Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I have 3 adult children's pythons (1.2??) and all 3 have refused every meal for the last 2 months.. I have tried rats, mice, frozen and live. they all take the food, but refuse it afterwards. not sure what is going on.

one of the females is very established and a major food hog, the other 2 were bought in dec '10, and have never really eaten well for me. I thought maybe they were in breeding mode, but thinking the male is actually 3rd female.

Housing is 20 tall for group with separate tub for feeding. Hot side is 85f with a CHE on top for extra heat. Humidity is about 50-60% with cypruss mulch for substrate..

Everything seems correct, so what am I doing wrong?

Temps too low. Hot spot should be in the 90s. My spotted pythons have a gradient of 90 to 100 down to 78ish. They're Aussies, they love it hot.
If they're striking but not eating, give them time. I leave some snakes overnight if they hit but don't eat. One of my hogs is notorious for leaving her food for hours, but when I get up in the am, she's always finished it off.

A little extra heat may help, however the main issue in my opinion is the caging. All three in a 20 H is too crowded, unless breeding, and will definitely add stress to this group. Also, you would then have the added advantage of being able to feed each in their own primary cage without having to move them. Some snakes do fine and eat well when transferred to a separate feeding unit, however many do not adjust to this very well. It's always best to feed each in their own primary cage if possible.

Kelly

They were put together for breeding. the females were rather bloated looking and I was advised to add the male...but have not seen any breeding or signs of anything gravid.

As to feeding tubs, was to try to curb [bleep]iness in one of the females. as she was only fed and never held by previous owner. she is still a "B" (calms down quickly) but now she is not feeding.

I removed the grumpy one to a large tote to herself, maybe that will help the feeding problem. This is my first go at any python, so maybe I just have them in wrong type of cage.. They started out in a rack system and I stuck them in a glass box with all to view...

I must say I love how Kingsnake censors the posts... Bleepiness does sound better...
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