Reptile & Amphibian Forums

My rainbow looks perfectly healthy. Great sheen, bright eyes and more friendlt that any puppy I've ever had. He just shed about 2 weeks ago. My concern is he has refused to eat for the last 3 months. Before that he ate every single time I would feed him. Am I just being a panicked dad?

Age?
Temps?
any changes to environment?

Not mormal to go off feed unless sexually mature!
-----
Thanks,

Dave Colling

www.rainbows-r-us-reptiles.com

0.1 Wife (WC and still very fiesty)
0.2 kids (CBB, a big part of our selective breeding program)

LOL, to many snakes to list, last count:
21.29 BRB
19.19 BCI
And those are only the breeders

lots.lots.lots feeder mice and rats

His age is about 4 years old. No changes to enviroment. The temps in the case gradiate from about 80 down to about 72. He almost always stays at the cooler end of his enclosure. He loves it under his water dish and stays there most of the time. He has a good sized hide but almost never goes in there. Nothing has changed. That's why I'm so stumped. I've never had any issues with him. He's always been the perfect child!

Dave, You've always given me great advice so thanks in advance for your help.

Jeff

His age is about 4 years old. No changes to enviroment. The temps in the case gradiate from about 80 down to about 72. He almost always stays at the cooler end of his enclosure. He loves it under his water dish and stays there most of the time. He has a good sized hide but almost never goes in there. Nothing has changed. That's why I'm so stumped. I've never had any issues with him. He's always been the perfect child!

Dave, you have always given me great advice. Thanks in advance for your help.

Jeff

Only thing that comes to mind is breeding activity? Have a female? He could smell her. Or, did he get aq period of cooling? could have triggered a breeding cycle or maybe just spontaneously started with maturity.

Is he searching, exploring, looking for a "hot lil thang" to have a good time with?

All my males go off feed, even those not breeding. I even get young females IMO too small for breeding and not with males go off feed during that time.
-----
Thanks,

Dave Colling

www.rainbows-r-us-reptiles.com

0.1 Wife (WC and still very fiesty)
0.2 kids (CBB, a big part of our selective breeding program)

LOL, to many snakes to list, last count:
21.29 BRB
19.19 BCI
And those are only the breeders

lots.lots.lots feeder mice and rats

There are no females around. I have a baby Rosy in the other room but they have never even seen each other. Should I try live food? He's always had frozen (thawed and warmed) I've always heard not to give live for fear of the snake getting hurt but I'm starting to get worried. What should I do?

No clue if this is the issue, but when I bought my first male BRB, he was 4 years old. I kept him in a cage that was rather small for him, I didn't have a spare large one (I didn't expect to find an adult BRB at the particular show i was at and spotted him, figured I would be getting a baby, maybe a yearling at most, so didn't have a large cage ready) Anyway, he didn't eat at all in the small cage, finally I did some rearranging (mostly moved a corn snake into the smaller cage, gave the male the bigger cage since the corn really didn't need a cage that big). Within a few days of being moved into the larger cage, he ate and has been eating regularly ever since.

So, if his cage seems small, maybe upgrade him to a larger cage, see if that makes a difference.
-----
PHLdyPayne

Sorry, was away.....darn work!!

The other suggestions are good. AND remember, snakes can go MONTHS in the wild, MANY months without food. If he's shedding fine and not looking emaciated, then probably not in trouble. I had a baby one time refuse food for 4 months after birth. YES, never ate once until he was 4 months old. Finally force fed a few times and he figured it out and started eating in his own.

Live would be OK but I'd prefer stunned or Fresh/Killed. Either way, WATCH what's going on. And like already suggested, maybe go small to start.

>>There are no females around. I have a baby Rosy in the other room but they have never even seen each other. Should I try live food? He's always had frozen (thawed and warmed) I've always heard not to give live for fear of the snake getting hurt but I'm starting to get worried. What should I do?
-----
Thanks,

Dave Colling

www.rainbows-r-us-reptiles.com

0.1 Wife (WC and still very fiesty)
0.2 kids (CBB, a big part of our selective breeding program)

LOL, to many snakes to list, last count:
21.29 BRB
19.19 BCI
And those are only the breeders

lots.lots.lots feeder mice and rats

My male did almost the exact same thing this year. Went off food for 2 months, because of warming temps and female in enclosure next to his. Then he ate a small rat but then went off feed again for another 2 months.

I don't know exactly when the issue stopped being him trying to chase the female and started being something else but it happened somewhere in that second 2 month stretch.

In my case he just wasn't comfortable taking the size of meal he used to after having a break from feeding. I offered him a adult mouse which he gobbled down instead of ignoring as he was the rats. Next feeding he took a small rat without a problem.

I'd just offer your male a small meal to see if thats the issue. If it is then you should be able to get him back to eating normally in a couple of weeks.

Hope it helps,

Sean.

I would agree to try a smaller than normal meal, as I use this for the first couple of meals after I get a new snake to get it used to my feedin cycle, and to make sure it is comfortable.
-----
Mike

2.4 BRB
1.2 Spotted Python
1.0 Cal. King

Thanks for all the help everyone. You have all put my mind at ease. We have animals and no kids because I thought the animals would be less trouble. HA!!

So much for that theory...

Well at least you don't have the snake hitting you up for "mall money"!
-----
Thanks,

Dave Colling

www.rainbows-r-us-reptiles.com

0.1 Wife (WC and still very fiesty)
0.2 kids (CBB, a big part of our selective breeding program)

LOL, to many snakes to list, last count:
21.29 BRB
19.19 BCI
And those are only the breeders

lots.lots.lots feeder mice and rats

My nearly 2 year old daughter has gone from the most wonderful baby to fully blown "terrible two's", so I currently feel snake are easier.

Also, the important thing is that you are concerned and trying to do eveything you can to make sure your snake is well cared for.
-----
Mike

2.4 BRB
1.2 Spotted Python
1.0 Cal. King

I would not be too concerned if he's eating again. My adult male just did the same thing, he was housed near an adult female giving off pheromones and he refused to eat for about 2.5 months. I moved female out of his vicinity and he resumed his normal dietary intake. It is not uncommon for males to go through a period of anorexia during their breeding season. I have a male reticulated python that stops eating at the end of august and doesn't resume his regular feeding pattern until December. He does this every year, so I give him a few extra meals when august is coming around the corner. Many females do the same whether you are breeding them that year or not.

Hope this helps ease your mind.
-----
Thanks,

Frank Roberts
Roberts' Realm Of Reptile Research

didn't notice he has not resumed eating for you. As long as he has good body weight, I would not be too concerned. He may be fasting for the reason I stated ( no need for a female to be around )or has adequate reserves ( body fat ) . Snakes eat a lot more in captivity then they do in the wild and some snakes will spontaneously fast for no apparent reason. As long as adequate body weight is being maintained during the fast he should be just fine. Be glad you do not have a lot of Ball pythons, they are a major pain in the ass in that same department.

I wouldn't be too concerned, you may want to inspect the snakes mouth for injuries/stomatitis to ensure this is not the reason he is fasting, that could be a problem that requires a visit to your veterinarian.

Mouth Rot (Infectious Stomatitis, Ulcerative Stomatitis)

-----
Thanks,

Frank Roberts
Roberts' Realm Of Reptile Research