Shedding AGAIN and still not eating!!

[CanadianEryx]

Hi Everyone! My ksb, Eryx, who has not eaten in over six weeks and just finished a difficult shed two days ago is, once again, in shed. This is driving me nuts!!
I put her in a warm bath for twenty minutes this evening to assist her and am now waiting for her to complete her shed so that I can feed her. How long after she has completely shed should I attempt to feed her?? And, since she hasn't eaten in so long, should I try to feed her more than she used to get or should I stick with what she had six+ weeks ago?
This is getting very frustrating, but I am in it for the long haul so I'll keep working at it. I am by no means an experienced herpetologist so your help is greatly desired!!

[kenchenzo]

I would offer food even though she is in shed all
Mine take when they are in shed.
Could we have more info on you setup please mate.

[Shmoges]

Are you feeding Ft? I tried and tried with those things on my first corn snake and I finally got live and it ate after a month. Not to say FT is bad its just another option that may entice Eryx. I feed all my snakes live now. 1 because I'm lazy, 2 because if they don't eat right away I can leave it in for awhile longer imo longer than a FT and I'f its over night or for even a week I can remove it and house the stinker in a extra cage. There is risk associated with this option to the snake of course but I try to be in the vicinity when the rodent is in the cage with them. in case the thing starts biting them I mean. I think the only snake I have to worry about is my ball python because he eats medium rats and they have some teeth :P. The other snakes eat pinkies and pup rats which an't much of a risk if any to full grown corn snakes and small sand boas.

[Lankyrob]

Are you feeding Ft? I tried and tried with those things on my first corn snake and I finally got live and it ate after a month. Not to say FT is bad its just another option that may entice Eryx. I feed all my snakes live now. 1 because I'm lazy, 2 because if they don't eat right away I can leave it in for awhile longer imo longer than a FT and I'f its over night or for even a week I can remove it and house the stinker in a extra cage. There is risk associated with this option to the snake of course but I try to be in the vicinity when the rodent is in the cage with them. in case the thing starts biting them I mean. I think the only snake I have to worry about is my ball python because he eats medium rats and they have some teeth :P. The other snakes eat pinkies and pup rats which an't much of a risk if any to full grown corn snakes and small sand boas.

If you are feeding live they should be SUPERVISED at all times - i will wait for Wayne to post the normal picture that goes with this rule. Certainly you shouldnt leave live prey overnight with the snake under any circumstance.

If your lazy you cant beat FT - just put the prey item on a plate in the viv and leave it for 24 hours - all mine eat that way with no problems - and no supervision is required.

[shaunyboy]

regards feeding live imo its better to give the rat a quick whack off a table to stun it first this will lessen the risk for your snake

re the sand boa
if you could post your temperatures etc as most times a bad sheds down to something wrong with the husbandry (not having a go at you)

you said its went straight back into a shed

if it has a shed takes up 7 to 10 days after the eyes have went blue then cleared up again to look normal

imo bathing too much before a shed can muck up the snakes natural oils it develops to aid the shedding proccess

the not eating could also be down to husbandry for instance if a tanks too cold a snake won't eat as it needs the heat to aid digestion of the food item

i'm sure if you post your set up and temps someone on here with sand boa experience will be able to help you

cheers shaun

[CanadianEryx]

Thanks Everyone! Eryx lives on a bed of aspen chips in a 20 gallon fish aquarium. The warm side stays at 90 day and night with the aid of an undertank heat pad. The cool side sits at 75-78 during the day with the aid of a ceramic lamp which turns off for 12 hours per night (the temp goes down to almost 60 on that side). I typically keep a small exo-terra water dish in the center of the tank whose water I change every three days. It is large enough for Eryx to bathe in if she needs to. The humidity in my tank is at 55%. Aside from a few pieces of really light drift wood Eryx also has a rougher and slightly heavier piece of wood to help her to rub against and shed. I check the temps every three days as well. The shed she is in right now is almost done although she still needs to rid herself of the shed around her head and tail (yes, her eyes are still covered with the skin).Anything else you need to know, Shawn? I am going to leave a warmed up, brained f/t pinkie in her viv overnight and see what comes of it. I look forward to having her eat again. Otherwise I will be purchasing and feeding her some stunned, live prey in the coming week.

