stimson hatchling wont eat

[mazzarella]

Hi, Ive had it for just over 2 weeks, so far I understand as the enclosure wasnt hot enough, I moved her a fe times , finally now have her in a larger 4cm x 4cm vivarian with hot end 32-35 cold end whatever the ambient temp of the house is. he explores, will mostly handle, he is seemingly happy . BUT still wont eat. The pet shop gave me the feeding lit and he hasnt eaten since the 8th aug, with the breeder he was eating every 5 days or so, the shop once a week. Im getting concerned. He was atleast showing interest (tongue flicking etc) now nothing. I hand it to him on tongs, i leave it over night, i have even hassled him with it. NADA! How long to i panic? I have noticed he is starting to look a bit dull, not sure if its pre shed or not as ive never owned a snake, the eyes arnt milky or anything, just noticed this morning a bit dull, mainly in his mid section. Maybe Im just imagining it lol Anyway, advice would be good.:shock:

 

[azn4114]

Hi, Ive had it for just over 2 weeks, so far I understand as the enclosure wasnt hot enough, I moved her a fe times , finally now have her in a larger 4cm x 4cm vivarian with hot end 32-35 cold end whatever the ambient temp of the house is. he explores, will mostly handle, he is seemingly happy . BUT still wont eat. The pet shop gave me the feeding lit and he hasnt eaten since the 8th aug, with the breeder he was eating every 5 days or so, the shop once a week. Im getting concerned. He was atleast showing interest (tongue flicking etc) now nothing. I hand it to him on tongs, i leave it over night, i have even hassled him with it. NADA! How long to i panic? I have noticed he is starting to look a bit dull, not sure if its pre shed or not as ive never owned a snake, the eyes arnt milky or anything, just noticed this morning a bit dull, mainly in his mid section. Maybe Im just imagining it lol Anyway, advice would be good.:shock:

no need to panic yet,after 3 mnths of not erating i would start to panic,just let it settle for a week,no handling,then try,and if its about to shed it may refuse food also

 

[Fireflyshuffle]

4cm - 4cm vivarium?

 

[beeman]

There is a fair chance if the skin is starting to dull off that its comming to a shed and as
such it wont eat untill it has shed!

 

[mazzarella]

4cm - 4cm vivarium?

lol typo! 45cm x 45 cm

 

[tenacres1100]

Hi, Ive had it for just over 2 weeks, so far I understand as the enclosure wasnt hot enough, I moved her a fe times , .:shock:

ok, now that you have the enclosure right and the temp right, stop handling it, wait a week to let it settle down then try feeding again, if it doesn't take it you can leave it overnight, but no longer than that. If no luck wait another week before tring again, it won't want to eat if it's going to shed. Stop handling it untill it's eating.

 

[Poggle]

yeah like the others are saying.. just slow down on the handling and give it a chance to settle in dont panic just yet

 

[pythons73]

Generally with hatchies their are a couple reasons why they dont eat,Temperature related,stress,about to slough.He hasnt eatin since the 8th August,let him settle into his new enviroment for a week or two,with little to no disturbing,except to change paper-water.Make sure the temperature is correct 24-26c cool end-32-34c in warm end,once this has been rectified you should have no troubles with him feeding..Tangle the mouse-rat about a inch from his mouth and he should strike and wrap around and then eat it..if its looking dull and the eyes are milky its about to shed,in which he most likely wont eat,some do...I hope all goes well....

 

[Nexiel]

I got a Stimson hatchling about a month and a half ago, possibly from the same pet store as you. He finally ate a fuzzy mouse lastnight for the first time since I've had him.

As the others have mentioned, cut down on the handling. Also, make sure that there isn't too much ventilation. I recently read that even if the thermometer is showing the optimal temperature for the snake, the air temperature can still be too cold. So I covered up the ventilation holes with a towel and that seems to have raised the air temperature a bit and he ate the following day. However this might've just been a coincidence.

It could also be due to the colder weather. Some snakes go off their food during Winter, even if the temperatures inside the vivarium is good.

Good luck with your Stimmie

 

[jamesbecker]

if he is flicking and showing interest, but wont strike, try just tapping the food about 2cm behind his head, on one side of his body.

worked for me as a bit of encouragment for the first few feeds, not my guy is a guts, a lazy one also as he doesnt strike. he just goes up to the mouse and scoffs it down.

also, stimsons, childrens and stuff, they can look dull on parts of their body. mine does 2 - 3 weeks after his shed, even though he will she in another 5 weeks or so

 

[mazzarella]

cheers guys , he finally ate friday. I had tp brain him - the mouse not the snake lol

 

[tenacres1100]

that's good news

 

[Troyster]

Try just placing the mouse in the enclosure.One of my snakes will not take it from my hand no matter how hungry she is,but if i place it in her tub its generally gone by the time i check back on her.