Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I have a 2 1/2 yr. old male, approx. 4 1/2 ft. Ate last 4/24, shed 5/05, has refused/ignored all food. I have tried several changes, thawing in hot tap water, filtered & bottled water. Also, since this latest shed, he's trying to escape his tank, several times a day, never did this before. He's in a 50 gal. reptile tank with re-enforced & weighted lid. I'm hoping this is some kind of puberty thing. Can anyone help?

Thank you...

What kind of milk is it? Do you have a hide box of some sort? What is the temp like? Try a prekilled mouse, if it doesn't eat it, freeze it. Also, milks like to eat at night. Mine seem to do better when I feed at night. I really don't like to give them live food, but I do have a particular snake that will only eat a live one. I've known some milks to eat live but smaller food items than you would think. Example, I have a Mexican milk, approx. 3 feet, and it feeds on large live fuzzies only. Anything bigger and it won't touch it. The snake itself should be fine if it's healthy, for quite awhile (3-4 months). It'll eat when he's hungary unless there is a medical problem with him. I will say, that right after a shed, they will be very active, especially if they are ready to breed.

He's Honduran, CB, been eating frozen all his life. He has a large 1/2 log hidey. Temp is 75-80 degrees. I have tried offering warm, thawed food at all times of day or night, many times when he is actively trying to raise the lid.
I am relieved to hear that he can go some time w/o food. He had such a good consistent appetite, that the sudden halt had me frantic.
Should I try to find a mate? Or continue to try feeding, periodially?
Thank you so much for your input.

Just try feeding periodically. Hondurans are usually not bad about doing that, but I also have a 4 year old male that went through a period like that for about 3 months last year. Suddenly started eating, ate but not ravenously, brumated him, and after brumation, has had a great appetite again. Not sure why though.

my male (98) honduran just ate last night after his shed,the last time he ate was 4-6-04.he spent many hours pushing his nose against the tub looking for a girl friend.if he's robust and active no need to worry,it's that luv thing.

Pardon my ignorance, but what is brumation? Couldn't find in a dictionary, but found references in some threads. I get the basic but would like a more definitive answer. And again, thanks for your help, I feel much better now.

Brumation is like hibernation, except the animal in question doesn't really sleep. It's really just a period of inactivity more than anything else. Hibernation is where an animal actually sleeps and becomes pretty dormant. During a brumation period in herps, you don't give the reptile any food and cool the enclosure to about 50-60 degrees, just make sure they have water. After a period of fasting, you warm the enclosure up and they become very active immediatly. This process is needed for a number of snakes and makes the sperm of the males much more viable.

My three yr. old honduran is doing the same thing. Hasnt eaten since early March. Was eating hopper mice twice a week. I am beginning to get worried . My first attempt at keeping snakes through winter and didnt brumate. Probably got him (male) all screwed up. Any advice will be appreciated. Thanks.

If you are not breeding, then brumation is not really needed. I had a desert king that I kept for 4 years and never brumated her either until this year. Never had a problem, but kings usually don't either. Brumation is really just to set a cycle more than anything else. Basically using a "natural" cycle like that in nature to stimulate them. As for pets, it's not needed. If your honduran is not eating, try going down a smaller size meal. I usually don't feed live but sometimes large fuzzies that are moving are tempting enough to get them going.