Not eating..

[kwhitlock]

Hey guys. I have a little Hondo, she's been refusing for about 3 weeks now..I know a lot of your guys snakes have gone off feed since it's this time of year..but I'm worried since she's so small..35grams last week. So..any suggestions? Temps are 84-87 hot side. Cool side is just ambient air in my room, around 68-70 at the coldest. Do I need to retain that heat better? To keep the ambient air higher?

[sharthun]

When was her last shed?

[kwhitlock]

Around Oct 24th.

[sharthun]

What size prey and how often were you feeding her? She could be going into shed. 3 of my 4 snakes refuse food right before and during shed.

[kwhitlock]

I'm feeding her fuzzies or at least trying to, I fed her pinkies once, and they left no bulge so I upped her to fuzzies and she's has eaten 3 of them since I switched her bit she won't eat now. Her first shed with me she did eat even in blue..I'm just worried cuz she's so small..

[kwhitlock]

Feedig every 5-7 days. I recently moved her into a new enclosure and had her a week off to let her settle. But she refused again.

[sharthun]

Feedig every 5-7 days. I recently moved her into a new enclosure and had her a week off to let her settle. But she refused again.

Have pics of her new enclosure? What substrate do you use and does she have secure hides?

[kwhitlock]

Ya, I'll post in the morning, it's a glass tank 30x12x8 using aspen. I'm going to switch over to a higher humidity holding substrate. She has 3 hides over the tank.

[kwhitlock]

Tank setup. The back, and both sides have the cling on for privacy, heat lamp to help a little with ambient air, she rarely ever ventures in the surface, usually burrowed somewhere.

[Primal Rage]

Kwhitlock,
Nice pics! Sometimes when they go off feed you can "tempt" them with smaller food items. If your really concerned I would suggest maybe waiting a couple days then trying a pinky or two. Hopefully everything works out for you and Layla!

[kwhitlock]

Thanks Primal!

I'll give that a shot! Could my husbandry be the issue, only thing I know is low is the humidity..which will be fixed next week.

But if she refuses the pinky I give her..think maybe giving her a live one? If she doesn't eat it, not a huge deal. I have a not picky BRB that will hog it down I'm sure lol. But that won't happen until the 12th of December.

[sharthun]

I think smaller hides that she could feel more secure in may help.She has lots of open space in her enclosure.

[kwhitlock]

Those are also on the way sharth. Along with more foliage for cover! Hopefully by the time I get everything redone she decides to eat..-_-

[sharthun]

Those are also on the way sharth. Along with more foliage for cover! Hopefully by the time I get everything redone she decides to eat..-_-

Awesome! I'm waiting on Darth, my baby black milk to finish his first shed with me so I can feed him again. Keep us posted!

Steve

[kwhitlock]

Makes sure to post pics if when he sheds! I love black milks! :) and I'll keep you guys posted! :)

[sharthun]

Makes sure to post pics if when he sheds! I love black milks! :) and I'll keep you guys posted! :)
Will do, already have a thread started.:cool:

[kwhitlock]

Well. Attempting a feed tonight, I have a very small fuzzy I got a while ago, it's basically a large pinky. See how this goes! Hopefully she decides to eat!

[sharthun]

Well. Attempting a feed tonight, I have a very small fuzzy I got a while ago, it's basically a large pinky. See how this goes! Hopefully she decides to eat!

Good luck! Maybe Layla will feast!:)

[Concept9]

Put her and the mouse in a small sterilite or Rubbermaid tube covered with a towel or dark cloth and set this in side the enclosure over night. Make sure you heat the mouse up well.

With has worked for me many times.

[kwhitlock]

Do I need to poke a hole in the tub MBK? Or will she have enough air overnight?

[kwhitlock]

SHE ATE!!! Finally! Tried what you said MBK and it worked! Ate before I even left for work!

[sharthun]

SHE ATE!!! Finally! Tried what you said MBK and it worked! Ate before I even left for work!

