Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I just bought a tiger retic and am a little worried that she is not eating. She is just a little baby and in a 12 quart rack right now.. Can anyone help me and get me into the right direction with how to fix the problem

need some common info. cage set up, temps, any hides, how long have you had her, what is her feeding/shed history, age, etc. baby snakes go off feed for any of a million different reasons. the first thing to do is try to rule in or rule out something that you, as a keeper, are doing or not doing that is keeping her from eating (not saying its you, just saying we need to examine all the above info to see if it is or isnt something you are doing)
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retic is king of kings

1.0 Tiger Retic
1.0 Albino Tiger Retic
0.1 Striped Tiger Retic (het albino)
0.1 Salmon Boa
1.0 Albino Boa
0.1 False Water Cobra

Well, I've only had her for about a month.. Maybe three weeks. I have her in a rack system with nothing but her in it. There is no hide box or anything but the rack isnt that big. The temp is set at 90 and that is back heat. She doesnt seem sick or anything. She is about two months old or so.. Give or take a month. I am not sure about her feeding history.. I was told she was eating live mice every week.. She hasn't eaten since I brought her home. I appreciate the info that you are giving me too.. I have other snakes and everything but they all do great but this is my first retic. I look forward to hearing from you again.. Thanks so much for your time as I am sure it is valuable...

everything seems pretty normal. some snakes need very tight and small hides that they can coil into tightly. some snakes dont. none of mine have hides, but all mine are yearlings or older. my false water cobra and nightsnake have hides but they are smaller and younger. i always start hatchlings off with a hide, even in a rack system, then the ones that dont appear to need it or use it, i take out. but some snakes are just more shy than others, and need one. i would suggest getting a tiny hide that the snake can squeeze tightly into or underneath. do you provide a light cycle? are you offering live still or trying to switch to p/k or f/t? babies can go a month or even two months easy without feeding and be healthy. so, i would try the hide for about a week and just leave the snake alone. then like next friday offer a live, just to see if it will take what its used to. if that doesnt work, i do the food withholding thing. i dont offer anything for a at least 3 straight weeks, keep the hide in there and dont handle them. that has worked for me. i have found that all animals will eat eventually when they are truly hungry
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retic is king of kings

1.0 Tiger Retic
1.0 Albino Tiger Retic
0.1 Striped Tiger Retic (het albino)
0.1 Salmon Boa
1.0 Albino Boa
0.1 False Water Cobra

Just to expand on what was already said, a hide box is something I would strongly suggest.

Offer a tight fitting small hide box, discontinue handling until the animal is feeding regularly, offer the same prey item the animal was formerly feeding on (in this case a live mouse), I would lower the temps slightly an 86-88* hot spot with an ambient temp in the low 80*s is ideal for a hatchling. Make sure the animal does not have mites. The only other tricks that have worked in the past for slow starters if all of that checks out, are to offer a humid hide (one with a damp paper towel works well, and its easy to keep clean), or to offer a prekilled mouse on a clean substrate (i.e. paper towels or newspaper) overnight for a very shy feeder.

Good luck,
Jordan
Prehistoric Pets

I put a hide box in there but it is still too big.. I just ordered a few from RBI so they should be here soon.. Hopefully that will be the problem.. I dont provide a light cycle but there is enough light that comes through the window during the day.
I still offer her live mice and even tried offering her live fuzzy rats but still no go on the eating. I hope she is just being a pain in my ass. lol... I dont know what else to do.. I guess I just have to wait for the smaller hide boxes and see if that is going to fix it

long and short, i have had some babies, every now and then, not feed for 2-3 months. just keep offering every 1-2 weeks, make sure enclosure conditions are optimal, the hides are small enough for the snake to pack in there pretty tight, and make sure the snake continues to be active, and looks healthy. eventually, he will eat.
-----
retic is king of kings

1.0 Tiger Retic
1.0 Albino Tiger Retic
0.1 Striped Tiger Retic (het albino)
0.1 Salmon Boa
1.0 Albino Boa
0.1 False Water Cobra

a hide can be box of any sort. Do you have any empty cereal box, or stationery box, that is the right size? You can use that and throw it away when it gets fouled. Is the hide you have now twice as big as it needs to be? Put in crunched up newspaper to fill it 3/4 of the way. That way the snake can crawl into the hide and arrange itself how it is most comfortable. The newspaper will compact so it's a perfect fit.
It is good that you have other hides coming, but that is no reason to not adjust what you have so it works in the meantime. The sooner the snake settles in the easier it will be all around.
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I wanted to thank everyone for the help..She ate and is continuing to eat for me... She was in shed as well but never blued over or got dull in color.. Threw me off and blew my mind. I think that had a lot to do with it too..lol...