Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Ok, I'm no neophyte here but I have 2 imported sub-adult Northern ETBs that are frustrating the crap out of me! Neither has fed in 3 mos. though they still show remarkably good body weight. All rodent prey whether mice, rats, even a Dwarf Hamster whether live or thawed (also super-heated) have been refused - reaction is to shy away.

Over the last 4-5 days there has at least been foraging/ambush activity but still no feeding. I am at my wits end w/these two! Ambient humidity is 70% during the day dropping to 50% at night. DTH is 82F and NTL is 75F Helix panels and controls govern the temps w/a Rainmaker mister on a timer for humidity.

One was dosed w/Flagyll 2 months ago and I have not treated the other. I'm going to try live chicks next week. ANY IDEAS/TIPS. would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance for your time,

Bill

Relax...take a deep breath. As long as they have good body weight don't worry about it. My guess is that you are trying to feed them about once a week? Stop it...and wait about three weeks to a month to try again.

I sold someone a freshly imported female about 6 months ago and she just ate for the first time about two weeks ago. She didn't loose weight and she coiled perfectly so don't go nuts.

If you keep trying food all of the time they will associate food with being bothered and it will make for a bad experience. Wait a few weeks and check in on them at night and see if they are actively 'hunting' (striking position), and then feed them a few days later. Feed them the appropriate sized rat...not a mouse, and not dwarf hamsters, and not chicks...rats.

Good luck!
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Matt Lerer
'Ghi Reptiles'
ghireptiles.com

Thanks Matt!

I kinda' figured the same thing. Rat pups for sure though oddly enough my other imports took to mice first. What about parasite treatments? I was holding off until they ate a couple of times. I figured the meds would be more upsetting to the snake on an empty stomach. It is amazing how infrequently they need to eat to survive.

Bill

Just for general education, what are your thoughts/procedures for treating imported Northerns? Anybody else who wants to chime in..please do! It would probably be a great benefit to many....not to mention the imported snakes themselves! Anything to increase the % of imported animals that acclimate successfully would be a benefit to the cb population as a whole.

Bill

I really don't treat animals unless there is a problem and I definately wouldn't do it without them eating on a regular basis.
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Matt Lerer
'Ghi Reptiles'
ghireptiles.com

agreed

too many people want to "shotgun" imported animals and dose them right away with panacur/flagyl/etc... sometimes this just isn't necessary, and can be devistating to the overall health of the animal.

If you want to "treat" with anything right away, I highly suggest just using NutriBac to load them up with "good" enzymes. Once you get a bowel movement, then you can have a fecal done and move on from there.

It may also be helpful to bumpup that NTL just a hair too...

Thanks for taking the time to reply! The NTL was set for the room as a whole as I'm cycling my Chondros at the same time. All the ETBs are on their own Helix system independent of the Chondros so I'll bump it up a bit on them.

Now that my Scrubs and Chondros are all but done copulating the entire room will be adjusted. I'm going to route the males through the gauntlet of females one more time just to be sure!

Fall came a bit early here in Vegas this year so things are developing earlier this season then in years past.

Bill