Reptile & Amphibian Forums

For the 4th year in a row my burm has quit eating. Always happens around October and lasts until March or so. The other 3 years his hide was open to him as the colder weather set in so this year I kept it closed off. As if he was checking his calendar he stopped eating and moves around more in his cage. Temps are around 85 cool side, 88 warm side, humidity stays close to 70%, day/night lighting, 13 foot feeding large rabbits. Nothing has changed from say June to now except the temperature outside. Everything else is the same as when he was putting down rabbits this summer.
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DZ

"People sleep peaceably in their beds at night only because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf." -- George Orwell

My ball python does the same thing, it just senses the air. The first year it did that I was scared. Now I expect it.

As far as my Burm goes, I thought nothing of it, she also stopped feeding this time last year and then passed away in January. She was 13ft over 100lbs. Showed no signs of any issues. Still wonder what happened but I take blame, temps fine humidity was fine, I guess I will never know.

I have a retic that just stoppped eating a month ago that is 10ft and I took this one to the vet, who say a little RI. Got him on the shots now, again no real signs either. He had 1/2 the cage 90 degrees and the other half was lower 80's. It may have been a little dry 50% humidity.

Not to scare you but just somthing to keep an eye on. Your temps sound good and your humidity is good from what I have been told.
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0.2 Rotts
1.0 Super Tiger
1.0 Amel Retic
0.1 Ball Python
0.1 Red Tail
0.1 Blood Python
1.0 Green Ananconda
1.0 Emerald Tree Boa

he is thinking about girls.

Well duh, aren't we all. LOL JK.
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DZ

"People sleep peaceably in their beds at night only because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf." -- George Orwell

Well yeah, but humans don't feel the need to quit eating to breed LOL. It's a nat'chl thing with most boids

Quig
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Don't interupt me when I'm talkin' to myself

OK, That was funny but...I wonder how much thinner some of us would be if we quit eating to breed? LOL

Anyway, is there anything that can be done to get him, or her, eating again?
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DZ

"People sleep peaceably in their beds at night only because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf." -- George Orwell

You know, I'm clearly not the expert here since I've only owned my Burm since early Aug. I've found that my 11 footer was a problematic eater and doesn't like large prey items. I tried large rabbits and he said, "No thanks, I'll just squeeze and leave." Smaller rabbits were OK, but he was squeezing and then eating them later. I fed him two F/T XXL guinea pigs last weekend and he wolfed them both down, no questions asked.

All sorts of strange things can cause snakes to stop eating, but you have found a pattern that seems to indicate time of year. I don't breed Burms, but I didn't think this would be the time of year. Spring maybe, but to go off feed in October seems a bit earlier in my novice mind. My breeding corns never seem to stop eating, but my ball pythons will stop eating for a time in late winter/early spring. However, it is fall now and weather patterns are changing. I can't help but wonder if your snake isn't reacting to barometric changes in the atmosphere. In the summer, especially in FL, we get a lot of low pressure systems, but cold fronts are moving through and high pressure fluctuations are more common.

If the snake is in good condition, missing meals for a time shouldn't be too much of a concern as long as he is hydrated. I'd try the smaller meal approach, but that's probably because it worked for me.

Hey Laura!
More than likely it's due to the breeding season which for burmese pythons generally runs from November to February, round about.

It seems to be more prevalent in ones that have mated before or kept in close proximity of another snake of the opposite sex. Some, but not all, of the Boidae group will do this. I think there are other groups that do it to but most don't.

The first time it happens it can really tighten you up, worrying, wonderin' what the heck is goin' on and seeing your snake lose weight. Most breeders will beef up their burmese just before breeding season because of this, to give 'em enough storage to carry them through.

