Posted by:
Rextiles
at Sun Sep 13 04:34:04 2009 [ Email Message ] [ Show All Posts by Rextiles ]
Hogs do go off of feeding for periods of time. Of course this is typical especially if the snake is getting ready to shed as well.
The key in determining whether you have a problem or not is if the snake is in fact losing weight. Considering that you just recently acquired this snake, perhaps she has not acclimated to her new surroundings yet to want to eat. You mention a lot of different scenting methods you've tried in just a short while of owning this snake which ultimately might pose a new problem since you might be offering way too much, therefore turning the snake off of food for extended periods of time or even confusing the snake about what exactly it's food source is if it's already been acclimated to eating a particular food item.
Those that have kept western hognose for any extended period of time have often witnessed lengthy periods of non-harmful fasting from babies to adults and everything in-between. More often than not, it's the males that are more prone to this kind of behavior once adults, but not always. It is not unusual and typically not a problem if the basic husbandry and dietary needs of the animal are being met while the animal is maintaining a reasonable weight.
It sounds to me like you might be overreacting a little for just the short time you've had her. Just keep monitoring her weight on a weekly basis and try waiting a week between each offering rather than trying every day or even every couple of days.
Only if she starts losing any significant amount of weight would I really worry. And only then should you then try scenting methods and ultimately forcefeeding if totally necessary as a last resort. Having said that of course, you don't want to wait until your snake has lost half of it's weight either and is close to death. But if you have a 6-8 gram snake and it loses a gram but still looks full and healthy, it's usually not a total cause for alarm although you will want to monitor her more closely.
I have several clutches of South American hognose that have refused every pinky and scenting method I've tried using pinkies which after several months finally had to be forcefed. One small clutch I waited almost 5 months until I succumbed to having to forcefeed them. And for those 5 months, none of them had eaten a single thing nor showed any interest. They didn't look all that great after their 5 month fasting period and they all went from 4 grams initial weight down to 3 grams, but they were an experimental group that I was trying different methods of feeding and after all of those failed, forcefeeding was my last option. But they have since regained weight and I have not lost a single specimen despite still having to forcefeed them on a weekly basis. The bottom line is, snakes can go a long period of time without food (although I'd never recommend waiting 5 months) before you should have to take any drastic measures, hatchlings included.
However, in the event of having to forcefeed, it's nice to have several different sets of hemostats (curved, straight and different sizes), speculas and a pinky pump. All very useful tools when needed for such events.
Just give her some time to adjust and if she's been accustomed to eating f/t pinkies, then I would just offer her only those. Depending on your source though, you might want to try washing them with soapy water in case there's a scent on yours that is throwing her off.
I hope any of that is helpful.
Good luck and keep us posted on her progress!
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Troy Rexroth
Rextiles
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RE: Baby not eating...what else canI do? - Rextiles, Sun Sep 13 04:34:04 2009