[CanadianEryx]

Just to let you all know: Eryx did not eat anything last night. I guess it's going to be live next week (yes, I will definitely stun it first--the food, not the boa).

[Damion930]

Shoot well hope to hear good news soon

[Shmoges]

I thought this snake is a small guy? if your feeding pinkies or fuzzies i don't think you have to stun them :D

[Reptile_Reptile]

Are you feeding Ft? I tried and tried with those things on my first corn snake and I finally got live and it ate after a month. Not to say FT is bad its just another option that may entice Eryx. I feed all my snakes live now. 1 because I'm lazy, 2 because if they don't eat right away I can leave it in for awhile longer imo longer than a FT and I'f its over night or for even a week I can remove it and house the stinker in a extra cage. There is risk associated with this option to the snake of course but I try to be in the vicinity when the rodent is in the cage with them. in case the thing starts biting them I mean. I think the only snake I have to worry about is my ball python because he eats medium rats and they have some teeth :P. The other snakes eat pinkies and pup rats which an't much of a risk if any to full grown corn snakes and small sand boas.
do not ever do what this man has just said snakes need 100% supervision and if the snake doesnt eat it the live better be out faster then the F/T cause even a baby can hurt a snake. as long as it can walk and bite it can kill. snakes sometimes just sit there and take it, i had a friend tell me he didnt think his cali king would just let itself be eaten but it did and now his cali king is dead. and it was a rat weanling

[Steph]

maybe you should try getting a a tub drill some holes on the lid and cover it to give him some privacy worked for my snake that hasn't eaten for a month and when i tried the tub he ate i was feeding him in shoe boxes and once left the f/t mouse in his tank over night he didn't go for it so try the tub and give him privacy

[CanadianEryx]

When I left the warmed up f/t overnight Eryx had complete privacy (she's in the basement where no one roams at night and rarely during the day). Rest assured that I will never put live food with my girl that has not been stunned--I love her too much!

[NennaMeerkat]

I am having trouble with my hognose to eat (as usual) and this is her 4th week off feed. Have you changed anything in your snake's home recently? How is the new shed going? Are you handling your snake while it has not eaten? All these things can effect a snake wanting to eat. I have not handled my snake due to her not eating since I think it stresses her out to much...she is still really small and the world is "so big". Maybe you should go back to the regime you had when you first got it? Not handling or messing with it except to clean poo or refill the water bowl...until it eats steadily for you again.

[DeesBalls]

when i had my KSB, i had a 100 W heat lamp, Calsi-sand (i know its bad, switched to aspen) and water dish, she took f/t from me, it jsut too her FOREVER to eat... literally like 20 min. to eat it, and i fed appropriate size food.

however, i started feeding her in a seperate box, maybe you could give it a shot?

hope you can get her to start eating.

[CanadianEryx]

Yep, I've tried the separate feeding box and, aside from cleaning her space once a week, I've not handled her at all. She has retained her head cap as well from this shed so that is frustrating. Going to try to feed her again on Friday, in her eating cage, with a live stunned pinkie (hopefully one is available since I don't have a place to keep one for very long). And I will definitely be keeping a quiet watch from across the room although the lights will be off so I'll only see shadows. How long do I keep them together to determine if she is going to feed?

[Lankyrob]

My nonfeeding BP finally took food yesterday, twelve weeks in total of not eating. During this time we A) checked all husbandry was spot on and B) stopped all interactions bar misting and filling water bowls.

If he feeds again next time then we will start to handle him again.

[totheend]

You do not need to stun a pink......nor should you.

[NennaMeerkat]

Yeah pinkies are totally helpless and cannot hurt the snake. In fact the movement and such of the pink might stimulate its feeding response. I know that with my Hoggie though she isn't eating if I put something live in there vs. frozen she shows ton more interest in the live. Pushing it around and such.

[CanadianEryx]

Do pinks not have teeth? If Eryx is 1cm (about 1/2inch) in diameter, should I still be feeding her pinks or is there a better option?

[NennaMeerkat]

Most snakes shouldn't eat anything thicker than itself. Though I think that some can and do eat bigger items.

And no pinks do not have teeth.

