Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi, I have a Female ball that is about 16-17 years old. Ususally every year, for as long as I can remember, she goes into "hibernation" when she will not eat anything offered from about November to April. This year she has not eaten anything that we have offered her although she looks interested. We have tried different colored/sized rats and mice, but no luck. Like I said she seems interested and will sometimes strike at the food, but never grab a hold and kill it. We are looking for other options like chicks, gerbils and the like, but wanted to get some opinions first. She is in a large enough tank and the temperature is usually around 75-80 degrees. She just shed a couple of days ago and is now cruising around her tank like she is hungry, but there is a rat in there with her that she lost interest in. BTW, the rat has only been in there for half an hour which has been supervised. I have never had this problem with her before and am starting to get worried. Could we give her something to stimulate her diet? I know I have heard of snakes going a year without eating and her body weight is still good, so what do you guys think? Thanks in advance!
Susan
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1.2 leopards( 1 tremper albino,1 high yellow, 1 tang)1.0 African fattail,0.1 pink toe tarantula,1.0 mexican red knee tarantula,1.0 albino sonoran gopher,1 eastern painted turtle,0.1 sun conure,55 gallon freshwater, and two chihuahuas.

That temp sounds a bit on the low side. Most books and web pages seem to agree that 80/90 (cool/warms sides) with a 95 bask area is ideal. Yet, if you've had a healthy BP for all those years (well done, BTW), you're certainly doing something right.

Has something changed since your BP last ate? New/changed cage? Moved? Humidity? Hide box?

I myself had one female that went 16 months without eating. In that time period she only lost 240 of her 2800 gms. Her body condition never got to a point where i was worried. If she looks ok I wouldn't worry about it. Second there are some things that you can do to help get her looking to feed. First raise the air temp, 75 is to cool. Give her a basking spot at least 88 (older animals seem to do better for me with a hot spot not too hot). next i would give her a hide spot on each end so that she can choose the right hide without having to be too cold or too hot. and last give her about 2 weeks off between attempts. if she refuses let her be for the next 2 weeks except for cage cleaning and watering. hope that helps, Josh Hutto
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2.0 het pied (RDR, alan bosch)
1.1 het albino (ben siegel)
1.0 het citrus hypo(gulf coast line)
1.6 05 normal bp's
0.6 04 normal bp's
2.5 adult normal bp's (some need breeding to see if norm)
6 white eggs from pastel to norm breeding
4 various corns
1 brazilian rainbow boa (alan bosch)
1.0 american pit bull terrior
1.1 taco dogs (ankle biters)
1.0 grey cat

a BAD dog is MADE not bred, support the American Pit Bull Terrior as the greatest breed of dogs on Earth!!!!!

Sorry I don't have an answer, but I do have a similar situation. I have a 14 year old female that hasn't eaten since late Sept. or early Oct. last year. Normally she's eating by June at the latest. She's holding at about 2300 grams so I'm not overly concerned. Just wish she'd start already.

Quig

is that time not around mating season? i hear they dont eat alot during mating season
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CKA