Reptile & Amphibian Forums

i have a redtail 6 foot who hasn't eaten in almost 3 weeks. he usualy eats once a week then he got to were he wouldnt eat but every 2 weeks now its been almost 3 and still he wont eat ive tried thawed and live but hes not interested..please help

I have a 5 and a half foot male columbian that i just got a week ago and he has no interest in eating live rats at all, he actualy runs away. he weighs about 5 pounds which i think is a bit light for a snake his length. could someone please help US with some feeding techniques and when we'll half to force feed if we do at all.

p.s: this is my second snake, but my first adult.so i'm still kinda learning.

make sure your temperatures are correct. if the snake can not get hot enough their metabolism will slow drastically and this could be your problem.

make sure they have hides. many snakes will not eat if they dont feel safe, which is where hides come in to the picture.

if none of this works try differnt prey items. a mouse if using a rat, or a colored prey item if using a white one. some animals can be picky eaters.

i would suggest using pre killed or frozen thawed and if you need to, use thongs to move the prey item around.

dont attempt feeding days in a row, give them a break in between trys of at least a few days.

thanks for the nfo

no problem .. post updates so we can come up with other solutions if the problem does not get fixed.

i tried a frozen thawed large mouse and he just flicked his tougue at it for 5 seconds and that was it. i took these pictures today so you could see exactly how fat he is.

he looks to be pretty good weight.
make sure when you thaw the food, that it is warm (your trying to get it warm like it was alive or just killed).
also try using hemostats or tongs to hold the tail and move it around to try to get a feeding response. i have had snakes be moer inclinded to eat if i dangle the prey items nose about an inch above their head and an inch infront, and slowly move it away from them. be careful not to touch them with the prey item as this usually results in scaring them and your chances of getting them to eat that time are almost nothing.

what i would do if the temperatures are correct when trying to feed is this order ...

frozen thawed left in cage
fresh killed left in cage
frozen thawed or fresh killed move around with tongs
live (last resourt)

i'm still having problems my redtail just wont eat he is 6ft good body weight..i tried f/t and live rats in different sizes.
i soaked him in warm water to help him if he was blocked up he did go it has been 3 weeks since he has eaten so he should have gone 2 weeks ago so im thinking he was blocked.. he is encaged with my 4ft female so its been hard to keep track of the bowel movements. she eats great a machine..i checked mouth no probs there..please help me

first big problem ... dont house the snakes together unless breeding.
if the snakes are not sexually mature then the larger snake could be intimidating and stressing the smaller one, causing him not to eat.
i would spereate the snakes first and make sure your temps are correct. i would suspect that this will solve your feeding problem.

he's been courting her for about 2 1/2 months.. the hot side is 90 the cool side is 80 my humidity is 60%..i believe all is well.i have given thought to seperating them but at this time i cannot i only have one one hundred gallon aquarium..anymore thoughts?? i can use the help..thankss

ok. i did not know you were accually attempting to breed them. it may be possible he is just not interested in food because he is preoccupied with her. i would say wait until he is not interested in her anymore to attempt to feed him again if he has already shown that he is not interested in food.
deffinately get a cage to put him into after he is done with her though. other then that i dont really see any serious problems.

thank you for your help..I will be seperating them when he loses interest in her i believe your right he may be to caught up in her to eat..