Reptile & Amphibian Forums

i got him as a baby in 2003 from kathy love at a show here in arizona. hes always been great at eating f/t. this past year he ate a jumbo mouse in feb. became very restless as he is at breeding size . showed no interest at all about eating then. i have tried to feed him off and on since. 3 differnt times. 2 of the meals being jumbo mice. he would start to eat then get to the sholders and spit it back out. he did eat a hopper mouse like july 1st or there abouts. other then that he has not eating. he is not restless anymore. has calmed down alot. has shed like 2 times since the spring also. nothing has changed in his enviroment. nothing.

so i will try a couple hopper mice an see other wise when is "when" to take to the vet? so its been like 6 months since he had a decent meal other then the one f/t hopper size mouse.

this is him. but not a recent photo. not sure if he is loosing weight. i had him out yesterday and he feel strong still. so i don't know. i really dont want to try live but maybe i should? i just want him to eat........something....anything....

If its not visably loosing weight, it may not be an issue. Something has stimulated not to feed.

You can try the usual- dipping f/t in hot chicken broth, or heating the mouse next to a lightbulb, rolling it in soiled mouse bedding...you could try live. Just monitor the entire time.

Unless it is sick or injured it will eat if it is hungry!
-----
1.0 Green Iguana
1.0 Bearded Dragon
0.1 Blizard Leopard Gecko
1.1.1 Corn Snakes (2 Blood Red, 1 Albino)
1.1 Ball Python

trying a rat pup? I have a male about that big and he's been eating rats for the last two years. He goes CRAZY when he smells them, where he never really was enthusiastic over mice...

As long as he's not losing weight, he's fine. I wouldn't try any "tricks" to get him to eat, because he may decide he likes that manner of feed above all else, and then you'll be stuck offering that for the rest of his life.

Adult males go on hunger strikes for long periods of times, and some individuals are just more stubborn than others. Do you have a female in the house somewhere? If so, he can probably pick up her pheremones, and that's why he's so persistent.
-----
Darin Chappell
Hillbilly Herps
PO Box 254
Rogersville, MO 65742

>>this is him. but not a recent photo. not sure if he is loosing weight. i had him out yesterday and he feel strong still. so i don't know. i really dont want to try live but maybe i should? i just want him to eat........something....anything....

I would not go back to the jumbo sized mice.
Usually when they take a mouse partially and then spit it back out it can be attributed to a couple of things.
Stress, you possibly stressed it out or frightened it while it was wanting to eat.
Prey size too big, I have seen it several times when a mouse was too big the snake would get it about to the shoulders and spit it back out.
There are obviously other reasons but if the snake is in good condition and it did show a normal eating response when trying to eat the jumbo mouse then something made it change its mind.

I would put it in a bare container with a hopper and leave it completely undisturbed for a couple of hours or more.
-----
Corn snakes and rat snakes..No one can have just one.
"resistance is futile"
Jimmy (draybar)

Draybars Snakes

_____