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E. conicus not eating

moreau Nov 10, 2010 12:42 PM

I have a female conicus who has been off feed since the end of September. I haven't changed her husbandry at all. Temps are high 80's (usually 88-90), substrate is aspen chip, she is in a rubbermaid bin size 2220 (16x11x6". I was feeding her small adult mice, then in mid August I offered her an ASF as I had some that I wanted to use. She reused it. She then took a fuzzy size mouse at the next feeding, I offered her another ASF at the end of August and she refused it. She accepted one hopper on Sept. 10 and hasn't eaten since.

I have been offering her hoppers as that is what the male has been eating, he can't take anything bigger. Could the prey be too small? I offered her a juvy mouse last night, she didn't take it.
Could it be prey size? Or source? I was previously buying the small adult mice from a pet store, they were all white. I am now buying from a breeder, and the mice are smaller. I have tried both feeding in her cage and in a separate bin.

So the last time she ate was Sept 10, and that was a hopper. She currently weighs 215 grams. I weighed her for the first time two weeks ago, and she was 216grams. She definitely doesn't seem as chunky as she did two months ago. She is around 19" long, and I don't know her exact age, but I would guess around 2 as she will be ready to breed this coming spring.

She is in a bit of a high traffic area, my dining room. My toddler is constantly running back and forth, she probably feels the stomping. But she was always in the dining room, and she ate fine before. Also, my yearling kenyan has become a sporadic eater as well since his last shed. He shed mid October and has only eaten one pinky since then. He used to be a very regular eater. Could the two be connected? They are both in the dining room. I don't have anywhere else to put them right now.

Any advice?

Replies (4)

CBH Nov 11, 2010 10:54 AM

I wouldn't worry to much. You might want to try to increase the temps on the warm end (I use 95-100F).

-Chris
-----
Christopher E. Smith
Contact
Captive Bred Herps
Wildlife Research & Consulting Services, LLC

Moreau Dec 22, 2010 12:04 PM

I juat wanted to update, I finally got her to eat last night after more than three months!
I did raise the heat a bit, but that didn't do it. What I did do was put her back into a smaller shoe box bin. She looks way too big for it, but I guess she felt more comfy in there than in the next size up. I fed her two fuzzies last night and she ate them.

CBH Nov 11, 2010 10:58 AM

Regarding the kenyan- Male kenyan sand boas often eat less after ~1-1.5 yrs of age. I have had adult male kenyans go off feed for 7 months! I am not sure where you are located, but most likely the weather outside has cooled down? Maybe there is a cool draft, etc... They moving them to a different location and try turning up the temps a little.

Don't stress this yet.

-Chris
-----
Christopher E. Smith
Contact
Captive Bred Herps
Wildlife Research & Consulting Services, LLC

moreau Nov 11, 2010 11:34 AM

Thank you very much, I will try turning the temps up a bit and see how that goes. I live in Canada, and it has been getting a bit colder out, but it is usually always quite warm in my house. Hopefully being warmer will work.

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