Reptile & Amphibian Forums

All,

My three year-old female blood has been a steady feeder since I got her as a baby. Always F/T rats, and she's up to a "large" size. Suddenly this month, she's decided not to feed. She seemed more restless this early fall than usual (pushing on the door to her cage--a Boaphile), but she was still feeding and defecating on a regular basis. Then, the beginning of November she just stopped eating. I increased the size of her enclosure from 12 x 24 x 30 to 12 x 24 x 54 to give her more space a couple weeks ago. But she's still not eating.

Has anyone else ever had a blood go off feed for a spell? My ball does it every winter, but this is a new one for the blood. Could it be a breeding behavior, given her age?

She's a good-sized female, a little less than the diameter of a softball at her thickest, so I'm not really worried yet, but it does bug me since she's been such a regular feeder all along.

Any constructive advice would sure be appreciated!

Thanks!

It's time for sex for her...to put it bluntly.
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1.0 Blackheaded pythons
2.4 Woma
3.2 Aussie Olives
1.1 Timors
2.2 Bloods
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2.0 Jungle Carpet
0.1 Carpondro
1.1 Brazilian Rainbow boas
1.1 Striped Bolivian Boas
0.1 child, CB
0.1 wife, WC

I agree that it could probably be breeding season issue, however with the change in season here, my temps were off for a few days which can throw feeding cycles off as well. Check your temps and humidity.

Also post this on the blood forum and see if anyone else responds

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Cindy
PHFaust

Email Cindy

Land of the Outcasts!

I agree, she wants to make more bloods!
I miss mine, but my cousin has her now and I have visitation rights I think
Nick

Thanks for the comments, folks! I don't have plans to breed this girl, so the nookie is going to have to wait. Tried feeding her yesterday, and she nosed around the rat poking and moving it, crawling away, then coming back and doing that again for nearly two hours. She even put the head in her mouth twice that I witnessed, but then stopped and set it down again. It's like she's just bored with it or not serious enough to eat.

I keep her temps at about 83 on the heated side, with a gradient down into the mid 70s on the "cold" side of the enclosure. I try to keep the humidity between 50 and 60 percent.

If this is a breeding behavior, does it take a long while for that urge to pass? What triggers it?

Any suggestions for teasing her to feed again? She's always been a F/T feeder, without any need to even move the rat around. Just lay it in front of her, and she eats it.

How confident are you that she is female? My girls don't care about seasonal changes, but my boys really do. Either way, I would not worry as much unless you see then losing weight and acting out of sorts. Keep an eye on nasal discharge and other health related issues. It could just be seasonal changes.

Then again, I had virgin females refuse a meal or two then drop a small clutch of infertile eggs....
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Rich,

I saw her rolled on her side about a week and a half ago so her belly scales were showing. Don't know exactly what that means, but she was in that position for quite a while.

She was sexed before I got her, but I haven't had her sexed since...

I have seen bloods do this occasionally, especially before a shed. Not all will do this, but it is not all that uncommon either. Usually the older they are, the more likely they are to rest like this.

Kelly

I agree with Kelly. In fact, both my males and females will pose in very odd positions prior and during shed cycles. Sometimes, they almost look dead. In some snakes, they hold this pose when egg follicles are developing and they are trying to get comfortable. However, I have yet to see any blood do this.

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www.richcrowleyreptiles.com
Support your local herp society
www.chicagoherp.org