Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hey. I'm in Colorado and I have an approx. 16" beautifully marked baby coastal on the way. I've heard that of the carpets, these have one of the most docile temperaments. I'm wondering how my new friend will react when the box is opened and how it will react to its new environment. I'm starting the baby off with its permanent cage through adulthood, about 6 ft high and 3 ft long and 3 ft deep. I'm also wondering how long till the little girl will want to start feeding and how it will react to LIVE mice. any input on these topics or other good advice on the handling and acclimation of the coastal carpet would be GREATLY appreciated, as I will soon have the baby coastal to deal with.
Thanks alot
Joel H.

First of all, congrats on your new coastal (a highly under-rated species in my eyes). As far as temperament is concerned you should have asked the breeder about it's temperament before you bought it. The bites at that age really don't hurt much anyway, so after he settles in and feeds ( 48 hours) you can then start handling it. You actually want to target areas that make it bite or twist around...namely the head, neck, and tail. Over stimulation of these areas normally result in a no biting snake in a few weeks. The cage is going to be an issue though. Your snake needs to be housed in a much smaller container till it reaches at least four feet. Then you can transfer it to the larger cage. I would not feed it live unless it won't take f/t or p/k (just no need to do this). I would offer a f/t or p/k hopper mouse 48 hours after he arrives.
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Jim Kuroski

>>First of all, congrats on your new coastal (a highly under-rated species in my eyes). As far as temperament is concerned you should have asked the breeder about it's temperament before you bought it. The bites at that age really don't hurt much anyway, so after he settles in and feeds ( 48 hours) you can then start handling it. You actually want to target areas that make it bite or twist around...namely the head, neck, and tail. Over stimulation of these areas normally result in a no biting snake in a few weeks. The cage is going to be an issue though. Your snake needs to be housed in a much smaller container till it reaches at least four feet. Then you can transfer it to the larger cage. I would not feed it live unless it won't take f/t or p/k (just no need to do this). I would offer a f/t or p/k hopper mouse 48 hours after he arrives.
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>> Jim Kuroski
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Jim Kuroski

I'm from Colorado too and I have kept Carpets out there. The normal care applies for carpets except when it comes to humidity. Since Colorado doesn't have any(especially during the winter) you will need to make sure you mist down her cage at least every other day(once a day during sheds). Also you will definately want to keep her in a smaller enclosure like a 10 gallon and then gradually increase her up into her 6ft cage. Good rule of thumb is a cage lenth should be no less than half her body lenth. So start her out in a 10 gallon and go from there.
Having her in a smaller cages will also help her temperment some since hatchlings rarely feel compfortable in large/open spaces. Having her in a smaller cozy area will be less of a stress which will allow her to mellow quicker.

Darci
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Takes all kinds to make a World...

Hey Darci. I just moved here from Louisiana in June. I've heard that a smaller cage makes the snake feel more secure but I figured it would be a little stressful for the little girl being more closed in. I was planning on misting the cage once or twice a day anyway. As of now, I'm trying to collect and sterilize branches and then I'm set. I'm thinking of trying to section off the big cage so I don't have to get a new one. I'm broke! anymore input would be appreciated... thanks alot
I've seen some of ur snake pics Darci... beautiful!!
Joel H.

>>I've heard that a smaller cage makes the snake feel more secure but I figured it would be a little stressful for the little girl being more closed in.

Hatchlings usually live in places that gives them the most cover in the wild. Under rocks, the cracks in a tree, ect...Trust me, snakes are happiest when all of their sides are touching a solid surface.

>>As of now, I'm trying to collect and sterilize branches and then I'm set. I'm thinking of trying to section off the big cage so I don't have to get a new one. I'm broke!

...I really think that that will be more trouble than you think. The 'snake probability' is that they will go were you don't want them too. And as far as your budget, all you need is $20 bucks! You can get a 5-10 gallon tank over at Petsmart for 8-10 bucks. You can get a heat lamp at home Depot for another 7-8 bucks. Add your branches, some newspaper(free) for substraight, and the heat bulb box(with a hole cut in it) for the hide box and your set!

Note on sterilizing the branches. Be thurough! We tried using some branches from a stream in Eldorado canyon. We thought that baking them would be enough. Anyways we lost 2 lizards and barely saved our Savana Monitor...Just an FYI....

