I know this topics been up many times before but I never paid attention because my eastern never turned down a meal, ever. He's a year and a half old and about a month ago decided to stop eating. I've even put a live mouse in front of him hoping to stimulate him. I'm not too concerned cause I've had snakes go lots longer than that but this is very unlike this snake's behavior. Could it be he wants to brumate even though I've not changed temps (or anything for that matter). Any help or comments are appreciated beyond belief.
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question on eastern
crom
Oct 17, 2005 04:19 PM
Replies (1)
snakesunlimited1
Oct 17, 2005 06:25 PM
Do you use lights to heat his cage or UTH. If you have changed the light cycle than that would be my guess. I "brumated" snakes in Florida while they where at 70 degrees for most of the time. I did however change the light cycle. To go a step further I "moved" the light cycle a month ahead and got eggs a month ahead of the previous year. I did it again the next year and was 2 months of the first mentioned year.
When I say light cycle and mention moving it I mean that I got the sunrise/sunset times for my area off the internet and set my lights. I then speeded up the changing of time by skipping a day until I got a month ahead. At that point I followed the times on the chart from the national whatever bureau. Come spring I was having the lights on at the same time as the previous years first breeding but I was a month earlier. I did the same thing in the fall the following year and was 2 months ahead. The temps where what ever the temps where but they where never "brumation" temps.
While there are some on this forum who will say that snakes are not affective by light I have personal experience that differs with those thoughts. Also I had the pleasure of listening to a talk on a certain high elevation viper that is responding to UV light in positive growth and health in the groups that where raised with UV. The speaker said that this year a further study will be done on wild snakes to see what the blood make up is compared to captives both on and off UV. This is a mountain species and is from a elevation that might make it a apple to oranges comparison to most snakes but snakes like the mountain kings might be helped by this.
Anyway good luck.
Later Jason
