Reptile & Amphibian Forums

My female had been great on f/t rat pups since I'd purchased her, and late this fall she started refusing food. (temp had dropped slightly naturally, so I brought it back to normal) She refused food until I offered p/k small rats.

Two weeks ago I moved my herps into their own room, at which time I seperated my male and female JCP. They are in identical 4'x 2'x 2' enclosures. After a week of settling, I fed everything, and the male JCP was the only one to refuse food. His second refusal was last night. This is the first time this has happened (I had to make sure he didn't take the female's food in the past).

He was a bit smaller than her until very recently, and I don't think it's breeding behavior (they're only 3' and haven't been cooled).

I'll try him again on p/k in a couple days, but any insight is appreciated.
Thanks,
mike

i am just guessing here but could be he misses her. they also know the change in seasons even though we keep the heat on. i have a 7 foot male that went off feed last sep to dec. he finally ate a couple weeks ago but refused his last meal the other day. so i don't know if he still thinks its mating time. i'm no expert by anymeans but do have 7 snakes. even my bigger corn goes off feed at certain times of the year.

but i dont' think yours is breeding size yet. i would think he is just still getting used to his new enviroment without her?

just my thoughts.

I doubt it's a breeding or acclimation thing. He just turned his nose up at f/t rat, gerbil, and quail(his favorite), and then proceeded to slam down two f/k small rats. I even tried a f/t in between, with no interest. Like I said, my female did the same thing. They had both been consistent eaters of the same f/t prey items (changing only in size) for over a year. I know they have a rep for being picky, but this was so out of the blue. Any thoughts?
mike

no i don't have any other ideas. like i said i'm just a pet owner. you might have to just feed p/k if that is what they want from now on. be glad they are eating what they are eating instead of mice. some will not take to anything except mice. i've read some post on here that they have to feed like 15-20 at a time to fill them up.(i think that is when they are like 6-7 foot though)
my jcp is acting like its breeding time again. he won't eat again an is restless trying to get out. he did this last year. when he was 3 foot he ate like crazy.
well another idea would be is are you heating the f/t up real good? i used to heat mine up in very hot hot water so the steam smelled like the rat and that really got him going.

Yeah, I'm glad they're eating rats. I just picked some up for breeding. f/t is just so much more convenient, and the sudden change just seemed strange to me. Thanks.
mike