Darci
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Takes all kinds to make a World...

..why too big of a cage could stress out a snake or a baby snake? I think its kind of a myth, I mean were talking about something we'll never understand unless you can go inside the pythons mind. What I think is if a snake in the wild (way open space) can find a dark small hiding spot, then it can certainly do it in a larger cage. Ive had a 2 foot carpet placed in a 5 foot cage and it usually hid, but also came out at night and crawled about freely. It ate well, and it never bit. That seemed like a pretty happy healthy snake to me. Now ive gone to the local "reptile room" and seen smaller snakes placed in smaller cages/containers. I picked up a young jungle there and it seemed highly stressed, defecating and biting on me. Im not saying smaller cages bring bigger attitudes, but its kind of moot to say smaller is better when no one really has substantial data to seriosuly prove it.

"Im not saying smaller cages bring bigger attitudes, but its kind of moot to say smaller is better when no one really has substantial data to seriosuly prove it."

Probably 8 times out of 10 a juvi carpet that doesn't eat is a direct result of too large of an enclosure. How long and how many carpets do/have you owned?
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Jim Kuroski

It is of my opinion from direct evidence with animals we've hatched from carpets to scrubs to colubrids and on and on, that baby snakes will have far fewer complications regarding stress, poor feeding, and other related behaviors if they are housed in more confining cages. I have personally seen this scenario played out countless times where a nonfeeding baby or juvie snake in a large spacious cage will not feed and within a couple of days after they are moved into shoebox type small plastic containers, they begin to feed right away and never look back. I seen this not only in my time of breeding snakes but also in my time of managing retail pet stores, where the "large cage=happy snake" idea runs rampant.
I have found quite convincingly that snakes of most species (excluding racers, and drymarchon, I'm sure) will thrive if kept in what most people think is less than ideal. Now don't get me wrong. I draw the line at seeing these pics of 18 foot long retics in freedom breeder rack with a dog food bowl for water. I don't agree with that. But to nail it on the head, I tend to think that a general guideline for housing babies would be about 3 times the space the snake takes up in it's widest coil. Also factor in the space the water bowl takes up...I don't count that. As much as 5 times is okay but if the snake won't feed or shed well, get it in a small plastic shoebox immediately.
Something I must say, everyone must learn for themselves of the up and downs of this fascinating hobby. For some (like me), they must learn the hard way. Some just do what they are told and it works for them.
This snake may just end up doing dandy...perhaps not always ideal (like during shedding cycles) but if the snake eats, it will probably be fine.
Good luck.
-Yasser

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I dont know maybe 10? All of them coastals. Only 8 of them are pets that I have no intention of selling, but I had a couple babies I got rid of. Your evidence is still quite cloudy, because I dont see any real reason why a carpet python can manage to eat in the wild but not in a larger cage. Could you answer that in specifics? Im not saying I have the answers, and im not saying that I prefer smaller pythons to have bigger cages. I had a couple babies in tupperwear containers like many of them, I remember three of them ate and the other two wouldnt. So wheres the proof now? I have an adult carpet right now that refuses to eat live or dead. So I think there are other reasons why a snake wont eat, besides having to larger of a cage. A snake cant even see for more than 3 feet so i dont think they understand that there home is too large or feel it, in fact I dont think snakes voluntarily think at all. About that 5 foot cage housing my small python; I never fed her in the cage. Usually I will put the snake in a smaller container and that usually works. Again I dont have a bias for larer or smaller cages, but to say small cages usually make snakes eat better is kind of rediculous, if a snake can manage to eat out in the wild just fine.

"I don’t see any real reason why a carpet python can manage to eat in the wild but not in a larger cage. Could you answer that in specifics?"

Because they are free to do what "wild" snakes do and are not bothered by the stresses of some fat fingered intruder into their environment every day. They are wild snakes born in the wild. What we have is damn near domesticated when compared to the wild Australian pythons. When they are stressed or confined in a space that doesn’t provide them with the correct microclimates the feeding trigger never gets fired. They are to busy worrying about survival. Security always comes before hunger. A stresses snake will die of insecurity before it feeds out of hunger.