Good news!!!;) feeding time tonight for Darth after his first successful shed in his new home!:D

[kwhitlock]

So happy she finally ate! Hopefully everything is downhill from here and she will keep up her appetite she has when I got her! :)

Congrats on darts shed! Can't wait for pictures!

[EL Ziggy]

Good news!!!;) feeding time tonight for Darth after his first successful shed in his new home!:D
Congrats on the successful first shed Steve. I'm sure Darth is gonna crush a hopper (or two) later tonight! ;)

[EL Ziggy]

SHE ATE!!! Finally! Tried what you said MBK and it worked! Ate before I even left for work!
Congrats on getting Layla to eat kwhit. I hope it's all smooth sailing going forward. It's a great feeling when your snakes are eating and growing well. Keep up the good work!

[sharthun]

Congrats on the successful first shed Steve. I'm sure Darth is gonna crush a hopper (or two) later tonight! ;)

Thanks! Darth will probably jump from fuzzies straight to small mice! Lol

[nyjon]

Feedig every 5-7 days. I recently moved her into a new enclosure and had her a week off to let her settle. But she refused again.

Im no pro by any means but ive never had a snake refuse a meal when i was consistant with their feeding schedule (i feed mine every monday). Also, you can take them out and put him in a smaller enclousure (i use a cardboard box) along with its food and give it about 45 min. U can try squeezing the mouse (if feeding him mice) until some blood comes out and that can better stimulate his feeding response. Also, fom what ive read that enclosure may be too big for ur little guy. He maybe a lil stressed. I would put him in a small tub or box and cover it with th mouse. As i mentioned before im no po but thats my .02c. Good luck :D

[Concept9]

SHE ATE!!! Finally! Tried what you said MBK and it worked! Ate before I even left for work!

WOOT you rock. :)

[kwhitlock]

Thanks guys! The stuff I ordered finally came in, just finished her new setup. Complete with different substrate, more foliage, and another hide. So far she's been cruising check out everything!

[Concept9]

Thanks guys! The stuff I ordered finally came in, just finished her new setup. Complete with different substrate, more foliage, and another hide. So far she's been cruising check out everything!

Lets see some pics of the pretty new pad. :)

[sharthun]

Lets see some pics of the pretty new pad. :)


Yep we need pics.

[kwhitlock]

Alright hold your horses! Let me get a decent one!

[kwhitlock]

So! This is what I did, got a tree stump I put a plant rolled up beside it, to give more of an "open" hide. Also the tree stump has a hole she can curl into. Added 2 plants for more coverage.

Now, I've seen so many different things about how much humidity Hondos need, she shed perfect at 30% but I still want to keep her in her natural environment as much as possible. So I looked up Honduras climate. Avg humidity is tropical from what I saw, 75%-100% so I invested in Eco earth. So far it's jumped up to roughly 50% and I think it will mellow out around there. My house is VERY dry so it will help. I also need to get a different light, a lower wattage one that will spread it through the cage.

[Concept9]

So! This is what I did, got a tree stump I put a plant rolled up beside it, to give more of an "open" hide. Also the tree stump has a hole she can curl into. Added 2 plants for more coverage.

Now, I've seen so many different things about how much humidity Hondos need, she shed perfect at 30% but I still want to keep her in her natural environment as much as possible. So I looked up Honduras climate. Avg humidity is tropical from what I saw, 75%-100% so I invested in Eco earth. So far it's jumped up to roughly 50% and I think it will mellow out around there. My house is VERY dry so it will help. I also need to get a different light, a lower wattage one that will spread it through the cage.

Looks great man. I'm not sure if you have a heat pad or not. But if you have one or add one, this will heat up the substrate from the bottom causing evaporation and adding humidity.

Also, watch out for mold. A lot of people use eco earth with no problems others have had mold issues. I myself tried it and had mod issues.

You may want to cover three side of the enclosure to give snake more security, other than that your setup looks GREAT, WTG. :)

[kwhitlock]

Thanks man! :)

I do have a heat pad covering 1/3 of the tank, the light I got to help hold temps better. I'm thinking about switching it out for a ceramic heater, might do that, might not. But I need a light to reach across the tank instead of just the middle. But so far, she's loving it. Spending most of her time wrapped up in the plants hiding.

