Snakes..

[Valael]

What could cause a snake that used to always be a great eater to suddenly stop? (He would even eat the day before shedding.)



Graybanded Kingsnake..





I THINK he might have gotten a small bite (Nothing that even broke skin)..I heard they can be scared to eat after that?

 

[BigSam]

My Ball python got a lil bite that berly brook the skin ?? He still eats like a pig Do you feed live ??

Sam,

 

[Valael]

I don't really have a set way of feeding. 9 times out of 10, I'll pre-kill it. But occasionally, I'll feed it alive.


But since he stopped eatting (2 or 3 weeks ago...He managed to escape inbetween attempts, heh.), I've offered dead and alive.

 

[Phillip]

What size is the greyband and how long have you had it? Also how many times and how often have you seen it feed? This can help narrow down the problem.

Phil

 

[Valael]

I've had it maybe 8 months? Possibly a little longer.


It's about 3 - 3 1/2 feet, I don't have a string handy so I can't get an exact measurement.


It shed atleast 4 times since I got it.


Every time it ate, I atleast saw part of the feeding. Except when I was on vacation and had other people feed it (But it ate atleast once since I got back.)



Now...One thing I had forgotten about, but I *THINK* my mom went nuts spraying for fleas near his enclosure. I'm almost completely certain he stopped eatting BEFORE that happened, but I figured it should be worth mentioning.


I haven't noticed any funny behavior other than not eatting.

He's always been a little skittish, but DOES seem to be a little more skittish than usual around mice -- He'll kind of stare at it for a bit, but if it moves, he'll slither off.

I've tried to leave him with the mouse for over an hour, nothing. I left it with a live and dead mouse, nothing.

 

[Valael]

Also, I never actually had a set feeding pattern. I wouldn't feed it a certain day every week. I figured if it doesn't get that in the wild, it shouldn't make a difference in captivity. I usually give it a large mouse once a week. I guess around tuesday/wednesday if you really want to narrow it down.

There were times where I fed it more than that in a week, and some times where I went a little longer than a week. But that was months ago.

 

[Valael]

Well...After leaving a dead and alive one in there for a few hours, I walked in to see him trying to eat the dead one butt first. Hopefully he'll finish the act.

 

[AudreyElizabeth]

Yeah, if he's trying to eat it he'll get it down..... I'd bet money on it!!

 

[Phillip]

Yup leave him be and he'll finish. Glad he ate for ya.

Phil

 

[Valael]

Wish he would have ate sooner, now there's a big blood mark from the mouse


I hate it when they bleed.

 

[Bry]

Valael, I'm glad he ate for you. Snakes will stop feeding for all kinds of reasons: temperature, humidity, stress, shed, parasites, not hungry, wrong type of prey, wrong prey color, wrong presentation of prey, bite from prey, or for just no apparent reason at all.

Originally posted by BigSam
My Ball python got a lil bite that berly brook the skin ?? He still eats like a pig Do you feed live ??

*sighs and shakes head*

Bry

 

[Ravnos]

I have a rescue boa that was completely torn apart by his food, but he still eats like a champ - on thawed rats. It is luck of the draw every time you drop a live animal in the cage, but personally, I see no reason to put my animals at that risk, especially if they readily take dead. It is certainly not worth the Lord of the Flies mentality of watching your pet kill its own food. I'm glad he ate again for you, but we always have to remember - they're living beings too. Sometimes they just don't feel like it.

Rav

 

[Psycho]

Originally posted by Bry
Valael, I'm glad he ate for you. Snakes will stop feeding for all kinds of reasons: temperature, humidity, stress, shed, parasites, not hungry, wrong type of prey, wrong prey color, wrong presentation of prey, bite from prey, or for just no apparent reason at all.



*sighs and shakes head*

Bry

wrong prey color


On a side note I used to think I was just imagining things, but my savanna monitor will only eat pure white mice.... I think she's racist lol... even a colored dot and it takes her 2 or 3 times feeding it to her to eat it.....

~~~Psycho~~~