"I had a couple babies in Tupper wear containers like many of them, I remember three of them ate and the other two wouldn’t. So where’s the proof now? I have an adult carpet right now that refuses to eat live or dead. So I think there are other reasons why a snake wont eat, besides having to larger of a cage."

Sounds like you have some husbandry problems of your own, so why be giving advice or confronting other about their husbandry practices.

"A snake cant even see for more than 3 feet so I don’t think they understand that there home is too large or feel it, in fact I don’t think snakes voluntarily think at all."

That statement is just asinine. I have some scrubs that will track you at 10’ away. You have to keep in mind that they use not only their eyes, but also their heat pits to paint an infrared image. These can be used independently and together. The thinking part, who knows…once again I have seen some calculating strikes and darn right scary behavior in some of my animals.
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Jim Kuroski

Your proof is that 2 out of 3 you housed in shoeboxes did not eat. That does support your point of view... yes,but in a sample of 3 total, does that support much? No.

My proof is out of a much larger sample of hundreds of baby snakes covering many species. Does that support my point of view? Yes. And with this larger sample, it shows proof including those that could have already been predisposed to be strong and willing feeders and aslo those that may be very easily stressed and possibly weak as well.

Now as far as wild vs. captive, even wild baby snakes will often try to find a place that gives them the security that a shoebox may simulate. They utilize microclimates...areas that have their own temps and humidity in a very small piece of the larger climate they are found in. For example, a burrow or crack in a tree where other prey items may be looking for a hiding place. And don't forget that maybe 1 in 20 baby wild snakes (depending on the species) will survive their first year. Natural selection picks off those that don't feed well. In herpetoculture, we are essentially saving all of the babies, whether they are weak feeders or strong, and attempting to provide an environment that will help all of the babies in a clutch survive. So basically, a large percentage of CB animals are inferior to WC animals when deciding who is the fittest to survive. They are not all meant to live and we all try to get every single baby that hatches to live.

And after working with many many species over the years, I have found that far more species than most folks speak of have better vision than you think. Like Jim said, our scrubs will clock us from over 20 feet away, using their thermoreceptors as well as their eyes. Cobras have fantastic vision...Spitters are readily aware of where the eyes of their would be attacker are and they are more than able to be sure to aim their shots at the eyes.

Saying snakes feed better in smaller cages is far from ridiculous. Like I said, it has been proven to me over and over again, regardless of what I have been told before I learned for myself. The stresses captive snakes go through will in turn alter their typical behaviors they have in the wild so behavior comparison is out the window in my opinion. A captive snake is a very different snake than a wild snake in behavior.

Really, we all truly know nothing unless a few of us have the knack for reading a snakes' mind. All I know is what my snakes have shown me over the years.

And as far as your adult carpet not eating, I didn't ever say that smaller cages make snakes eat...it's just one of the things that I have found that reduces the chances of them NOT eating. There is still stresses of captivity, improper temp. gradient, seasonal fasting, seasonal hormonal flucutations, presence of a mate in the cage or in the room, reduced photoperiod and the list goes on. All one can do is start eliminating all of those factors in an effort to control the stresses and cues they have that keep them from eating. And in the end, some snakes just don't eat except when they want to. As humans, we always want to have a reason for things. Some things just happen and we will never know why. But like I said before, I have mucho evidence supporting my approach to housing snakes. And I can't say we are doing too bad so far.
-Yasser

