NOT EATING - 6months and running

[DOBERMAN]

I acquired a constrictor around Christmas and she has not eaten a meal in my entire time of ownership. She is 4ft long unidentified type. She lives in an enclosure 4ft by 18" by 24". She has Cypress substrate, large water bowl for lounging, a hide and a climbing branch. Heat is 85 during day and around 75 at night. Humidity is around 80%. I am pretty sure I have all the parameters correct. I have tried frozen and live mice. Regular size, pinkies and fuzzy's just in case the size was intimidating. The live mice will crawl around her, climb on her and she just doesn't care. Dead, she will slink up to, give a flick of her tongue and retreat. I am not sure what to do. She has voided about 10 times and the stool is just runny with what sometimes looks like matter mixed in. I know snakes can go a while without a meal, and she may have needed to get used to her surroundings but I am extremely concerned I am going to lose her. Obviously she ate prior as she is 4ft long already. Any suggestions?

[Starbuck]

posting some pictures can help us ID the snake, and then help you attain the correct husbandry requirements.

For now, what do you use as a heat source, and how do you measure it? What is your humidity, and how do you measure it? Does the snake APPEAR healthy otherwise (active, seems well hydrated, has she shed normally?)?

Please try to take some pics of her, and of the entire set up. Best of luck.

[KORBIN5895]

I personally keep my boas with a hot spot of 91°f to 93°f. Have you had it tested for parasites? Have you tried rats? I would heat up a small rat ( preferably hairless if you can get them) and leave it in overnight with the cage covered

[Lankyrob]

Have you tried rats? Pretty sure a four foot boa should be eating rat rather than mice

[DOBERMAN]

Starbuck - room ambient is kept at 80. Then the Ceramic heater is giving a habitat general of 85 (and Korbin) I believe the many branches near the heater would provide into the 90's. I have a digital and analog meters for both heat and humidity which I have placed around the different areas of the hab to make sure my readings are correct. Snake does appear healthy, sheds nice, good colour, loves the shower. A little spooky but can handle her. Got bit once.
Korbin - no mites or evidence of parasites
I will try to post pics but am using my GF's work computer right now while mine gets serviced so I try to watch what I load etc.
LankyR I will try a rat and Korbin I will heat it up and leave it overnight. But I thought the large mice would have been like a proper size rat for her, but yes, maybe I should increase size instead of going smaller.
Thanks for input guys
Still brainstorming. A note about her stool. the more solid matter within reminds me of scales or platelets or bunched up pieces of shredded newspaper. Fish diet? or Worried about possiblility of newspaper substrate impaction now. Just thinking out loud.

[marvelfreak]

At four foot it should be eating small to med rats. If you have to try live.
Plus pictures would help us help you. It give us a better idea of it size and type. Plus one of your set up to would help.

[DOBERMAN]

Thanks Marvelfreak. - You seem to have a variety of snakes. Have you noticed any tempermental diets within your collection? Does say your pythons or yellow anaconda eat differently from your boa? Is there any food of choice that one may prefer over rats for instance?

[marvelfreak]

Thanks Marvelfreak. - You seem to have a variety of snakes. Have you noticed any tempermental diets within your collection? Does say your pythons or yellow anaconda eat differently from your boa? Is there any food of choice that one may prefer over rats for instance?
I only have two snake that eat different. All my snakes eat Frozen/Thaw But my White Lipped Python and some time my Borneo Short-tail.

The Borneo will eat f/t but for the last two years he gone off of feeding during the winter. The only way to get him started back up eat is to offer live the first few feeds. then after that he'll start eating f/t again, but the have to been super, super hot. I have to put his jumbo rat in semi boiling water for a couple minutes right before feeding or he won't take it..

The WLP won't eat any thing but live. Now that he over a year old i am really pushing the switching over to f/t. He going without feeding. I try once every two weeks. Once he hungry enough he'll take a f/t. I think his about to give in the last time he struck and wrapped just didn't eat. before that he show no interest at all in f/t.

Oh and to answer your one question my python tend to be more picky eaters. My boas are all eating machines.

