Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I have a nice male Hondo that I did not brumate. He probably hatched in fall of 2011 and I got him in spring of 2012. He is just now at the 4ft mark and weighed 909g back in February. He has been eating and growing like crazy, but come this month he's refused most meals. His normal attitude of stay quiet and hide has changed over to pace the tank and burrow through everything.

My guess is he is looking for a female. I'm not worried about him in terms of health, because at 909g, he has weight to spare, and he certainly is energetic. But, any idea on how long he'll be like this?

Thanks!

Yes, sexually mature males will often refuse food during late March, April and maybe May, especially when well-fed the year prior. This will not compromise his health.

His weight is not 909g. That would be a fat snake!

His weight is 609g. But either way, he has plenty of wriggle room.

Thanks for the quick answer. So I'm looking at 4-6 weeks at least of him being spastic. Sounds like my corn, but he is usually on the prowl around May.

Cheers

Probably what is happening. Mine do it (sinaloans, not hondos). Sometimes they will eat a different meal, like live, as others have mentioned. However, I quit catering to them like that, and the snakes are never worse for the wear. At some point they eat again. Adult males simply do not require food as often as growing youngsters. Fat male snakes do not make good breeders, and I think they know it instinctively.

Seems to me that baby snakes will eat like crazy to get bigger fast. Bigger snake means fewer predators. That may be why baby snakes feed all winter (usually) with reckless abandon. Once adult, males do not need as much food, and it probably helps the population as a whole for the males to not eat up all of the food that females need for energy to produce eggs.

Obviously you need to monitor. From your description, he sounds very healthy, so I doubt it is a problem. But, keep an eye out for mouth gaping, sneezing, etc. And keep a nice cool area for him too.