Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I have a pair of yearling cape gopher snake that I recently bought and have been having problems getting the female to eat well. The male is just pounding mice left and right but the female has only eaten twice for me. I have had them for about 2 months now. The are both set up identically to each other in my rack. The have a temp gradient of 85-70F. I give them adequete hide areas and I don't disturb them much. She remains under the hide most of the time. She is also very defensive compared to the male. I know these snakes can be feisty so I try to leave them alone except to feed (or attempt to feed) and spot clean and change water bowls. I have tried frozen thawed and live, and many different sizes. Can anyone offer me any suggestions?

Ryan

I'm not an expert on snakes....yet...but I'm working on it. Anyhow, I've had a little bit of experience with the capes. The one thing I can point to for sure is your temps. Believe it or not, capes don't care for it that warm. Some are more hardy than others, but in general, they don't tolerate temps much over 80F. The temp gradient in my cage is 72-80 and he's thriving.

Hopefully, slow, gentle handling on a regular basis will help her to settle down and feel more comfortable with you. And dropping the temps might help that, too.

Judy
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1.0 red cape gopher (Caesar)

i'm surprised the male eats. they can be easily kept at room temp.......i'd try that for a while.

Oh now I feel dumb. I turned the heat tape down to 80F. Hopefully that does it. If that isn't the case and she doesn't eat within the next couple of weeks, what other possibilities are there? Anything that I am just missing?

Ryan

if the house isn't air conditioned. they'll appreciate it! and don't feel dumb......we all make mistakes.

Ryan......no need feel dumb bro. Be glad that you found this out now, instead of later. I made the mistake of keeping my first two pits, a cape and an applegate gopher, too warm and they both died.

Capes really don't do well on warmer temps. Pits, in my opinion, don't need to be kept as warm as some other snakes overall. My whole snake collection is kept at 78-80. The capes are also very sensitive as well.

Take care! Hope this helps!
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Genesis 1:1

if haven't yet try placing the food in the hide box. Also, use a blow dryer to warm up the f/t mouse before you place it in there, it really encourages their feeding response.

I am no expert on capes, but I did hatch some out this yr. I have to agree that the temps need to be low. Mine are in my living room ( I live in OR ) and it gets cold at night. When it was warmer they wouldn't eat or would regurge if they did. When I brumated my other snakes it was like 48 degrees and these things were looking for food when my northern and black pines were fast asleep. I would make sure for a low nightime temp and opt for multiple hides. Good luck
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Thank you
Darin Gray
Stone Cold Reptiles