[Jendee]

ya I think its temps too, those temps that you listed is exactly what I use to cycle my females for breeding if since Christmas to now is breeding season I'm going to bet that she is in season. I would bump up the temps magically making her feel like summer is here and see if that gets her appetite going again. humidity doesn't need to be at 80% that is amore of a shedding or neonate percentage

[rocknhorse76]

I agree with bumping up the hot spot temp to around 91-93 and keeping ambients around 85. I generally try to allow for a cool hide temp around 80 too. Also, you should be feeding her a rat that is about the same diameter as the largest part of her body, maybe a bit more.

[Starbuck]

where is the OP??!?!?!?!

[DOBERMAN]

I have some incredible news. I posted at the end of May, when my snake had gone 6 months without eating. She just ate today thank god. But the amazing part is when we do some simple math. She has gone 11 months without a feed ( if you consider she was obtained in early December and maybe hadn't eaten for a week or two prior to me taking ownership) I had tried numerous attempts with different sizes and type of food. And I had closely monitored heat and humidity as well as other variables all to no avail. I was, at the beginning of this week sure that this last attempt, if failed, would result in death or a very undesirable force feed. She took two small FT mice from her water tub after dangling them around and dipping their snouts into the water. I am so relieved. I know I may not be out of the woods yet, I intend to get the same size mice, from the same provider again tomorrow to build up the mass she has lost. I hope she has got out of her funk and will be able to grow and be healthy from this point on. Her stools all up to this point always had "platelets" or "scales" or thin "chips" mixed in with the urea. One would wonder if they were newspaper or wood shavings that had impacted her, if this indeed was her substrate prior to my ownership? 11 months without food? Has anyone ever heard of this? I didn't even think it was possible.

[EL Ziggy]

Wow, and here I was worried about my Cal King not eating for 4 weeks. Im really glad he ate for you. I hope its smooth sailing going forward.

[ErikBush97]

Rats!! Do rats! Also: you said no signs of parasites... Runny stool + not eating = signs of parasites

[Terranaut]

As stated above...
Feed rats (or at least try) and larger prey considering the snakes size.
Up your temps a bit. I don't see how the cool side can be 75º if the room is 80º but....I tend to keep my hot side hotter like Kevin. 90º+ works great.
Glad it is coming around. I bet a little more heat will spark a stronger feed response.

[DOBERMAN]

I just picked up 6 small mice and am going to try 1 after this post. I agree, for her length and age she should be on rats, but I will take the small victories as they come, and hope that she will be accustomed to, and prefer, rodentia smell and taste. I plan on moving up to small rats if this goes well. It's very interesting Terranaut, on your posted point; I did actually have the ambient temp for the last week at low 70's and then cranked the heat into the high 80's two days before feed, with a spot on her lounging log at mid 90's. I was willing to try every technique to stimulate a feeding response. I cannot say if this method is correct, as this is not a controlled experiment, and maybe just a coincidence, but I have results. Crossing my fingers.

[Snakesitter]

Congrats! Good advice above.

[KORBIN5895]

Anymore news?

[DOBERMAN]

She's eating like a champ now. She has had an additional 3 feeds in the last 10 days since my last post. I have 2 adult mice out thawing now, and want to move onto rat pups next week.

[formica]

at 4ft, rat pups are still too small imo, my hypo Hogg, at around 2ft, eats large mice with barely a bulge (~30g mice), fuzzies and small weaners leave him hungry - rat pups are even smaller

[KORBIN5895]

Rat pups are actually the same size gram wise as an adult mouse.

Great news Doberman!

[formica]

Rat pups are actually the same size gram wise as an adult mouse.

Great news Doberman!

you guys must have a diffrent way of defining sizes then, weaners are equivalent to large and extra large adult mice here (25-40g)

either way 40g for a 4ft BC seems more like a snack than a meal

[DOBERMAN]

I hear you formica. I do want her to take on larger meals but I don't want to scare her off eating (for her) an oversized prey that she is not used to sizing up. That's why I have given her more meals per week with the smaller sizes. I am graduating up the ladder. Don't forget, even at 4ft, she was very thin due to her not eating for months. So the prey she is getting now is the width of her girth. Thanks KORBIN

[Snakesitter]

Huge congrats!

[DOBERMAN]

Thank u Ss.