. He's very placid and doesn't mind being handled. I don't handle him every day, maybe a couple of times a week.

 

[DeadCricket]

Maybe he just isn't hungry? Or maybe pre shed.

My friend has a carpet that didn't eat for nearly 7 months and then just continued on like normal.

Sometimes I'm just not hungry when I should be

 

[grannieannie]

He had his last shed on June 7th....I've wondered about that too, but he's very active and his eyes are quite bright. I think he's just spoilt, and got too good a life. It's just it costs me $3 each mouse he rejects...little bugger. I feed them to the crows, so there are some pretty happy crows around my place.

 

[DeadCricket]

The bonus of having more than one snake. If one won't eat, the other will.

You probably neednt try any more often than once every week or so.

There are plenty of other tips and tricks out there to stimulate feeding response. Some people blow on their snake, worst comes to worse might have to throw a live one in to get his attention

 

[Em1986]

I'm not too sure but could he be looking for a mate? A lot of males seem to stay off their food for longer than females when they come out of brumation and you said he is active too which is another sign. I'm just not too sure if it is too late in the season for this behaviour though.
I hope he decides to be hungry again soon, they can be a worry at times.

Dead cricket i agree about the having multiple snakes coming in handy, i had a pack of frozen mice forgotten in the car for a couple of hours that had completely defrosted but luckily it was feeding day the day before and i decided to go to sleep instead of feeding so they were all hungry. It is deffinately a big advantage having a few snakes on the same sized food.

 

[grannieannie]

Well, no matter what, I'd..... NEVER, NEVER, NEVER,....offer a live prey....he'd die before I'd do that....or I'd give him away or something...but that for me is an absolutely NO, NO !! I must admit I've wondered if he might be looking for a girlfriend...he hates going back into his house and often seems to be wanting to come out....more than I've noticed in the 2 yrs I've had him. He's 3 now, so a proper adult I guess. He does seem to have quite....large male parts...if you know what I mean !! I'll give him another couple of weeks and try again, then if he refuses take him to a local reptile shop and see what they suggest. I pay $30 for 10 mice, might not sound like much, but I live on the pension and throwing away....to the crows....a $3 mouse each time he rejects it, soon adds up. I want the little devil to eat.

 

[DeadCricket]

That's fair enough. Everyone has their own beliefs. For me personally, I would see it as natural and the way of life

 

[Sarah11]

hey granniannie
if he isnt skinny or losing condition at all he really will b fine. As you say you are just throwing mice away and wasting money so just wait as you say a few weeks until you try again or wait until he is out searching for food. Snakes can go months and months without eating so i wouldnt stress yet. It is very annoying though

 

[grannieannie]

I've just sent an email to the people I bought him from 2 yrs ago....so hopefully they'll be able to give me some advice. Hubby has just come into the office and said.....your friend Barrie is trying to escape !! So I might go and get him out for a bit. He's certainly not skinny, in fact everyone who sees him says what a good looking snake he is. If he is feeling... RANDY .... when is this likely to calm down ??

 

[SperO]

isnt it end of hibernation right now though? 2 months is nothing for a stimson mine has gone up to 4 before. he is eight years old.

try holding the mouse by the tail and batting his face works every time for me.

 

[prettypython]

How long have you left the mouse in for? My male bhp started being a very shy feeder and I feed him when I go to bed plus I put a sheet over his house to make it a bit more of a sucure feeling. Maybe add a couple of boxes for a few more hides.

 

[DeadCricket]

When he finds a girl or when it cools down a little probably.

 

[Defective]

hey grannieannie...try not offering food food for a bit..Keiko my stimmie was doing that and now instead of feeding her every 7 days in warmer months and every fornight in colder ones she consistanly eats every 3wks. You know your snake better than anyone...have you tried night time feeding?? it's hard to know but Keiko will now take the rat from me ever so gently and then gobble it up when i've let go. next feed i'll take a video of it for you so you can see what i mean.

 

[SteveNT]

Our little Darwin didnt eat for 4 months, then decided she was hungry and woofed down 3 feeds in a week. Now she spends most of her time poised above the spot where her dinner magically appears!



Dont worry Annie, he'll eat when he's ready!

 

[grannieannie]

I rang the people I bought him from and they said he had his first mouse as soon as he came out of hibernation because he hadn't eaten for 5 months, now he realises he has to shed and so won't eat till he does. So she said I just have to wait, I'm going to keep in touch with her to tell her what's happening. But he shows no sign of wanting to shed and is very active and really wants to come out and....play...so we'll see what happens. I love him to bits.

hey grannieannie...try not offering food food for a bit..Keiko my stimmie was doing that and now instead of feeding her every 7 days in warmer months and every fornight in colder ones she consistanly eats every 3wks. You know your snake better than anyone...have you tried night time feeding?? it's hard to know but Keiko will now take the rat from me ever so gently and then gobble it up when i've let go. next feed i'll take a video of it for you so you can see what i mean.

I just about always feed Barrie at night coz I know that's when he's most active, or at about 5.30pm at the earliest. And he's never eaten more often than about 4 weeks.

When he finds a girl or when it cools down a little probably.

I was told by the people I bought him from that if he's never been with a female, then he won't want one.....

 

[FAY]

hahaha he has come out of hibernation, had a mouse and is now looking for a female. Food is the last thing on his mind.

 

[Pythoninfinite]

Oh for crying out loud... your naughty snake Barrie is probably horny at this point in time and therefore may not be interested in food for months... There are many, many threads here about Antaresias, especially male Stimson's, not feeding for 7-8 months of the year. It's PERFECTLY NORMAL in the life of a Stimson's Python not to eat for at least half the year, and probably longer in many cases.

"I was told by the people I bought him from that if he's never been with a female, then he won't want one..... "

Have you ever heard of something called "instinct"? If you believe what you were told by the shop people you'll believe anything. Please do some research and learn a bit about snakes... "naughty Barrie" might just benefit from your increased knowledge...

Jamie

 

[FAY]

I was told by the people I bought him from that if he's never been with a female, then he won't want one.....

haha Like Jamie, that is the biggest load of codswallop I have ever heard.....