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>>Your proof is that 2 out of 3 you housed in shoeboxes did not eat. That does support your point of view... yes,but in a sample of 3 total, does that support much? No.
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>>My proof is out of a much larger sample of hundreds of baby snakes covering many species. Does that support my point of view? Yes. And with this larger sample, it shows proof including those that could have already been predisposed to be strong and willing feeders and aslo those that may be very easily stressed and possibly weak as well.
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>>Now as far as wild vs. captive, even wild baby snakes will often try to find a place that gives them the security that a shoebox may simulate. They utilize microclimates...areas that have their own temps and humidity in a very small piece of the larger climate they are found in. For example, a burrow or crack in a tree where other prey items may be looking for a hiding place. And don't forget that maybe 1 in 20 baby wild snakes (depending on the species) will survive their first year. Natural selection picks off those that don't feed well. In herpetoculture, we are essentially saving all of the babies, whether they are weak feeders or strong, and attempting to provide an environment that will help all of the babies in a clutch survive. So basically, a large percentage of CB animals are inferior to WC animals when deciding who is the fittest to survive. They are not all meant to live and we all try to get every single baby that hatches to live.
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>>And after working with many many species over the years, I have found that far more species than most folks speak of have better vision than you think. Like Jim said, our scrubs will clock us from over 20 feet away, using their thermoreceptors as well as their eyes. Cobras have fantastic vision...Spitters are readily aware of where the eyes of their would be attacker are and they are more than able to be sure to aim their shots at the eyes.
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>>Saying snakes feed better in smaller cages is far from ridiculous. Like I said, it has been proven to me over and over again, regardless of what I have been told before I learned for myself. The stresses captive snakes go through will in turn alter their typical behaviors they have in the wild so behavior comparison is out the window in my opinion. A captive snake is a very different snake than a wild snake in behavior.
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>>Really, we all truly know nothing unless a few of us have the knack for reading a snakes' mind. All I know is what my snakes have shown me over the years.
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>>And as far as your adult carpet not eating, I didn't ever say that smaller cages make snakes eat...it's just one of the things that I have found that reduces the chances of them NOT eating. There is still stresses of captivity, improper temp. gradient, seasonal fasting, seasonal hormonal flucutations, presence of a mate in the cage or in the room, reduced photoperiod and the list goes on. All one can do is start eliminating all of those factors in an effort to control the stresses and cues they have that keep them from eating. And in the end, some snakes just don't eat except when they want to. As humans, we always want to have a reason for things. Some things just happen and we will never know why. But like I said before, I have mucho evidence supporting my approach to housing snakes. And I can't say we are doing too bad so far.
>>-Yasser
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Wow, I'd really like to thank you all for the input. I think I'm just going to experiment and see what happens. I have to learn either way. Hopefully the poor carpet won't be too stressed from the mail trip. The cage isn't that big, it's just really tall (6 ft.). the l and w dimensions are both 2 1/2 ft. So the actual surroundings of the snake should be pretty closed in. I just wanted the juvie to be able to climb alot when she pleases. Thanks again everyone.
Joel H.

Please don't take this as an attack on any one person, but I am a bit concerned with some of the replies. Keeping reptiles is highly variable and each home and setup will differ wildly from the next. One's experiences even with the same species may be detrimental to a person working even with the same species.

I think instead of giving particular advice like "mist the enclosure daily" or what size cage to give, there should be more general advice:

**Give your snake choices
-Between hot and cold (100F to 75F)
-between dry and moist (a moist hide and a dry hide)
-between light and dark (tight light excluding hides, and hides a little looser in construction)

**Give your snake security
-give the smallest hide that will fit your snake.
-give many different hides in many different locations in the cage
-give hot and cool hides so the snake can thermoregulate in secrecy.

**Give your snake food
-live or dead, however they will take it (you can switch to dead later if desired)
-enough to promote normal hatchling growth.

Such general points will let the keeper allow their snake these choices in whatever setup they have. They can change accordingly as it does or doesn't work. It also gives the keeper the opportunity to use their brain, instead of following someone elses "recipe for success".

An example of detrimental advice. Say that someone reccomends spraying down the cage every 20 min. Maybe this person has a screen topped enclosure with high evaprative loss and hot lights. the new keeper has a front opening neodesha cage and ends up drowning his new snake following the misting advice. The new keeper is then mad at the keeper that advised the spraying and the other keeper says that is works well for him, so what is the problem. Granted this is a rediculous example, but you get the point. Do you want to be the cause of someone keeping their snake wrong?

Just my 0.03 cents.

Justin

>>Such general points will let the keeper allow their snake these choices in whatever setup they have. They can change accordingly as it does or doesn't work. It also gives the keeper the opportunity to use their brain, instead of following someone elses "recipe for success".

I agree to a point but there are some tips that have been proven for years by some of the best Carpet breeders. Why should each new keeper 're-invent the wheel'. Also what we give on this forum is advice and opinions. NOTHING is written in stone.

