Femal hondo off food

[Jim Smith]

One of my female Honduran Milk Snakes is gone completely off food. I usually don't worry too much if a snake misses a meal or two, but this girl is going on 40 days without eating. The husbandry hasn't changed and seems to be spot on. She not quite old enough to breed so I did not put her into brumation last winter. I've tried pretty much everything I can think off including fresh killed and even live pinkies. She's starting to lose weight so I'm beginning to worry about her. I'm open to any suggestions on how to get her back to eating. Thanks for any recommenda

[Albert Clark]

Hey jim! Sorry to hear about the difficulty with the hondo. The three main reasons snakes go off food is number 1, husbandry 2, seasonal and the desire to breed. Usually seen in males more than females. 3, illness and or injury. If you can rule out all those three and you have tried other foods and she is still refusing, I would continue trying live food for another 30 days and if the animal still refuses, I would prepare to condition the animal for brumation by turning off the lighting and gradually lowering the thermostat settings until the heat is completely off and you can cool the animal for about 90 days. Only provide water as you prepare to lower the temps and don't feed at all. If she begins taking the live food then pick up your schedule and maybe consider increasing the time between feedings.

[EL Ziggy]

My kings just started eating a month ago after taking the previous 3-5 months off. They both lost a bit of weight but they've already gained most of it back. Like AL said if the animal isn't sick and your husbandry is on point I'd just keep offering food every 10-14 days until she gets her appetite back. She's not going to starve herself but I know how frustrating it is when they won't eat. Trying a new prey item might help too. I'm going to disagree with cooling her off though. It's summer time and naturally hotter. If anything I'd bump her temps up a few degrees to see if that gets her metabolism moving a bit. Best wishes and keep us posted Jim.

[Andy_G]

Some female hondos (and corns as well) will regularly go off feed when receptive for breeding but as Albert said it is a little bit less common. For those breeders that don't brumate (I have done both) this is often a reliable clue that introductions should be happening. It can happen in females that are a year or so too young /immature to breed but it is certainly not the usual.
I also disagree with brumation at this point. Also, just turning off the heat is not an effective or proper way of cooling this species in particular. Brumation should happen from November/december to february/march at temps around 55 to 60 degrees to be done properly...anything else is just messing with husbandry, with all due respect. It could cause more problem rather than solution.

[Albert Clark]

Some female hondos (and corns as well) will regularly go off feed when receptive for breeding but as Albert said it is a little bit less common. For those breeders that don't brumate (I have done both) this is often a reliable clue that introductions should be happening. It can happen in females that are a year or so too young /immature to breed but it is certainly not the usual.
I also disagree with brumation at this point. Also, just turning off the heat is not an effective or proper way of cooling this species in particular. Brumation should happen from November/december to february/march at temps around 55 to 60 degrees to be done properly...anything else is just messing with husbandry, with all due respect. It could cause more problem rather than solution.
The lowering of the thermostat settings until the heat is completely off is done as a requirement for brumation as long as the ambient temperature gets to the 50f- 55f range that is consistent with optimal brumation temperatures. That is what I was referring to when I explained it to Jim. Maybe I didn't make it clear enough. As long as the animal is put through a gradual lowering of the heating over a period of two to three weeks is not "messing with husbandry". I thought I said a gradual lowering of the thermostat settings until the heat is completely off, but I didn't specify that the optimal target temps should be 50f -55f. I was under the impression the op was privy to the potz for brumation. Secondly, if the animal remains off feed and its determined that brumation is the route you want to go. It's only necessary to provide the correct temperature setting in the terrarium/ enclosure and the time of year is not a factor. Just wanted to clarify my position. I didn't want to confuse anyone unnecessarily. Thanks.

[Primal Rage]

Jim, Sorry to hear about one of your ladies! What is her approx age, length, and weight? Also what are the temps in her setup?

[Jim Smith]

Primal,

She is a Tri-colored Hybino,born Dec 11, 2013. She's about 36-40 inches long and weighs 260 grams. She's housed in a 36X23X14 PVC cage from Ed Lilly at Constrictors Northwest. I use a 9X14 inch under the cage heat pad with a thermostat set to 81 degrees on the hot side and SaniChips bedding. Nice big water bowl, plenty of hides and up until this bout of fussiness, she's been a good eater. I have all of my snakes set up much the same way, and she's the only fussy one. I did have a time with my Pearl where she only wanted fresh killed mice, but I've weaned her back to F/T and she's eating like a pig now. The Hybino is in blue right now, so I'm hoping that once she sheds, she'll start taking food again. I'll try her again on live pinkies as she seems to show the most interest in them when I tried them about a week ago. She may be stubborn, but I am tenacious so I think I can get her back to eating again. That said, I am always open to any ideas or suggestions.

[Andy_G]

The lowering of the thermostat settings until the heat is completely off is done as a requirement for brumation as long as the ambient temperature gets to the 50f- 55f range that is consistent with optimal brumation temperatures. That is what I was referring to when I explained it to Jim. Maybe I didn't make it clear enough. As long as the animal is put through a gradual lowering of the heating over a period of two to three weeks is not "messing with husbandry". I thought I said a gradual lowering of the thermostat settings until the heat is completely off, but I didn't specify that the optimal target temps should be 50f -55f. I was under the impression the op was privy to the potz for brumation. Secondly, if the animal remains off feed and its determined that brumation is the route you want to go. It's only necessary to provide the correct temperature setting in the terrarium/ enclosure and the time of year is not a factor. Just wanted to clarify my position. I didn't want to confuse anyone unnecessarily. Thanks.

I'm in the oldschool thought that it's always best to just keep temps normal until the date of brumation and then just move them right into the correct temps. I have heard of R.I. issues with the gradual method with certain species and I really advise against it. This is how I did it and how those with lifetimes worth of experience over us told me to do, but then a lot of people do the opposite with luck...not my cup of tea nor would I personally advise one to do the gradual method because of reasons stated. Also not a fan of brumating at the incorrect time of year as there have been instances known to me from other breeders with much more experience compared to us I that it really lengthened fasting and cause adverse problems as a result...and I wouldn't consider myself a slouch in that area...but to each their own! All semantics, I suppose. :) I definitely thought you meant to just turn off the heat for a few weeks and then turn it back on, which would definitely just be mucking with things.


Jim,
How much weight has she lost?

[Jim Smith]

Actually, I mistyped her weight. She weighs 395 grams and has only lost about 10 grams so far. She's never been a particularly "thick" snake, but she looks like she is getting a bit thinner than she was. I think she'll pull out of this slump, it's just that I am used to my snakes eating fairly regularly and when she hit to 40-day mark, I started to get a bit worried.

[Andy_G]

10 grams could really just be a few built up poops, honestly. I am confident that she will eat without much problem again soon for you, but if she begins to lose drastic weight or loses the correct body shape, let us know. A few of us have some things you could try, but your situation is just not there yet.

[Primal Rage]

Jim, I would try feeding her smaller food items next time. Maybe go one or two sizes down from what you have been giving her. Good luck!