Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Problem: My 4 month old ATB shows interest in food, she will take the pinkies, but then drop them after she's grabbed them. She'll do this about 5 or 6 times, then finally she'll give up and not even take the pinkies anymore. Her mouth looks normal. Any advice? Below you can read more about her conditions if you need more info.

My 4 month old ATB had to be snake-sat until I came home from college. She got stuck in her shed, and throws up the pinkies she eats. The people who were sitting her for me said they put her in a container of water to try and encourage her to drink after she had eaten a bunch of pinkies (this was suggested to me before on this message board). Anyways, I got all her shed off, and she did poop on me, which is a sign she's getting some food. I set up her cage, a 40 gallon aquarium with the whole works. I've got lots of branches for her to chose from, a couple of live plants, some fake vines. I also have one big container of water on the bottom, and two water dishes elevated at the height she sits at. Also on the bottom I have various spots of moss on the floor, with one side having a heat pad. Over top I have a 100 watt repti light that has a pretty straight beam, and then a regular 15 watt bulb. I've been keeping the humidity up, spraying the cage at least twice a day if not more. She choses more times than not the coldest spot in the cage, which is under the moss on the floor on the side without the heating pad. I know its not too hot in the cage, I have a very wide gradient of temperature and two thermometers to keep track. I think she may be just trying to hide. The biggest problem I have with her is to eat. When she does eat, she regurgitates, I think this is from dehydration. I spray her and her cage and have lots of water for her to drink from, and have tried the thing where you just put her into a container of just water as said before. She shows interest in food, she will take the pinkies, but then drop them after she's grabbed them. She'll do this about 5 or 6 times, then finally she'll give up and not even take the pinkies anymore. I've tried wriggling them as she has them in her mouth to simulate a live mouse, I've also tried just letting her take it. Sometimes she'll drop it right away, and sometimes she'll grab it and just sit there for minutes, then drop it. Another thing I've noticed is she doesn't make much of an effort to coil around the mice as much as she used to. I've also tried feeding at night with just a infared light on. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks

Well your first big problem is the tank size, that size is way to big. First go to walmart, and find a rubbermaid bin that is about a foot high, a foot deep and a foot deep, or the same thing as a 18 Q rubbermaid. Then go into the garden isle and buy 2 small plastic flower pot soucers. Get home and take eather a drill, durmal tool or sodering iron and fill the rubber maid up with small holes, and then cut a small slit in the flower pot soucer on the side. Then find some 3/4 inch PVC or sterlised small sticks (PVC is better becuse it wont mold, if you use wood besure to bake it first to kill parasites) and make a hole a little bigger to slide the branch in both ends. You only need one or two in it, then put down a thich bed of paper towls and place a small water bowl and the hide away (flower soucer) in there. Spray the cage down real well once aday, after about 5 days get a pair of twezzers, take a pinkey, cut into the head of it to expose the brains (this can turn on a feeding responce in snakes) and in the dark slowly offer it to the snake, if he bites it, hold on to it, dont let go till he starts eating it. If he is in the hide away your in luck, just slide it in on one of his coils and check on him the next day.

About the regurgating, get a good thermometer and hydrometer at walmart for 20 bucks, put it in there and see what your temps really are. They should be like this... Day time high on the warm end, about 85-88 degrees, a cool end of about 83-85 and a basking spot of about 90. All of the cage can drop down to the upper 70's at night. Oh also, buy a small human heating pad at walmart to, they are about 10 bucks, put half of it under the rubbermaid and put it on low. If he is still regurging after checking the temps, then you need to try to find this stuff called nuribac, I have never used it, but I know allot of people who do, and they say it works wonders on regurgers, I can get you a link to were to buy it if needed.
Also you could have internal parasites, not likely if its CBB, but a vet check on its stool would not hurt. Also check for mites and other exturnal parasites. And lastly but not lest, dont handle the animal right now, dont handle him till he starts eating good.
Any how
I hope this was of some help,
Philip
-----
1.1.1 amazon tree boas
0.1.2 normal corn snake
1.0.3 snow corn
0.0.3 amelanistic corns
0.0.2 anerythristic corns
1.1 goins king snakes
0.1 argentine boa
0.1.1 red tail boa
0.0.1 Coastal carpet python
0.0.1 Ball python
0.1 columbian rainbow boa
0.0.1 Black rat snake
0.0.2 eastern garter snakes
0.1 Speculated king snake
0.0.2 Red eared sliders
--------
1 gelding horse

>>Well your first big problem is the tank size, that size is way to big. First go to walmart, and find a rubbermaid bin that is about a foot high, a foot deep and a foot deep, or the same thing as a 18 Q rubbermaid. Then go into the garden isle and buy 2 small plastic flower pot soucers. Get home and take eather a drill, durmal tool or sodering iron and fill the rubber maid up with small holes, and then cut a small slit in the flower pot soucer on the side. Then find some 3/4 inch PVC or sterlised small sticks (PVC is better becuse it wont mold, if you use wood besure to bake it first to kill parasites) and make a hole a little bigger to slide the branch in both ends. You only need one or two in it, then put down a thich bed of paper towls and place a small water bowl and the hide away (flower soucer) in there. Spray the cage down real well once aday, after about 5 days get a pair of twezzers, take a pinkey, cut into the head of it to expose the brains (this can turn on a feeding responce in snakes) and in the dark slowly offer it to the snake, if he bites it, hold on to it, dont let go till he starts eating it. If he is in the hide away your in luck, just slide it in on one of his coils and check on him the next day.
>>
>> About the regurgating, get a good thermometer and hydrometer at walmart for 20 bucks, put it in there and see what your temps really are. They should be like this... Day time high on the warm end, about 85-88 degrees, a cool end of about 83-85 and a basking spot of about 90. All of the cage can drop down to the upper 70's at night. Oh also, buy a small human heating pad at walmart to, they are about 10 bucks, put half of it under the rubbermaid and put it on low. If he is still regurging after checking the temps, then you need to try to find this stuff called nuribac, I have never used it, but I know allot of people who do, and they say it works wonders on regurgers, I can get you a link to were to buy it if needed.
>>Also you could have internal parasites, not likely if its CBB, but a vet check on its stool would not hurt. Also check for mites and other exturnal parasites. And lastly but not lest, dont handle the animal right now, dont handle him till he starts eating good.
>>Any how
>>I hope this was of some help,
>>Philip
>>-----
>>1.1.1 amazon tree boas
>>0.1.2 normal corn snake
>>1.0.3 snow corn
>>0.0.3 amelanistic corns
>>0.0.2 anerythristic corns
>>1.1 goins king snakes
>>0.1 argentine boa
>>0.1.1 red tail boa
>>0.0.1 Coastal carpet python
>>0.0.1 Ball python
>>0.1 columbian rainbow boa
>>0.0.1 Black rat snake
>>0.0.2 eastern garter snakes
>>0.1 Speculated king snake
>>0.0.2 Red eared sliders
>>--------
>>1 gelding horse
-----
1.1.1 amazon tree boas
0.1.2 normal corn snake
1.0.3 snow corn
0.0.3 amelanistic corns
0.0.2 anerythristic corns
1.1 goins king snakes
0.1 argentine boa
0.1.1 red tail boa
0.0.1 Coastal carpet python
0.0.1 Ball python
0.1 columbian rainbow boa
0.0.1 Black rat snake
0.0.2 eastern garter snakes
0.1 Speculated king snake
0.0.2 Red eared sliders
--------
1 gelding horse