>>An example of detrimental advice. Say that someone reccomends spraying down the cage every 20 min. Maybe this person has a screen topped enclosure with high evaprative loss and hot lights. the new keeper has a front opening neodesha cage and ends up drowning his new snake following the misting advice. The new keeper is then mad at the keeper that advised the spraying and the other keeper says that is works well for him, so what is the problem. Granted this is a rediculous example, but you get the point. Do you want to be the cause of someone keeping their snake wrong?

Colorado has very little humidity for most of the year(that of course depends on the year in questions but talking about the weather in Colorado is a discussion in and of itself), usually around 20%. No matter how you keep your carpets they will need some kind of moister supplimentation. I posted what had worked well for the several years I lived in Colorado with my carpets. Now what he does with his carpets is his responsability and I watch my posts fairly carefully to make sure they are as general as possible with being as helpful as possible. I think its ridiculous and a bit annal-retentive to take advice as the 'letter of the law' and to blame the giver for giving it when you asked in the first place. A person should take responsability for their own animals and use their common sense! And thats my .003 cents...

Darci
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Takes all kinds to make a World...

Again, it was not a personal attack. You are right that the advice on the forum is just hints, but the problem is that people don't take it as advice, but as something they must do to keep their python alive. Especially new keepers. You don't know what type of person is posting, just that they posted.

Humidity is a case in point. I live in Utah which has just as low if not lower humidity. I never mist my enclosures and provide a moist hide, which they rarely use. They shed perfectly every time, and breed well besides. If I posted on a forum and someone told me to mist mine everyday, they may be adversely affected, and then who is to blame. Do I go after the person who told me to do it? The snake is messed up because of advice that was given from someone meaning well that it worked for. My point is, without specific questions, we shouldn't give such specific answers. If they ask for help with a carpet that is not shedding well, then we can suggest misting, but to suggest it as a standard routine in keeping them is just unneccissary.

The most important thing is for people to reinvent the wheel for themselves. It usually results in happier snakes, and so why not. Poeple don't think for themselves enough and seem to want a recipie for keeping a living animal. While people should read all they can get their hands on, the most important is for the keeper to listen to their animals, and not others. If things they read do not help their captives, then they should be aware enough to change. They can not do this if they are following a "recipie for success", as they will think there is something wrong with the snake, and not the setup, as so commonly occurs.

I don't think you or anyone here wants any snake to suffer, and so we must guard ourselves against that.

Justin J
Australian Addiction Reptiles

Those that can make decisions for themselves; as you said "reading the snake", and what they believe is best for their captive. This is just advice, personal views, what has worked for us. Maybe we tend to think our way is best, but when most people use similar approaches and have great success, it's hard to think that another way is better. There is no need to argue over who is right and who is wrong. People should try things and see what happens. If this guys snake doesn't feed or hides all the time, he may want to think about moving it to a smaller enclosure, or adding more hides, or feeding in a smaller container. There are lots of options as you said. We only offered an option of how to possibly prevent unwanted problem that we have seen from our experience in the past. Trying to be helpful, not herp "recipe" creators.
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Jim Kuroski

And I agree with your choice statements (glad you did say feed it as much as it wants to eat). What I am concerned about is the fact that people buy stuff without the slightest bit of research, and then are forced to make changes that wouldn't need to be made, and money spent that didn't have to be.
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Jim Kuroski

Jim, I have carpets. They do nothing, all day. I find Ball pythons to be more active. My carpets sit in there hides ALL day every day. Even at night, they rarely forage. I read through all your responses and you guys have some ideas but this other guy is saying generality is the way to go, and I really cant disagree. When I put my small carpet in that big 5foot cage, I gave her at least 3 hides of different temps and humidity, along with size. One was kind of spacious, and the other two were very tight. She stayed to one hide and never left it pretty much. What Im getting at is how is a snake going to remember its "cage" is too big when its hiding in a secure hide box all day anyway? I know you could argue that she was too scared, and hung out in the hide because it was the only security she could find. But I don't handle them much at all, especially young ones. One of my adults has the perfect cage setup for her size, yet she STILL sits in her hide 24/7. Totally docile, unstressed. I can tell there's nothing wrong with her, but she just likes to hide. And I don't think a snake has a memory so vivid that once it steps foot inside that hide box they can remember there cage is too big. They spend most of there time sleeping. I think hides are they key, not the size of the cage because a snake thinks its where it belongs (the wild). It doesn't know the difference. So it crawls into its hide and forgets about the outside world from my experiences, and I've had way more than just 10 carpets in my lifetime.

