my snake is off feed and i can't pin why.

[JonDoe]

Hi guys, im aware this question probably comes up alot, but im nearly to my wits end. My first ever retic, i got.him last year. From LLL, had an optimal setup, 2 hides on either side, daily misting etc. And he starved himself till he died. So i already have bad experience with retics. Now i have 2 retics. A normal female whos eating and growing like a champ. And now my purple albino male thats been iffy ever since i got him. Hes taken meals, but now hes running away from adult mice and hiding on the cool side (mid 70's) for the past two days. Ive checked my temps, humidity, even covered up the tank with a shirt he still hasnt left his hide. Starting to worry here guys

[shaunyboy]

he may be going into his shedding cycle.....

my carpets pick a spot in their tank and don't move much until they've been through the shed.also some of them go off their food until a week or two after they shed


has the male ate ok for you up until now ?

do you have plenty hides.fake plants.etc.to help him feel secure ?

what are your hot and cold end temperatures ?


cheers shaun

[JonDoe]

He shed about two weeks ago, i fed him the next day and he ate. I tried to feed him this week and zip. He got annoyed with the mouse, killed and didn't eat. He has been eating but i notice he does NOT have a strong feeding response. My female will go for anything with a heat signature, but he waits before he eats like he's deciding on it. Lol. I have two hides, a water bowl and a branch in there. Like i said i have a shirt covering more than half his enclosure and hes still hiding. Hot side temps are 90-95 and cool temps are 75-80. I hope he wont always be a problem feeder

[Tsubaki]

Do you handle him often? He might be nervous and/or stressed out. Have you tried leaving him alone for a while? (No misting either, complete peace and quiet) Most retics are ferocious eaters, and i mean no insult. But if this is the second retic to go off food for no apparant reason, my first thought is your set-up isn't as ideal as it may seem. Can you perhaps share a picture? All my retics had a clearly stronger feeding response at night, and some snakes prefer to eat when left alone. Leaving him alone with a dead mouse for the night might do the trick. It is at least worth a try i'd say.

[themeyers]

I have a male retic that went off feed for like 4 months or so. Then I tried quail. he will almost always eat quail. and it has been great. but he still goes off feed around mid November. and stays off for a few months. he also turns into a real ***. but try quail or some kind of bird like chicken or such. it worked for me.

[JonDoe]

I started handling him more often recently in hopes of making him less skiddish. Since he didnt eat last week ive only taken him out once to change his paper, other than that hes been left alone in his hide going on 3-4 days now, on the cool side. Im going to try feeding at night in a day or so. I also thought about putting him in a box with the mouse and closing it up and leaving them for like ten minutes, in case he's just a shy eater.

[JonDoe]

Quick update, so i got my hands on a mouse that had escaped and been roaming my room, so i offered, dangled the live mouse in front of his hide and he struck a few times defensively. I took his hides out and he struck a few more times defensively, then i got a wrap! This was only half the battle because last time he killed the mouse but didnt eat it. I quickly covered the tank with a shirt and he's eating it now. Honestly I dont think my problems are over just yet. Like i said he's still young and has been an iffy eater since i got him. Maybe he'll be more consistent once i switch him up to rats.

[Joshchimera]

JoeDoe congrats on getting him eating.

[Tsubaki]

Congrats! And handling more to make him less skiddish, could very well be the reason why he stopped eating. They generally become calmer with age, i didn't handle them often and most became calmer . I'd suggest leaving the handling be for what it is, until he eats at a steady pace for a while. You can alway try again later.

[JonDoe]

Thanks everyone for your replies and tips, as i can always refer back to this thread if he gives me any problems later on. Im so happy he finally has been coming out of his hides on his own the past couple nights and is starting to act normal again! Much appreciated -Chris

[Aaron_S]

Hi guys, im aware this question probably comes up alot, but im nearly to my wits end. My first ever retic, i got.him last year. From LLL, had an optimal setup, 2 hides on either side, daily misting etc. And he starved himself till he died. So i already have bad experience with retics. Now i have 2 retics. A normal female whos eating and growing like a champ. And now my purple albino male thats been iffy ever since i got him. Hes taken meals, but now hes running away from adult mice and hiding on the cool side (mid 70's) for the past two days. Ive checked my temps, humidity, even covered up the tank with a shirt he still hasnt left his hide. Starting to worry here guys

Retics are not normally known for being picky eaters. Something is off somewhere. Especially since you've had one "starve to death". I would check and re-check your husbandry for this new male.

Also, it could be the size of meal. Retics come out eating rats. Moving up size may entice him.

[JonDoe]

Ive done alot more research on retics since i had my first retic last year. i had experience keeping burms, who never gave me any problems so i didnt think retics would be as complex as they are! as they say though, the longer you have your snake the more you learn about it as an individual. Like my female retic just took a f/t rat no problem after being fed live her whole life, my male may be more finicky about that. Got him 2 adult mice for now.

[millertime89]

Get him on rats asap. The last thing you want is a retic on mice.

[dave himself]

Congratulations on getting him to eat :). But as Kyle said get him on rats asap