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My male Cerastes cerastes goes almost completely off feed in the winter. Do most Cerastes of both sexes do this, or is he just special?
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Peter: It's OK, I'll handle it. I read a book about something like this.
Brian: Are you sure it was a book? Are you sure it wasn't NOTHING?

I do not have experience with this species specifically, but it is not uncommon for many species (particularly wild caught specimens) of snakes, especially the males of those species, to refuse food during the fall. This can be for two main reasons, in my experience.... Males tend to be interested in breeding. Females tend to eat in order to build fat reserves for ova production, with fasting males chasing them attempting to breed. As soon as the temperature drops appreciably in the home range, both sexes will be searching for cover, and it would be very odd indeed if either sex accepted food right before brumation. Old habits die hard for wild caught animals, and this used to drive me almost to the point of madness before I (think, at least) figured out what was going on with some of my own animals.

There are many tricks you can try to reverse this if you do not plan to brumate. If the snake has good weight and is in good health, a few months fasting won't do much to harm him. The first trick I've used is to keep the snake in a room with no access to natural light (inner room or closet) for a few weeks, and while he/she is in there use incandescent lighting in the room. After a few weeks, you've sort of reset his or her inner clock, and then you can try using full spectrum lights in and around the enclosure and you can cycle his / her day to match the time of year you want the snake to think it is... adjust cage heat accordingly and about 50% of the time, I have been able to trick a snake that "thinks" it wants to fast in order to brumate into believing it's spring again.... time to eat everything in sight. You can also take him down to brumation temperatures over a two week period and only leave him in the lower temps for a few weeks, and then bring him out again to "normal" temperatures to see if that will trigger him to eat...

Last but not least, I have had success keeping a few individuals in complete darkness for 5-7 days, with heat and water, but no light, and then offering them a small live meal (typically a fuzzy mouse) that would not be able to do the animal any harm, and then checking the next morning.... most times the snakes ate the food....

The bottom line is that there are no absolutes in keeping animals as far as feeding schedules, and such are concerned. It's been trial and error for me for years, and it continues to be to this day... the good news is that the longer I do this the errors are getting to be fewer and farther between with less and less dire consequences as time passes....

Best regards and luck with your troublesome feeder.

Tom Townsend

>>My male Cerastes cerastes goes almost completely off feed in the winter. Do most Cerastes of both sexes do this, or is he just special?
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"Seek first to understand, then to be understood"

This is very helpful information... I'm not sure this species actually brumates, this particular one is from Egypt. I have a few other snakes from that region that I know for sure don't brumate but do go off feed in winter. But it still would be useful to make him think it's not winter... except that he might get confused about when breeding season is and I asked the question because I may be about to buy a female.
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Peter: It's OK, I'll handle it. I read a book about something like this.
Brian: Are you sure it was a book? Are you sure it wasn't NOTHING?

I'm no expert on the species but I do have a pair. My female (who is in her second year) never stoped eating pinks thru the "winter" in S. Florida. We keep them in AC. We lost two males (never ate) and the one we have now does not eat voluntarily. We met another guy at the expo that had the same feeding problem.
Frank

Heh, I've got the opposite problem, I lost two females. The one ate all the time but still died. My male is still underweight but is a real fighter. They just come into the country in such bad shape, but this is just the reason why I want to breed them so badly. Thanks for the info though.

>>I'm no expert on the species but I do have a pair. My female (who is in her second year) never stoped eating pinks thru the "winter" in S. Florida. We keep them in AC. We lost two males (never ate) and the one we have now does not eat voluntarily. We met another guy at the expo that had the same feeding problem.
>>Frank
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Peter: It's OK, I'll handle it. I read a book about something like this.
Brian: Are you sure it was a book? Are you sure it wasn't NOTHING?