"Sounds like you have some husbandry problems of your own, so why be giving advice or confronting other about their husbandry practices."

No need to get edgy there- there's a reason why she's not eating. Husbandry is quite perfect as far as I can tell. There's also a reason why I've had her since a baby and she's now 8 feet.

"Jim, I have carpets. They do nothing, all day. I find Ball pythons to be more active. My carpets sit in their hides ALL day every day. Even at night, they rarely forage."

This is not a good thing in my eyes. Why are they not moving? Why do you think that there is nothing wrong with hiding all day? That is just not what most carpets do. If this is your overall opinion about them, then that rules out the shy individual. If they are kept all the same, and your husbandry is fine, is there something else that may be causing this behavior? Noise, vibrations, etc? I'm not saying that all carpets should cruise daily, but from my experience with several carpets, it just seems odd that they would do this. Babies yes, maybe, but they should at least be out during the pm.

"I read through all your responses and you guys have some ideas but this other guy is saying generality is the way to go, and I really cant disagree. When I put my small carpet in that big 5foot cage, I gave her at least 3 hides of different temps and humidity, along with size. One was kind of spacious, and the other two were very tight. She stayed to one hide and never left it pretty much."

Once again, how can it be thermo regulating properly by staying in one spot. Maybe that was just the best spot it could find, both heat wise and security wise.

"No need to get edgy there- there's a reason why she's not eating. Husbandry is quite perfect as far as I can tell. There's also a reason why I've had her since a baby and she's now 8 feet."

I am not edgy, just staying that why would you give advise about a problem when you have a problem of your own. You said your snake wasn't eating, why is that? What exactly is your husbandry (cage sizes, temps, humidity, cage decor)?
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Jim Kuroski

I take this VERBATIM. No misconstrued sentences.

Posted by tormato on May 10, 2003 at 23:21:47:

Again, she is docile, but I wonder if a bigger cage would even matter? All she does is sit in her hide box. No matter what. Period bar none. She has no interest to explore, even at night. Once, I took the hidebox away for a night, and she explored her cage a little, and slept on her perch I put in. Then I put the box back in and she went back to it and stayed there for 2 days straight until I handled her and put her back in, and all she did was crawl back to her hide box anyway. Would this snake be complacent if I just gave it a little box to live in?! She doesnt seem stressed. Are some snakes just boring? Any info would help out. Thanks
john

Your reply jim.

Posted by JKUROSKI on May 12, 2003 at 10:21:49:

I believe that if all necessary biological needs are met that space is really irrelevant. I don't mean that you can stick an eight-foot snake in a 10-gallon tank, but as long as it has some room to move about it will be fine. Mine move for about three reasons to eat, defecate, breed. Any other time they are basking or hiding.

Im confused jim? I mean my carpets only show interest in feeding once a week, defecate at least once every three weeks, and breed once a year. I wondered all my life why previous carpets I had moved so little. You told me if the needs were met, then fine. Now your telling me they should be cruising around in the pm's?

I am not edgy, just staying that why would you give advise about a problem when you have a problem of your own. You said your snake wasn't eating, why is that? What exactly is your husbandry (cage sizes, temps, humidity, cage decor)?

Well first off jim, its not my problem. It isnt something wrong that Im doing. Its the snakes problem. She shows no interest in eating, and Ive done all that I can lately. There is a branch for climbing (totally sanitary), repti bark that is changed every fort night, a water dish that gets cleaned and changed daily, and a hide box that gets cleaned regularly. Temps are about 88-91 in the day and 75 at night. Humidity is about 60-66%. Now what would you do in my shoes? What is your solution that would make this snake eat? Because I sure as hell would take it!

