Help needed urgently

[Sarah11]

Hi everyone

I know im probably just being overly worried but i really need help. I was feeding my two year old spotted tonight. This boy is difficult to feed at the best of times and even though i dont drop his temperatures he can be even more of a pain in winter.

Anyway, tonight while i was trying to get him to feed he kept coiling away as normal before finally he bit the rat. However he didnt hang on this time and disappeared off into a corner again. I thought it was strange but gave him a minute then followed him but rather than feeding he just kept opening his mouth at the food whenever it got near and tried to slink away. I took this as him just being annoyed but im still a bit concerned.

What should i do now? Is that normal?

 

[sweetangel]

think about it this way. you are stuck in a corner with a big human bearing down on u with ur only source of food. u are just scaring him really. if he was in the corn with his mouth open and slinking away i think thats a good indication that hes not happy. just try to give him a little break. or just leave the food in there over night. he might just be nervous.
also try not pursuing him constantly, it will just make him more scared to eat. if u are dangling the rat above his head try having it on the ground/same level as him. the rat above him might be scaring him.
if he seams scared, dont keep doing it, u might make him difficult to feed later on then

 

[Sarah11]

thanks. Normally i dont chase him i know that sounded bad. he will always come to the food and just examine it for ages before slinking off. I normally just stay in the same spot and wait and he will eventually come back before eating. Thats why when he bit and just left i followed him.
My concern was him opening his mouth but i suppose your prob right he was prob scared.
Its been over a month since he has fed. Last year he had to be taken to the vet to get back on food after not wanting to eat even after winter. How often should i keep trying to feed?

 

[Jen]

Out of curiosity, do you insist he feeds every week? As in, do you harass him until he finally feeds? Just leave him alone for a few days, he won't starve.

 

[notechistiger]

Does he usually feed just fine except for winter time? How long did you wait after winter last year to take him to the vet? What temperature do you keep him at?

 

[Sarah11]

no i dont generally hassle him because i figure he'll get hungry and want it eventually. Normally if he doesnt want it though u know about it because he shows no interest whatsoever. Tonight just seemed a little odd. So should i offer it in 3 or 4 days or just wait till next week again?

 

[Jen]

Maybe just leave him a few days and try again, I know it can be a frustrating waste of mice/rats if you only have the one snake to feed, but he'll probably feed better when he's hungry.

 

[Sarah11]

He tends to miss feeds every now and again even not in winter. I called the vet half way through August last year and she said just to wait. He went in at the start of september and finally fed two and a half weeks later. He is kept with his warm end around 32 and the cool end is generally the temp of my room so anywhere from 19-26

 

[notechistiger]

Could he be stressed at all (aside from possibly being bothered too much)? Is he kept in a high traffic area, is his enclosure rather large, does he have numerous hides, etc.? I would personally bump his heating up just a little (33-35C or so), just make sure he can escape it. I would also leave him alone for 2-3 weeks and try again. He can go for quite a while without any food.

Do you know if he was feeding well before you got him?

 

[Bluetongue1]

Members of the Antaresia group are renowned for not eating in winter even if the heating is maintained. I personally suspect that they respond to the change in day length from available natural light.

The advice given is sound – persisting with feeding attempts when it is evident that it does not want to feed or is even 50:50, is training it to have a negative response to the presentation of food. So do as suggested and try leaving the food item overnight or at least a couple of hours, without waving it in front of the snake. But don’t be surprised if it is not touched. Under the circumstances I would suggest offering food once a month and if it is refused then you wait another month.

The best solution is probably to cool your spotted over winter. Maintain the day heating on a shorter cycle, say 8 hours, but allow the night time temps to drop. You should be able to get away with turning off all heating at night unless your cage temps are dropping significantly below 20oC by early morning. Start reducing night time temps the last two weeks of April and crank them back up again the first two weeks of September. Once your heating is back to normal warm temps you can begin offering food. Frustrating as it may be for you, the snake will decide when it is ready to start eating again. Most begin within a month.

By cooling a non-feeding snake it will retain more condition through the winter. Just make sure you give it a little more tucker (more often) when it is back to feeding if it is lacking body condition.

Most importantly, stop worrying. The snake has decided it doesn’t want to eat much over winter – this is normal and no reflection on your husbandry.

Blue

 

[Sarah11]

thanks guys. This has been really helpful. I will reduce his temp a little throughout the nights and even days and see how that goes. THankyou all for your patience

 

[joelly116]

one of my hatchie jungles didnt eat in 2 months he was fine
they lose abit of weight but he took food the other night, dnt strees he will eat when he is ready

 

[ingie]

I have one small jungle approaching being a year old, that often refuses his food. If I persist trying to feed him he freaks out. To avoid stressing him I often skip him when I am doing the feeding rounds, and on days that he is happy to feed (I see him out exploring and flicking his tongue at the smell of the other's food), I will offer him an extra food item as he is just about to finish his first. That way I don't mind if he misses a few weeks in between. You could try this with your spotted, to help him keep his condition in the warmer months.