Reptile & Amphibian Forums

i know that the males go off food in winter and he did it last year but this is insane, and its driving me insane(er) too!. He hasent eaten since august! thats like 5 months! hes lost loads of wieght, he looks like a cornsnake!i feel guilty just lookin at him but its him thats refusing the food.i know a lot go a lot longer than this without eating but he wasent eating that well before. just for a mesuerment he can easily fit thru the cardboard bog roll tube.
im thinking of getting a live gerbil only im scared hes just goning to ignore it and it will hurt him cos hes realy thick.iv tryed feeding him a live mouse before and they just smelled each other then the mouse actualy sat on his head!if he dos eat it will i be able to get him to eat any thing else after?cos i heard they like them to much.(oh i already tryd asist feeding once dident work)

What if the tank is to big?it just came to me now, i know young ones get scared in a big tank, his is 3foot by 2 by 1.5 is this to big? i spent a bomb on it!

now that's a long time.usually snakes don't lose on weight if not eating.
my suggestion is, that uyou try with a baby mouse...pink mouse!
it is harmless and they like them!
when i got mine he didn't eat for about 2-3 months, then i tried with pink mouse and he ate it like "hot cake"!

about your tanks size...mine is 220 gal!he has 3 hideouts, and a pool, which is 3 times of his size!
he is eating normally, so i think the size of your tank is not the main reason!
do you have enough hideouts, temp high enough, humidity?
can you post a picture of him and a tank?
i hope he'll get better soon!
Samo
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1.0.0 Ball python (Oz)
0.0.1 Hardwicki Uro (Amon)
0.1.0 Black cat (Tomika)

u can see Oz is laying in the left box!

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1.0.0 Ball python (Oz)
0.0.1 Hardwicki Uro (Amon)
0.1.0 Black cat (Tomika)

wow thats realy nice!its way bigger than myn, i'l see if i can find a pic

i carnt find any pics! there here somewhere oh well if yours is ok in one that HUGE then myn wont be to big.oh i forgot to say that hes 6 years old and a bit over 4 foot long with is why im so worryed cos its not like hes just a young one being able to fit thru a cardboard roll .

the he is 1 foot longer than mine?how much does he weight? mine is 1.4 pound!and he is well looking! here's a picture of him eating
don't give up hope...yours will be eating like this soon!

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1.0.0 Ball python (Oz)
0.0.1 Hardwicki Uro (Amon)
0.1.0 Black cat (Tomika)

np

>>u can see Oz is laying in the left box!
>>
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>>1.0.0 Ball python (Oz)
>>0.0.1 Hardwicki Uro (Amon)
>>0.1.0 Black cat (Tomika)

I gotta say....I think I know why your snake is striking. That cage is way too much for him! I can't believe that BP is eating and not totally overstressed living in that.(not saying I doubt you....just amazed) Divide it by 1/3. I would think it is not hot enough,(is there a uth?) it is too open and big, has not enough hides. I would worry that the plants would fall...are they glued down? Same with the branches. I personally see it as a waste of space. And how you have avoided him searing himself on that bare bulb...or setting fire to the wall or him pulling down the flourescent bulb is also amazing. I wouldn't give him much more time in it. To me each day is tempting fate. Cover the bulbs, secure them. IF you can't put your hand on it and hold it there you are asking your snake to burn himself.
What is the ambient air temp? Maybe you have it in a well warmed room?
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Sonya

Failure is not an option. It comes bundled with the software.

his tank has 2 undertank heaters, 100W bulb, UV light and another 60cm sun light!behind his tank is a raiator(1/3 of it)
branches are well screwed on the wall!also plant is glued on a floor!UV light is srewed with 4 screws, wall won't burn up...it's been there for 4 months and also snake isn't able to get to it!(he's too small)
about temps...on the upper right corner it's 92F, on the middle it's 95, down there it's 85, on the right down side a little less!it's enough
humidity...i have large water bowl as u can see and i also spray water across tank every day!
anything else?
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1.0.0 Ball python (Oz)
0.0.1 Hardwicki Uro (Amon)
0.1.0 Black cat (Tomika)

I don't know if you tried this yet, but it worked for my non-eating, weight-losing BP this past week. I whacked a live mouse (you could use a rat if your bp is bigger) and put it in the cage with nothing else but the snake herself. No hide to distract her, no water, for about two hours. I came home to find only the snake, and she was quite rounder and fuller looking.
Just make sure that if you do this, the mouse/rat is completely dead! You would not want it to revive itself and gnaw on your snake.
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"One man's pet is another man's feeder."

>>i know that the males go off food in winter and he did it last year but this is insane, and its driving me insane(er) too!. He hasent eaten since august! thats like 5 months! hes lost loads of wieght, he looks like a cornsnake!i feel guilty just lookin at him but its him thats refusing the food.i know a lot go a lot longer than this without eating but he wasent eating that well before. just for a mesuerment he can easily fit thru the cardboard bog roll tube.
>>im thinking of getting a live gerbil only im scared hes just goning to ignore it and it will hurt him cos hes realy thick.iv tryed feeding him a live mouse before and they just smelled each other then the mouse actualy sat on his head!if he dos eat it will i be able to get him to eat any thing else after?cos i heard they like them to much.(oh i already tryd asist feeding once dident work)
>>
>>What if the tank is to big?it just came to me now, i know young ones get scared in a big tank, his is 3foot by 2 by 1.5 is this to big? i spent a bomb on it!

What is your setup like?
Temps, substrate, how many hides, any other info you can provide.

My snake has been off feed for 4 mos. now and has lost 3 grams. If your snake goes off feed and loses a bunch of weight there it either has a health problem or is stressed out major for some reason. I suggest you provide this info and take your snake to a vet ASAP!

I hope everything turns out okay. Maybe your temps aren't where they need to be so if you provide the above info maybe there's something you're forgetting we can help you out with.
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Rob Talkington

he has two hides, one on the hot side and one on the cool side.he spends about half his time in each, the cool part is at 22c the warm part is 24c to 25c and his hot spot is at 29c but he has plenty of space to choose his idal temp. it gets cooler at night cos the lights go off and the humidity gos up to about 60, its at 50 in the day.i would have it in farrenhiet(?) but i carnt work it out.

i just pasted this from [bleep] where i asked the same question and someone says put his hot spot up to about 32c to 33c what do u think?

I think you have found your problem. Your temps are definitely too low. I'd do exactly as suggested and raise the hot spot up to 32-33 and don't let it drop any lower than 29 at night. That's all on the warm spot.

On the cool side don't let it get any lower than 24 at night and 27 during the day.

Your snake needs these temps to be able to digest his food and that's why he's not eating. Get these temps up to par and keep your humidity at about 50-60%. Give him a couple of days with this good temp and I bet he'll be eating like a champ!!

Keep us posted and if he doesn't eat within a week or two you will probably have to forcefeed him. That's when you definitely must go to the vet unless you have experience doing it. It is extremely stressful on the snake to forcefeed but he may be too weak if he's lost a bunch of weight. Also, make sure you supply good, clean water at all times.

Good luck!!!
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Rob Talkington

i can convert temps for you...24c=75F, 27c=80F, 29c=84,2F...
hot spot should be around 90F=32c!
so i agree with rob talkington...definetly u must raise your temps and as far as i know humidity of 50% is a bit too low, am i right?
so try this and keep us informed!
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1.0.0 Ball python (Oz)
0.0.1 Hardwicki Uro (Amon)
0.1.0 Black cat (Tomika)

iv rasied his temps and given him a 3rd hide, he already seems happier, thanx for all your help