Male retics not eating

[Ivanator]

Hey guys. Been a while since I've been on here but I'm having a problem. My 2 male retics haven't eaten the entire month. 1 is a 1-1/2yo platinum and the other is a 7yo sunfire. I feed the platty every week, the enclosure is 4x3x2, hot end 90-92, cool end is around 80. The sunfire eats every 2 weeks and his cage is 8x3x3, temps are the same as the platty's. There are 2 females in the room as well but neither of them are at breeding age or size. 1 is 2yo and 9' and the other is only about 3 months old. Nothing has changed at all with their enclosures or temps. What can be a reason they aren't eating? Thanks guys

[Ivanator]

Nobody can help me on this?

[EL Ziggy]

I wish I had some helpful info but I have no experience with retics. My kings are eating pretty irregularly right now too. If your husbandry is dialed in and there's no significant weight loss I'd just keep offering food every 7-14 days until they start eating again. Have you tried braining or scenting they prey item? You could try a small live feeder. Those are basic troubleshooting options before a trip to the vet. Best wishes.

[Ivanator]

I haven't tried braining but I could give it a shot. They're not even remotely interested in the food at all so I just find it extremely strange especially for the big guy. In all the years I've had him, he has never once refused food

[guyabano]

How peculiar. Maybe they want to breed and the presence of two (albeit immature) females is enough to get their minds off of food for a bit.

[Theweinz]

Breeding instinct could be kicking in. I know my male Borneo's attitude has changed over the last two weeks or so, and my male hognose has refused food.

My retic has an 87 degree warm side and he uses it sparingly, tends to like the 78-80 degree side more. Is there a chance 90-92 degrees is just too hot? Does he use that side of his cage? Hope he feeds soon.

[Ivanator]

They use both sides of their cages and I've kept the warm side at that temp for years so I know it can't be too hot for him. Do they go into breeding instinct even if there aren't sexually mature females around?

[millertime89]

They both could be going into his breeding season mode. Males will sometimes go off feed while trying to breed. It's the right time of the year. That would be my best guess. The female is old enough she might be putting off the correct pheromones especially with the older male in the room.

[Ivanator]

Is she? The oldest female is only 2yo and not even close to breeding size. I always was taught that females reach sexual maturity at 3yo and about 12'. She's only around 9ft

[millertime89]

They can go younger and smaller but it's not advisable as there is a higher risk of health repercussions.

[Ivanator]

Interesting. I never knew that. I knew they could be ready when smaller but I thought that was only if they were older, like 5 years and the same for younger but only if they powerfed and forced to grow huge their first year. I had no idea they could be ready to breed when young and small. I'm not going to try to breed till next year anyway cuz their health is more important to me but I'm glad I learned something new.

So if they are in breeding mode, how long do they go off food on average? I just wanna make sure my babies are healthy and happy.

[millertime89]

Every snake is different. I've had them go as long as 6 months.

[BagnaraSnakes16]

Do not quote me on this but from what I've read, male retics go into breeding mode when the season is around whether there is an available female or not. Not all do it though. AGAIN do not quote me on this, and someone correct me if im wrong. But ive heard males are more difficult to keep than females more so in this species because of their strong breeding responses.

[millertime89]

That's basically correct.

[Ivanator]

Strange that in the 6-7 years I've had my male sunfire, this is the 1st time he's missed meals for this long if he is indeed in breeding mode. Why didn't he in the past?

[millertime89]

Because he's a horny, grumpy old man now. That's about as good of an explanation as anybody can ever come up with. Things change and so do the animal's habits.

[Ivanator]

Haha hopefully you guys are right. I really hope it's not something else