Rainbow feeding

[blakkangell]

Hey all, my rainbow Lily is on her second week of not eating. I offered her a mouse just now, she striked at it once, then sniffed around it and kept adjusting her jaw while sniffing around it. So it seemed like she wanted to eat it, but didnt? She is starting to go blue so that might be it, but I was wondering if anyone else's rainbows have done this before??

[Lefitte]

Have you tried leaving her alone in the dark with the mouse? I have to leave my boy alone for 20-30 minutes after the initial strike so that he'll eat. He used to eat in front of me but I guess he changed his mind about that. I'm not sure about the jaw part though, probably perfectly normal. How long have you had her? Is her set up perfect? Perfect humidity and heat? Does her jaw look normal?

[bigsnakegirl785]

If she's going blue, that is probably why. A lot of my snakes will refuse to eat in shed, even if they strike and coil. My yearling girl Homura can be hard to tell at times when her shed cycle is just starting out, so I've fed her a few times at the beginning. She'll strike and just pull it to the ground without coiling, at most throwing a coil over it but not around it. Last week I decided to break my no-feeding-during-shed rule and tried to offer a mouse to Sanji in blue, just to see if he'd take it, and he struck and coiled, but then proceeded to sit on top of it and refuse to eat.

I'd go ahead and doublecheck husbandry just in case, and if she doesn't eat when she sheds then I'd start thinking of trying other things. Even a young rainbow can go months without food, so don't worry if she continues to refuse, just keep checking your husbandry, the snake's weight, and try different feeding methods. I'd use live as a last resort, though.

[blakkangell]

Have you tried leaving her alone in the dark with the mouse? I have to leave my boy alone for 20-30 minutes after the initial strike so that he'll eat. He used to eat in front of me but I guess he changed his mind about that. I'm not sure about the jaw part though, probably perfectly normal. How long have you had her? Is her set up perfect? Perfect humidity and heat? Does her jaw look normal?

Her temps are in a good range with 70 on the cold and about 80-82 on the warm side. Humidity is at 99%. I have tried to leave her alone with the mouse in the dark for a few hours and she still refused so I'm guessing it's just that she's in blue.

[blakkangell]

If she's going blue, that is probably why. A lot of my snakes will refuse to eat in shed, even if they strike and coil. My yearling girl Homura can be hard to tell at times when her shed cycle is just starting out, so I've fed her a few times at the beginning. She'll strike and just pull it to the ground without coiling, at most throwing a coil over it but not around it. Last week I decided to break my no-feeding-during-shed rule and tried to offer a mouse to Sanji in blue, just to see if he'd take it, and he struck and coiled, but then proceeded to sit on top of it and refuse to eat.

I'd go ahead and doublecheck husbandry just in case, and if she doesn't eat when she sheds then I'd start thinking of trying other things. Even a young rainbow can go months without food, so don't worry if she continues to refuse, just keep checking your husbandry, the snake's weight, and try different feeding methods. I'd use live as a last resort, though.

Yea, husbandry is good. She hasn't started to lose weight so I'm not worried. I'm just going to leave her alone until she sheds and then try again after that. I've had her for maybe 5 weeks ish and she has eaten just fine for me 3 times and then now it's been two weeks without.

[Snakesitter]

Your environment sounds fine, so it's probably that she is in shed. Many snakes will refuse in shed. Two weeks is not a long time, so I would not worry, and would stick to frozen/thawed. Next time you offer, leave it in her viv overnight; some snakes will eat after you leave or late at night. Good luck!

[bigsnakegirl785]

Yea, husbandry is good. She hasn't started to lose weight so I'm not worried. I'm just going to leave her alone until she sheds and then try again after that. I've had her for maybe 5 weeks ish and she has eaten just fine for me 3 times and then now it's been two weeks without.

Yup, then definitely sounds right. Shed cycles last anywhere from 1-3 weeks in my experience, definitely won't hurt her to wait. :) Good luck, hope she eats! I find their feeding response is strongest the first 24 hours after a shed, too.

[blakkangell]

Thank you all!

[blakkangell]

OK, Lily shed fine and pooped. I tried feeding her. She didn't strike, but showed interest. She tried eating it, but kept pulling her head away and shaking it a little. Then adjusting her jaw A LOT. As if it hurt to stretch her jaw??? I'm giving her hoppers, she has taken them before... Her jaw looks normal to me? Maybe at the most the bottom looks like it might be a bit swollen? I'm not sure what to do and it's worrying me now. My other snake has never done this. If she doesn't eat in a few weeks then I'm going to take her to the vet in the cities.

[bigsnakegirl785]

Sounds like it could be a disgust response, it can be a bit extreme at times. Maybe give it a week and try a different prey item, if she's showing interest that's promising.

Without a video it's hard to tell, if she refuses the next meal a vet visit might not hurt if you think something's wrong. It's better to be safe than sorry, but if the vet gives her the clear I'd try to keep her at home and not handle her until she starts eating so as not to stress her out.

[blakkangell]

Sounds like it could be a disgust response, it can be a bit extreme at times. Maybe give it a week and try a different prey item, if she's showing interest that's promising.

Without a video it's hard to tell, if she refuses the next meal a vet visit might not hurt if you think something's wrong. It's better to be safe than sorry, but if the vet gives her the clear I'd try to keep her at home and not handle her until she starts eating so as not to stress her out.

I opened her mouth to look around and everything seems fine to me. No discoloration, no red spots or sores, nothing is swollen. So maybe she just didn't like it.. I figured I would offer a smaller prey item and see how that goes. Maybe she thought it was too big or that it was gross. I am buying the frozen ones from petco till I can do a bulk order... I'm also waiting for my other snake to jump up to hoppers so that I only have to get the one bulk pack. I'll see how things go. Maybe I'll try live eventually before taking her to the vet..

[blakkangell]

My other snake eats the petco mice fine so maybe she's just super prissy about her food.. who knows

[Snakesitter]

Give her another meal or three of whatever she is used to eating. Then you can try weaning her again.