Reptile & Amphibian Forums

My bairds went off feed 62 days ago. At the advice of others here i put her in brumation in early January and took her out two weeks ago. She is up to full temp now with a UV light on about 16 hours a day. I left food with her all night last night and it was uneaten this morning. She is healthy and active and i know snakes can go off feed for an extended period. Any tips? Im not in a panic or anything. im just going to continue to offer food once a week.

I had a 10' male Burm that wouldn't eat for 14 months. Got him and a 14' female as rescues and had to be treated for mouth rot. Once treated she went back on food right away. After 14 months he decided he liked guinea pigs, then very large rats, pigeons, small rabbits and about anything else I would give him.

Does that count?

Not sure what to say about your Bairdsi.
-----
BigT
There is a difference between ignorance and stupidity. The ignorant can be taught, stupidity is beyond our control.
1.2 P. m. melanoleucus B/W N. J. Northern Pines
1.2 P. d. deppei Mexican Pines
2.2 P. l. lineaticollis Linis or Lined Pines
1.2 P. m. lodingi Black Pines
0.3 P. c. sayi red bulls
1.1 Drymarchon melenurus Blacktail Cribo
1.2 D. corais Yellowtail Cribos
1.2 M. s. cheynei Jungle Carpet
2.6 L. p. pyromelana Arizona Mt. Kings
1.1 L. g. californiae B/W Cali kings
0.0.3 M. f. flagellum Eastern Coachwhips
1.2 G. m. bottegoi Western Plated lizards

Don't worry ...my male Bairds just took after 91 days. Had a milk go off for 196 days. Have a big northern pine that has been of for 146 days ....drives ya nuts but they'll go back on when the get hungry.
-----
See all my snakes at SerpenTrack.com

Yes it does drive you nuts. Luckily i have a big female normal corn that is a mouse eating machine. She Probably would out eat a cal king in a competition. I always plan my problem feeder attempts around her feeding schedule so i dont have to waste mice. I only have two rat eating snakes and both are finicky. Unfortunately i waste medium rats on a regular basis which really gets my blood pressure going.

Ya know, it becomes a real strategy game about making sure you've got garbage disposal's feeders for backup and all. I throw some out now and then but relative to what I feed it's a small percentage. Probably helps with more snakes.

Then add ants and see what happens! Love the summer when the ground drys out. Nothing like leaving a rat in the cage and coming back an hour later to find it black with ants!

Of course the ants sometimes go for fresh shed...that makes an horrific mess as they mince the skin. So in order to remove it you have to dump the whole substrate (as the whole tank/tub is crawling with the evil freakers.
-----
See all my snakes at SerpenTrack.com

I think the longest for me...ball python, 9-10 months?
-----
We wouldn't have 6 and a half billion people if you had to be beautiful to get laid.
6.6 African House snakes
3.2 reticulated pythons
.1 corn snake
4.2 Florida Kings
1.2 speckled kings
1.2 ball pythons
0.0.1 Argentine boa

Yes, the literature says that if you house them in warm surroundings, and feed often, that they will remain active year-round.

Nice theory...

I've seen from many specimens of both Kings & Rats that North American *adult* snakes tend to go off feed by late November, and don't feed again until late March or April.

Their natural instinct is to brumate. Oddly, both my Kings, male & female, go off feed in late November. Both are active at various times for months, sometimes for hours.

Feeding attempts are useless, however, until at least late winter or early spring. They simply are not *programmed* to be feeding during colder months. Their energy reserves suit them quite nicely, thank you.

*** In general, reptiles utilize energy about 10 times more efficiently than mammals. ***

Ameron
Portland, OR

1.0 Lampropeltis getula californiae (Carlsbad Wide-banded morph)
0.1 Lampropeltis getula californiae (Los Angeles County Coastal Banded morph)
1.0 Coelognathus radiata (captive-bred, Vietnam origin?)
Link