You can't see it, but I do have one of those jungle clings across the sides. I hope I don't have mold issues, if I do I might mix with some Cyprus mulch to maybe help? Not sure what to do more than that..

[Concept9]

I'm not a expert on milksnakes, but I did read that 40-70% humidity is fine, even lower if you mist every couple days. I like Cyprus mulch ALOT. No mold issues and it retains moisture VERY well. But you may never have mold issues, a lot of people don't. I just no some have so you may wanna keep an eye on it.

[sharthun]

Looks great man. I'm not sure if you have a heat pad or not. But if you have one or add one, this will heat up the substrate from the bottom causing evaporation and adding humidity.

Also, watch out for mold. A lot of people use eco earth with no problems others have had mold issues. I myself tried it and had mod issues.

You may want to cover three side of the enclosure to give snake more security, other than that your setup looks GREAT, WTG. :)


Looks good!

[kwhitlock]

I was going to do Cyprus but I was worried that she wouldn't be able to burrow into the substrate. And yea, figured it would be a huge wake up call since lately her humidity has been like 10-20% for the last week or two since winter started ! But thanks sharth! :)

[sharthun]

I was going to do Cyprus but I was worried that she wouldn't be able to burrow into the substrate. And yea, figured it would be a huge wake up call since lately her humidity has been like 10-20% for the last week or two since winter started ! But thanks sharth! :)

Cyprus or aspen works well for burrowing as MBK Boy mentioned above. Cyprus holds humidity more than aspen. I keep my humidity in the 40/60% range and use aspen with moist hides at shedding time for my corn and two kings and one moist hide for my black milk all the time. :cool:

[kwhitlock]

Well..the pain in my rear didn't eat again -_- I don't understand what changed between this week and last week.

[EL Ziggy]

Well..the pain in my rear didn't eat again -_- I don't understand what changed between this week and last week.
I feel your pain kwhit. It's just that time of year when some of our snakes go off feed or feed inconsistently. I've been dealing with it myself. My Cal King has only eaten once in the last ten weeks. I've heard from others, and come to realize for myself, that as long as our husbandry is good and they aren't losing weight we shouldn't worry. I say let's keep offering food every 7-14 days and sooner or later they'll come around. Hang in there buddy. My concern now is how long will my frozen feeders last. I placed a large order in October right before Caesar decided to fast. At least Sasha Fierce has been eating pretty consistently.

[kwhitlock]

If she was a year older..I wouldn't mind. She is so little I'm afraid of her losing to much weight..I know it's from the cold. My room has dropped considerably from the cold winter we are having in Michigan. Current temps are ohhhh 6 degrees outside not including windchill..hopefully she will eat meal every now and then so by the time it warms up...she will eat like I know all milks do!

[EL Ziggy]

If she was a year older..I wouldn't mind. She is so little I'm afraid of her losing to much weight..I know it's from the cold. My room has dropped considerably from the cold winter we are having in Michigan. Current temps are ohhhh 6 degrees outside not including windchill..hopefully she will eat meal every now and then so by the time it warms up...she will eat like I know all milks do!
Burrr, those MI winters are brutal. That's exactly why I moved away from there 12 years ago :D. Best wishes with Layla. I'm sure she'll come around soon.

[sharthun]

If she was a year older..I wouldn't mind. She is so little I'm afraid of her losing to much weight..I know it's from the cold. My room has dropped considerably from the cold winter we are having in Michigan. Current temps are ohhhh 6 degrees outside not including windchill..hopefully she will eat meal every now and then so by the time it warms up...she will eat like I know all milks do!

Grab a small digital scale and keep track of her weight.;) Good luck!

[kwhitlock]

Thanks guys! I have a digital scale and weigh her often because of how little she has eaten for me. She hasnt really gained much weight because of how many meals she skipped I think, but I am going to start offering pinkies instead to try and brain them so she will be more interested hopefully.

Yea MI winters suck, but in the long run I dont mind em! Kind of nice break from 90 summers!