Trying to think of why your carpet is not eating. Has the temp dropped substantially? Do they have access to temps above 100 F for basking (hidden or in open)? Sometimes they just stop feeding for a while. As long as the snake is healthy and fairly good size, there should be no problem. I had a jungle not feed for a good 6 months and then he decided one day he was through fasting and ate like a horse thereafter. It is natural to go off feed once in a while and it gives us a break as keepers for a week or two to not have to feed a voracious snake. I would think it would be a bit abnormal if they fed every time regularly like clockwork, because as much as we want them to be robots at times, they are still wild animals. My centralians never stop eating. They are pigs and a half, so I am waiting for a little break (hopefully due to breeding activity).
Good luck,
Justin

"I’m confused Jim? I mean my carpets only show interest in feeding once a week, defecate at least once every three weeks, and breed once a year. I wondered all my life why previous carpets I had moved so little. You told me if the needs were met, then fine. Now you’re telling me they should be cruising around in the pm's?"

It can be sedentary for the most part, but should move on and off the heat source, and be active within that space when hungry. That was a statement about small cages being ok in my eyes, not about total inactivity.

"Well first off Jim, it’s not my problem. It isn’t something wrong that I’m doing. It’s the snake’s problem. She shows no interest in eating, and I’ve done all that I can lately. There is a branch for climbing (totally sanitary), repti bark that is changed every fort night, a water dish that gets cleaned and changed daily, and a hide box that gets cleaned regularly. Temps are about 88-91 in the day and 75 at night. Humidity is about 60-66%. Now what would you do in my shoes? What is your solution that would make this snake eat? Because I sure as hell would take it!"

First off are we talking about the same snake? How old is this snake that isn't feeding? Give me more details about the specimen with the issue.
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Jim Kuroski

This snake is different. She is probably a 7 1/2 foot specimen. She has great body weight, really you cant tell that she hasn't eaten in a while (this off and on ordeal has been going on for 3-4 months probably); maybe I should really be specific, so you can help me more. The problem is that she will eat, but only sometimes. Its not like once every two weeks, its more like once every week for two weeks, then a two and a half month break. Then she'll go for one week and now Im back to where I was, getting to the point where three weeks is going to turn into a month. I would certainly take her to the vet if I saw any detrimental signs, like body weight loss, or dehydration (I've seen her drink water maybe 2-3 times). Problem is, she seems quite interested in her food. Ive wacked the rat out, really hard. And made sure of its death. So I felt comfortable leaving this dead rat in front of her hide overnight. No consumption. So I'll try to give her a living rat, and she gets very close to it, almost ready to strike. Of course, the rat turns its head to see what the hell is going on, and the snake backs right off, no longer interested. Thats about the exact point i begin to pull out my hair one by one swearing anything I can think of, because that to me is a tease. Damn, because Ive seen her attack and kill a living rat, believe me and its very simple for her. Now if she is interested in the food, and has killed and eaten a rat before, why cant she do it every time? What I have is an incosistant feeder, and I have a feeling nothing is going to fix this terrible mess.
Isnt it funny how a cage size discussion turned into my problem feeder? Thanks for any help you can give, jim or anyone else.

I would imagine you are referring to a coastal at that size. I have had a female coastal do this to me for short perieds of time, like two or three weeks before for unexplained reasons. She fed 3/23 then shed on 4/8, but didn't go back on feed till 4/22. Also fed on 5/11 and not again until 6/2. But fed religiously up until that point. Have you attempted to breed this female? I think they might just naturally go off feed for a while. Maybe it a natural trigger that says not to eat. Does she have good weight, I mean is she a large girl? This was a mature 9 foot female coastal. I too witnessed interest, but no take, and normally she takes them right out of my hand scary fast. I don't really have any good advise for you, I would just keep offering maybe every other week and see how it goes. Maybe it's the time of year, or the weather, or something weird like that. Pre breeding season jitters (fat girls need love too, but with all the neagative media...lol), you got me! I thinm if she doesn't loose weight and is acting normal that she might be just going through a phase. I hope she gets back to normal soon for you, and if it goes too long, you might want to take her to a vet. Might also consider seperating here from the rest of your collection if possible just incase.
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Jim Kuroski

You are right, people should read all they can on the snake they are getting BEFORE they get the snake. If not, then they can't realy learn how to "read" the snake when they do get it. There is a learning curve, but they will do the snake so much better if they listen to the snake over forum advice.
Justin