Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hello....
kinda new on here.....i have a het for albino male whos gonna be two years old this summer that hasnt eaten since 12-6-04....hes getting very thin and im worried and dont kno if i could force feed this guy.....His temps are 85-88F in basking and 78-81F on the other end...i keep him on cyress mulch and mist ofter 2 keep his humidity up....ive tried live/prekilled and frozen thawed...rabbits, guinea pigs, rats.....nothing seems 2 work.....I have a female thats the same age, she eats like a horse in very simalar conditions and has NEVER turned down a meal....shes a doll but hes just becoming a pain in the ASS! Could someone please offer some advice????? Thanks very much!
Brian

The only advice I can offer is to take him to a herp vet if he's getting skinny.

Thats my next step...thanx 4 the advice : )

I would also get him out of that cage with the female, he may be more interested in hormone things than eating.

I just skimmed over the part about the female being in the same cage, BUT... as you wrote, he may be interested in hormonal things.

Or, the female may be intimidating him into not eating. This happens often with other snakes that are housed together I've personally seen it happen with JCPs, even if they're both the same size one snake can establish a dominant position (and it doesn't necessarily have to be the male). And then the other stops eating. The noted lack of activity reinforces this possibility.

So I second the motion -- get him out of that cage or get her out of that cage. Split them up now.

Bill

No no no....hes not in the same cage as the female, same conditions...he's never even touched her....with one exception, i soaked them 2gether twice.....but thanx for the input....
brian

my albino burmese did the same thing so i asked a guy who has had snakes his whole life and he told me to cut the top of a live rats head and my burm ate it in like an hour.

Hey Brian.

Don't forget, some retics (even young ones) are known to take winter fasts, then resume eating in the spring. Also, a retic can go for a very long period without food, so you might want to put off the idea of force feeding (not good) and let nature take its course.

A trip to the vet is good, but make sure the vet is well-experienced in herps and their habits. Many aren't.

IMO, there's no need to worry right now as long as the animal behaves healthy. A bit of weight loss is to be expected from a winter fast.

Bill

Hey thanx for the input....He isnt acting normally....he isnt active at all anymore, all he ever does is move from basking to water bowl....his last shed caused him trouble as well....its been nearly 6months now with the past two months of very very little activity....Im gonna try more hide spots and live poultry next to see if that doesnt perk him up a bit...
thanx again...brian

It's always something to worry about in an off feed python. Especially if there could be mites.