Take care!
HH
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Due to political correctness run amuck,
this ol' hillbilly is now referred to as an:
Appalachian American

Oh my word, if my guy quit eating he'd probably disintegrate! He's gained two pounds and is now up to 37 pounds! I have an abundance of male snakes for some reason, so I don't think he'll be teased too much. Well, I'll probably quit offering advice about things I know not, but since you guys were just talking about girls, I thought I'd give it a whirl.

Ha! Don't be embarassed or anything like that about the advice you offered, I do the same thing in the Monitor forum here & there since I only have just over a year's experience with monitors. It's all part of the learning process.

Since my last post is bit misleading (incomplete) let me try to give you a better understnading of the triggers of breeding season and cause of males going off feed.

In my last post I said, "It seems to be more prevalent in ones that have mated before or kept in close proximity of another snake of the opposite sex."

This comes into play after the main triggers of cooler temps & shorter daylight hours, which in the wild, is also accompanied with rain showers.

Once the temps drop and the days become shorter, I personally feel that the going off of feed is more prevalent in ones that have mated before or kept in close proximity of another snake of the opposite sex. I say, "I personally feel" because I've never heard anyone else mention this, it's just what I'm led to believe by the situations I've seen or heard of. I guess you could say that at the moment it's just my theory that it's more prevalent in former breeders & close proximity.

All males, breeders or not, won't go off feed. Some females will go off feed, too, but some will eat all the way till they lay eggs. My female ate during breeding season last year, while my male wouldn't. My female went off feed once she ovulated. After all, they are individuals, just like us.

Have a good one!
HH
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Due to political correctness run amuck,
this ol' hillbilly is now referred to as an:
Appalachian American

Hey Captain! How've ya been?

> > > Anyway, is there anything that can be done to get him, or her, eating again?

Not that I know of.

My male was just over 2yrs old and about 8ft long last year come breeding season. The rascal shutdown, as far as eating goes, for the first time and it lasted for about 5 months. Once the female was finally through with him he was ready to eat again, and skinny as a rail because he's already a picky eater.

And I tried just about EVERYTHING you could think of. Live rats, smaller sized rats, mice, turkey broth, chicken broth, and on & on. He kept tellin' me, "Man, just go on & leave me and the ol' lady alone for a few months. Give us some privacy, will ya?"

I reckon that if I only mated a few months out of the year I'd give up food for it, too.

Catch ya later!
HH
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Due to political correctness run amuck,
this ol' hillbilly is now referred to as an:
Appalachian American

Not bad. I just hate missing out on 6 months of growing time. He's reaching 14 feet now and still only 66.5 pounds. He doesn't look undernurished but he weighs less than he did 2 years ago. I've tried rats which are his favorite and he'll let it sit there until it rots. Maybe it's better for me since I'll be old next year and may not be able to handle a larger snake. J/K
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DZ

"People sleep peaceably in their beds at night only because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf." -- George Orwell

> > > Maybe it's better for me since I'll be old next year and may not be able to handle a larger snake. J/K

Ha! Ha! Even though we're getting old, hopefully we won't outgrow this passion.

Seriously, though, I know what you mean about the snake growing. Mine is such a picky eater, and a slow eater, too, that I haven't been able to get him built up like I would like to before he goes of feeding this season. Still eating (here & there) so far.

Take care!
Mike
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Due to political correctness run amuck,
this ol' hillbilly is now referred to as an:
Appalachian American

Eric, I don't remember if you've mentioned how old he is. I'm not sure with Burms, but with bnalls and most others that go off feed during breeding it also has to do with reaching sexual maturity. They'l eat every week for two or three years almost without fail while growing up, then the hormons kick in and that season they'll go off feed and ewill most likely do it every year after that. As HH said, they are all different, but basically they'll shut down for the winter months.

