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Worried about Tiny

danktat Jul 02, 2008 05:36 PM

Well, I mentioned about a month and a half ago that Tiny was holding onto a rat and wasn't swallowing it. Just a hit and wrap and then a hold in the mouth with no effort made to consume it. Well it is two feeds later and she has done the same things both of the other times. Also, I had to peel her last shed and this time she came out of blue over a week ago and no effort has been made to slough off the skin. Has anyone ever heared of such a lack of motivation before? Acting quite strange (especially for her) as her feed response is generally pretty agressive and she HATES unshed skin. I have seen her go nuts trying to get it off. Any feedback would be appreciated.
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Replies (3)

kcpits Jul 02, 2008 06:07 PM

How old is Tiny? I am sure you feed pre-killed but fresh or frozen? Is there anything even minute that has changed i.e. food size, cage, light? I had a sub-adult Guyana that was a very stressed animal and very sensative to change of any kind. She would do what you described, she hit the rat coil and the next day would still be in the same spot. This went on for over a month, so I tried to feed her a food item to small for her to constrict and that got her to feed on her own so I followed the fuzzy rat with a small rat chaser, The next feeding went fine. She did however repeat that behavior periodicly and the procedure I tried originally worked each time to bring her back to normal. Sorry to ramble but I know how much time and effort it takes to keep our snakes healthy and how frustrating it is when one starts to act funny. I hope this may help you and Tiny good luck to you and yours.
Joel Thomas

boaphile Jul 02, 2008 06:38 PM

I have seen a few large older females do that. I don't have a silver bullet for you though. It's a very strange thing. I can't remember if any of them started eating again eventually. It's been a long time since I have had one do it. More than ten years. Just thinking out loud. Perhaps a live rat and the thrill of the kill would get her to eat it after she does the deed. Or maybe if you give a dose of Phlagyl she'll get a better appetite and start eating again. I would not give more than 50 mgs/kg.

Good luck with her!
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vcaruso15 Jul 03, 2008 06:07 AM

Sounds like a possible vitamin deficiency I would try to supplement her with some repta-vitamins and see what happens.

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