Help with children's python?

[NightFury]

I have a childrens python called Jasper, unsure of how old he is, still very young, about 30cm approximately. He hasn't been eating thawed out pinkies or fuzzies, and its been 4 weeks since he last ate. He only wants to eat skinks and other small lizards that i catch for him, but it has been really rainy lately and I can't go out and find any. I tried to give him a fuzzie today and he bit it and wrapped around it, but then let it go and moved away. He shed his skin about 5 days ago, is there any way I can make him eat? Any suggestions on what to do?

 

[Kristy_07]

How long have you had him, and what are your temps at?

 

[NightFury]

I got him on the 27th of September, and his tank is room temperature, I turn his heat coil on for an hour in the morning and an hour at night.

 

[andrew_117]

What's room temperature, is there a thermometer you keep in the enclosure?

 

[beeman]

I got him on the 27th of September, and his tank is room temperature, I turn his heat coil on for an hour in the morning and an hour at night.

Point A, Someone needs thier butt kicked as obviously there was very little research done into the needs of this critter!

Point B, As a juvenile it needs access to a hot spot of 32dg 24 hours a day then
it should start to eat as normal !

Point C, This critter would have come to you eating rodents so there was no need to resort to feeding skinks etc.

Get hold of a publication called "Keeping Childrens Pythons" it has a wealth of info (for such a small book) on keeping these critters.
Check out "Herp Books" on this site they will have this book.

 

[NightFury]

I researched quite well but couldn't afford the thermostat. I bought him a heat mat which stopped working because it overheated. I bought him at a petshop and they had only just got him in and hadn't fed him yet. I purchased the heat coil at another pet store and was told turning it on for an hour twice a day should be enough, as his tank is in front of my window so he gets the day and night cycle and sunlight. I looked up ways to feed him online, and I found that in the wild they would have eaten skinks, so I decided to try and make the thawed pinkie smell like it but he still refused. I ended up resorting to giving him a skink so he would eat. He has eaten a couple of mice but stopped eating for a few weeks and refuses.

 

[Renagade]

move your snake's tank away from the window and stablize his temps. bee man is right. 32deg 24/7 in one area of his tank and access to lower temps of low 20s.get a thermostat, temerature gauges and make sure your snake has hides before you even suggest that you have done your research... then you should start thinking about weening your snake off skinks and back onto defrosted, warmed rodents. you may also need to think about worming your snake now it has eaten skinks.

 

[NightFury]

He has three hides, and he has only eaten three skinks ever since I got him. He has eaten a couple of mice, about 4 or 5, but stopped eating lately. I was considering feeding him live food but I know that there are hazards. I used to own rats and mice, would sometimes breed them, and considered taking it up again for Jasper's sake. I am hoping to get him a friend for Christmas, or possibly a jungle, would keep in seperate cage though, lol.

 

[cagey]

t least have a look at this..... http://www.aussiepythons.com/forum/general-discussion-42/guide-build-click-clack-dial-93266/

 

[cwtiger]

You need to look at the reasons why your snake has stopped eating as an owner of serveral childreni it is very hard to have to assist feed them. You need to get your temps up as suggested if the snake is cold he will not eat and cannot digest his food either. Feeding live is dangerous once the rodent is of a larger size but also feeding live should be used as a last and final resort. Feeding the skinks is not the way to go there is not enough in them to help him to grow plus they may cause worms in your snake which then creates other problems.

 

[shellfisch]

I am hoping to get him a friend for Christmas, or possibly a jungle, would keep in seperate cage though, lol.

PLEASE don't get another python till you get the one you have sorted out.

May I suggest that perhaps you spend whatever funds you were going to spend on the Jungle, on a new heat mat, make a click-clack (for which, a link has already been provided) and get your Childrens set up in there? Being as you say he is still young, he may be better off in a plastic tub for a little while longer.
What is the tank/enclosure you have him in at present? A fish tank type set-up? Or a wood glass fronted enclosure?

You also need a way to accurately gauge what temperatures you are getting. You need a Thermostat.

He (as has already been said) needs his temperatures increased.
He will not eat until he knows he can get himself warm enough to digest his food.

 

[xxMelissaxx]

If you can't afford the necessary equipment, then you can't afford the animal

Buy a thermostat and make sure the temps are correct, and then buy some books - don't buy another snake until you have done all of this, and can provide for your next animal as well as your current one.

 

[JAS101]

PLEASE don't get another python till you get the one you have sorted out.

May I suggest that perhaps you spend whatever funds you were going to spend on the Jungle, on a new heat mat, make a click-clack (for which, a link has already been provided) and get your Childrens set up in there? Being as you say he is still young, he may be better off in a plastic tub for a little while longer.
What is the tank/enclosure you have him in at present? A fish tank type set-up? Or a wood glass fronted enclosure?