Quig
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Don't interupt me when I'm talkin' to myself

Moses is around 6 years old. He's 13-14 feet and 66.5 pounds. His light is on a timer and his cage is in the living room. The timer goes on the same cycle as the sun. He is in a cage that is 6' long, 3' wide and 24 inches high. He has a hide box under the cage but I've closed it off for now as there is not heat in it. I use newspaper for substrate, feed him large (10 pound) rabbits and most times start him off with a rat to get him started. He has just recently started eating the rabbits without the rat kickstart. His cage stays around 84 on the cool side and around 90 on the warm side. He is ALWAYS on the cool side. I kicked the temps down about 3-5 degrees a few weeks ago and he got very restless so I put them back. I take him out about 2-3 times per week. Last week I showed him at my wife's elementary school. I'm sure he hated it but he's always been a good trooper for the kiddies. He seemed to stop eating shortly after I kicked the temps down. I did so because he was always on the cool side so I figured he was to warm. After I put them back he stopped trashing his cage and settled down but now will not eat. I think that's all the info ya'll asked about.
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DZ

"People sleep peaceably in their beds at night only because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf." -- George Orwell

Scoot over, Captain. Let me sit down & cry for awhile, too.

Dagnabbit!!! Now MY dadburn male went off feed. Aaarrrggghhhhhh!!!!

He's been lively the last few days and it's feeding time, so I naturally assumed that's why he was lively. But noooo-oooo, he's got somethin' else on his mind.

He's in there right this minute playin' tiddlywinks with two live, medium-sized rats. He's 3yrs old and right about 9ft. He's always been a picky eater and it's been hard for me to get any size on him.

Evidently him & her have been a eyein' each other & a smellin' each other. I got her out for a bit before feeding her and she was all excited. While checkin' her out I touched her near her cloaca and the door flew wide open. And hyper?! Whew doggy, was she hyper! I don't think I've ever seen her that wound up. She was a real handful. She's in there chowin' down.

Oh well, it's no big deal mine went off feed, at least he's in a lil' bit better condition than he was last breeding season. I just wanted to beef him up a tad more.

Catch ya later!
HH
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Due to political correctness run amuck,
this ol' hillbilly is now referred to as an:
Appalachian American

One thing that hasn't been mentioned is daylight. The days are quickly getting shorter right now, maybe he is sensing it. I don't know how your set up is, but if you can put the lights on a timer (12 hours on/12 hours off) and keep it that way year round maybe he will eat all the time. I'm not sure it will work this year since he's already off feed, but maybe it will work for next year.

Just a thought.

Randy
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Randy and Michelle
Art In Scales
(719) 439-4199
info@artinscales.com

I must be lucky. Here in Connecticut, our weather is starting to chill. Yet my burms are eating like pigs. I just ordered another load of rabbits today. Enough from another month.
I figure by Nov they should be off feed. My burms usually quit eating first,but not this year.
My boas are lethargic already, and not feeding. My redtail being the first to stop eating. My dumerils, and BRBs have also stopped eating.
Yet my burms continue to feed. As do my turtles, and pixie frogs...unusual for both this time of year.
I had a post here farther down about temps, and whatever I did to the burms temps, it worked. Everyone is going into winter fat and lazy! Me included!
As far as daylight affecting my snakes...They never have any daylight. My basement windows are covered with reflectix to retain heat.
I don't breed my snakes, I just keep a few specimens of different species. So I don't know if the breeding mode is kicking in, but I know that while I still enjoy breeding, I'm at an age where I'd rather eat, then maybe watch some TV!

I got my burm as a rescue in the summer of 2000, I believe. He was around 6 feet long and very skinny. He's over 15 feet now and fat as a cow, and he goes off feed every year. He quits eating around October and won't eat again until the middle of February or March. He usually sheds once in the middle of his fast, and again at the end. After that late winter/early spring shed, he's ready to eat again. One year, he quit in late September, another year he quit at the end of October, so the actual time he goes of feed varies by a few weeks. I fed him a couple of weeks ago, and he's in shed now. He's probably through for the year, though I'll try him one more time to see what happens. If he does eat, it will be his last time until spring. Interestingly, I have a ball python and a small retic that are unaffected by the seasons.