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My yearling Arfrican Rock Refuses to eat

venomousdave Sep 19, 2007 03:31 PM

I have over 15 years of experience with snakes of all kinds and have seriously never ran into this problem. He is a year old, about five and a half feet and is completely gentle. The only way I have gotten him to eat for a year is to place dead mice in his hide-box overnight, but now he refuses that. I've tried rats, hamsters, gerbils, even baby chickens. I've even scented a mouse with chicken broth, and nothing. His cage temp is normal, but he is alot more active and cruises his cage alot. It has been almost two months since his last feeding. Any suggestions are greatly appreciated.

Replies (5)

Just_Ders Sep 19, 2007 11:17 PM

Has he ever been de-wormed? Did you try live?

venomousdave Sep 20, 2007 08:25 PM

yes I've tried live and I have never de-wormed him. He is captive bred from a local breeder so I saw no need to do so.

Chance Sep 21, 2007 07:26 AM

How old is he, and is 'he' definitely a 'he'? I know it's probably a bit early, but male pythons of all species will occasionally go off feed when they're in the mood. I have an adult male woma right now who is refusing, but as he has great body mass I'm not too concerned. Keep an eye on your rock's mass and as long as it doesn't start dropping dramatically, there is little to worry about.
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Chance Duncan
www.rivervalleyexotics.com

venomousdave Sep 21, 2007 02:15 PM

He ate a couple of mice for me today, actually he pounded them. He had them both down in about 10 min. They were fresh killed off of tongs. I am so happy. Thanks for all who responded.

Just_Ders Sep 22, 2007 01:48 AM

Rocks don't eat as often as most other pythons. I know people that fed theirs a big meal 2-3 times weekly and then fast them for months at a time. Rocks are known to eat large meals, some being big enough to last them from 9-12 months without losing too much weight.

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