You also need a way to accurately gauge what temperatures you are getting. You need a Thermostat.

He (as has already been said) needs his temperatures increased.
He will not eat until he knows he can get himself warm enough to digest his food.

i couldnt agree more , u can buy heat matts with a built in thermostat [ cheaper then buying a heat matt then a thermostat]

 

[JAS101]

I researched quite well but couldn't afford the thermostat. I bought him a heat mat which stopped working because it overheated. I bought him at a petshop and they had only just got him in and hadn't fed him yet. I purchased the heat coil at another pet store and was told turning it on for an hour twice a day should be enough, as his tank is in front of my window so he gets the day and night cycle and sunlight. I looked up ways to feed him online, and I found that in the wild they would have eaten skinks, so I decided to try and make the thawed pinkie smell like it but he still refused. I ended up resorting to giving him a skink so he would eat. He has eaten a couple of mice but stopped eating for a few weeks and refuses.

i dont think u did any research before buying the snake , because if u had of u would have known they need heat more then an hour or 2 twice a day . have u got any pics of the enclosure setup ?

 

[Michaelis]

I have a childrens python, he is also young, but not that young. Obviuosly one of the reasons he stopped feeding, was cause he was about to shed (which u said in ur first post, and u would have known that had u done some research) secondly, do NOT get another python, not until u actually KNOW what u r doing! Before even thinking about another snake, fix this one up. Also, if you just got him at the pet shop (which is illegal I might add, so what he was doing there in the first place is beyond me) do you have a license? You can get fined for keeping a native animal without a license! Putting on his temp for TWO hours a day is NOT enough. My Python (he's 3) has his on for nearly 24hrs a day, the only time I turn it off is if it's in the middle of summer and it's already 30/35 degrees room temp, or if it's really hot in general. Perhaps a vet would be ideal (but to take him there they will most probably asked for license proof, and also, you can't get a second python until u have had ur first license for a year at least!). But if u care about him that much, then u should do whats best for him. U should research more before just going and getting a snake!!! Every python owner has problems, I've had heaps with my python, but I fully researched them and got them fixed (also with the help of these guys on here!). Think before u act, and have vet money aside incase of emergencys!

 

[shellfisch]

Also, if you just got him at the pet shop (which is illegal I might add, so what he was doing there in the first place is beyond me) do you have a license? You can get fined for keeping a native animal without a license! Putting on his temp for TWO hours a day is NOT enough. My Python (he's 3) has his on for nearly 24hrs a day, the only time I turn it off is if it's in the middle of summer

Firstly, Childrens pythons are sold in pet shops legally in Queensland.
Second, there was no suggestion that the OP did not have a licence...I don't know where you got that from.
Third, your python, at the age of 3, probably (depending on where you live, and how cold it gets) does not need 24 hour heat.
A python, under 12 months, probably still does.
And fourth, someone correct me if I am wrong, but in Qld, you do not need to have your licence for any minimum amount of time before purchasing a second python.

 

[Kristy_07]

How did I know where this thread was going? :lol:

You're right, shell

 

[NightFury]

Alright guys, I'm getting the feeling some of you are a bit annoyed at me for not getting everything perfect, and for that I'm sorry. I am only a teenager, not even a senior yet, I do not have a job to pay for all this, it was a gift from my mum, and I researched quite well the days before I got him. I know that he wouldn't eat before he shed, but he hasn't been eating right since I got him, as in he doesn't go for the food, it takes a few times of me waving it around before he goes for it. I was told by the lady at the petshop that he had only just been shipped in and they hadn't started feeding him yet. I use tweezers to feed him, and getting him to eat has sometimes taken up to half an hour or more without results. I am looking into asking for a thermostat for xmas, although my parents believe it is too expensive. I do have a license. I'm pretty sure this covers everything, although I may have left a few things out.

 

[shellfisch]

At the risk of being shot down in flames, none of our young pythons ever had a heat mat attached to a thermostat.
We put a heat mat under one third of the plastic tub. The python can then choose to be on the heat or not.

Can you return the heat mat to the place of purchase and get another?
Are you able to tell us what temperatures you are getting at your hot and cool end?

Don't attempt to feed him until he is getting the correct temperatures. He won't starve in the short term.

 

[NightFury]

Well here is a pic of his setup. His heat coil is around his stick. Just wondering shell, how long did you keep your heat mat on for? Cause I left mine on all the time, and it ended up overheating/stopped working after melting a bit of the plastic bottom on his other tank, so I moved him into this fully glass tank which is larger than the other. I did keep it under less than a half of his cage, so he had a warm end and a cool end.