Stimson not feeding

[BOOTSTRAP]

My Stimson hatchling last ate 2 weeks ago, since getting her on the 3rd of May I had fed her 3 times once each week, the last time being the 22nd, then last Monday i had planned a snow trip for one week and had planned to feed her the Monday afternoon just before leaving as my parents didnt want to feed her while I was gone. Anyway as I was in a bit of a rush the Monday after gettng home from work and wanting to get to the snow already I believe that when I was feeding her I may have possibly scared her when going to feed her as she began to breathe heavily. I decided to leave her for the week as I am well aware snakes can go long periods without feeding, then I got back last night and she had shed in the time I was away (perhaps a reason for not feeding?) i went to feed her again last night 6 days after last attempting and she again refused to eat, she sniffed the food twice but that was about it before slithering off to her hide rock. The only other thing that I could think may be a reason for not feeding is could the pinkies be too old?
Anyway just looking for advice for my next step?
Do I get that scent flavouring stuff from the reptile shop? Do I keep trying each night? Do I leave it a couple of days and try again?
Im not going to try again tonight though.

Any help would be much apprieciated.
Cheers
Will

 

[derekm]

I have now fed my six-month old Stimmie four times. The first three times, I held the pinkie mouse close to his head with forceps while he checked it out with his tongue for a minute or two and then he moved away. So I left the pinkie where he could easily find and each time, within 5-15 minutes, he had found and eaten it. The last time (last Saturday), after checking it out as usual, he tried to take it from the forceps. However, he obviously wasn't ready to take the weight of the pinkie because, when I let it go, he and the pinky fell a few centimetres into his water bowl and he dropped the pinkie. However, after he had 5 minutes on his heat mat (presumably warming up and drying out), I again offered the pinkie and he took it within a minute or two.

My advice. If she doesn't take food from you, leave the food where she can easily find it, at least overnight (if she's in her hide, leave it at the hide entrance). Feed her when she is active anyway. (For my Stimmie, that's usually after 6pm for 4 or more hours.) Even if you think you scared her, try to feed her again after a break unless she is obviously stressed or defensive. (Their natural habitat is a difficult place for a wild Stimmie hatchling and, if they weren't a little bit hard, they'd probably be extinct. Instead, they appear to be doing very well, so I think we might under-estimate their resilience. And it doesn't help that they look and feel so fragile at first!)

 

[BOOTSTRAP]

cheers for the help mate
will try again tomorrow night and let know how it goes

 

[BOOTSTRAP]

still not eating any more advice?

 

[Ramsayi]

If I were you I would be looking at temps.

 

[BOOTSTRAP]

If I were you I would be looking at temps.

and what is it i should be looking for?

 

[diprotodon]

have you tryed a moving target slowely spin the pink infront of the snake until it just touches its nose be gental lightly tap its nose and see if you get a feeding response if not leave her for a few days and try again if she has taken before she will come round in my oppinion there are heaps of posts on this subject have a search and dont stress they can survive a long time without food stay calm!!

 

[Ramsayi]

and what is it i should be looking for?

That they are not too cool.

 

[beeman]

Well for a start what temp are you keeping it at?

 

[BOOTSTRAP]

she seems to get a bit scared if i try moving it around too much in front of her, but tonight she seemed really interested gave it a good sniff quite a few times before withdrawing from it

 

[BOOTSTRAP]

deffs not too cool ive got a range of 28 down to 24 at the other end

 

[diprotodon]

If I were you I would be looking at temps.

like the man said what temps are you getting

 

[Ramsayi]

deffs not too cool ive got a range of 28 down to 24 at the other end

Try going to 32 on the warm side.Also what temps are you getting on both sides early of a morning,ie: the coldest part of the day?

 

[diprotodon]

deffs not too cool ive got a range of 28 down to 24 at the other end

are you sure??

 

[derekm]

What Ramsayi said! The warm spots in my enclosure over the last 51 hours since I reset the max/min function on the thermometer are 27-34 on the warmest basking spot (heat lamp) and 29-36 on the warm side of the hide (heat mat). My Stimmie took another feed last night and has been active this evening so my temps are probably OK.

 

[beeman]

28 is to cold for a hatchie, bump the temp to 30-31ish and leave it there , then after a few day at that temp offer a feed, it will more than likley take it.
It takes very little temp drop to put hatchies/juvies of feeding

 

[BOOTSTRAP]

ive got a dual probe thermometer and it records the max and min temps for both the high end near the globes and the furthest end from the globe down low the
high end: max 32 min 23
low end: max 27 min 20
i have reset those for over a week so not sure when each extremity happened

 

[derekm]

deffs not too cool ive got a range of 28 down to 24 at the other end

The winter after next, it won't be too cool. This winter, and probably next winter, I think it might be.

 

[diprotodon]

That they are not too cool.

Well for a start what temp are you keeping it at?

welldone

 

[BOOTSTRAP]

bumped it up
now just fingers crossed