[Lankyrob]

Most snakes will eat something one to one and a half times bigger than the thickest part of the snake. Some will eat even bigger than that, my jcp and gtp eat prey at almost four times their body width.

[NennaMeerkat]

Most snakes will eat something one to one and a half times bigger than the thickest part of the snake. Some will eat even bigger than that, my jcp and gtp eat prey at almost four times their body width.

Why is it I was told not to feed anything thicker than my snake then? Hognose and the Corns I used to own I was told the same thing.

[Lankyrob]

Why is it I was told not to feed anything thicker than my snake then? Hognose and the Corns I used to own I was told the same thing.

No idea, my corns easily eat prey twice the thickest lart of their body. The adult eats jumbo mice and the two yearlings are on fluffy mice. Have not owned a hoggie yet so cant say specifically for them.

As i said my jcp and gtp, both only yearlings, are eating medium to large rats.

[Aaron_S]

It's not the same for all species. Some like the guyana red tails have a sensitive stomach and need prey items that are smaller or just the same size as them or they'll regurge.

Also Rob I hope you don't feed your green tree too often if you're feeding rats that large! GTP's have a very slow metabolism so large prey items will make them fat and overweight.

[NennaMeerkat]

It's not the same for all species. Some like the guyana red tails have a sensitive stomach and need prey items that are smaller or just the same size as them or they'll regurge.

Also Rob I hope you don't feed your green tree too often if you're feeding rats that large! GTP's have a very slow metabolism so large prey items will make them fat and overweight.

So I guess I am okay for following that rule then about not feeding anything bigger than the snake is thick. Hasn't done me wrong...when my hoggie does finally eat again.

[CanadianEryx]

Thanks for all the information. I guess I will look for a pinkie that is 1.5 to 2 X as large as my snake and will watch closely to see if it becomes aggressive. I really don't want my snake more stressed out than it already is!!

[NennaMeerkat]

Pinkies are completely helpless. They dont have teeth, their eyes are closed, and I am not even sure if they can hear. My hognose snake doesn't coil to eat and she eats live pinks (when she does eat). They literally cannot do anything to hurt your snake...only thing they could do is be to big as Aaron pointed out and cause regurgitation later. I think that it is anything above a fuzzy that you have to be careful about (at least with a mouse).

[Lankyrob]

It's not the same for all species. Some like the guyana red tails have a sensitive stomach and need prey items that are smaller or just the same size as them or they'll regurge.

Also Rob I hope you don't feed your green tree too often if you're feeding rats that large! GTP's have a very slow metabolism so large prey items will make them fat and overweight.

He feeds every 14 days, currently going through the colour change and will soon be released into his "big" viv. Really hard to get pics of him at the moment as he is in a faunarium inside the viv but once he is out i will get some pics up of him. I dont think he is "fat" but hopefully once the pics are available people can give their opinion.

[CanadianEryx]

No live pinkies to be had so I bought a really small live fuzzy which looks about the right size (~1 cm [~1/2 inch] while Eryx is 1cm diameter). Her light turns off at 8:30pm and she comes out of her bedding very quickly afterward to see what's up:). I plan to feed her soon after her light goes off in the same container I now have the fuzzy contained in. I will definitely stun the fuzzy despite the fact that he is hardly moving around for fear of encountering something that will eat or harm him. The fuzzy is adorable and my 16 year old son really can't stomach the thought that I plan to feed him to Eryx (he's definitely a new-age-sensitive-guy). I'll post something as soon as she eats (or by later evening if she decides not to eat at all). I'd rather stun the mouse than kill it so that its heart continues to beat and keep it warm for a while. Would knocking it over the head with the handle of a screwdriver be sufficient??

[NennaMeerkat]

Fuzzies can't hurt your snake either. Hoppers are what you have to be careful about. I might also suggest putting the food in before the light turns off so that when the snake does come out it will be there waiting. Might also cause less stress.

[CanadianEryx]

Do fuzzies not have teeth either? I'm still going to stun it--my snake needs no more added stress. Also, since she is on aspen, I prefer to try to feed in a separate container. Any advice from others?? Thanks for your thoughts, Nenna--I don't discount them, I am just scared for my ksb.

[NennaMeerkat]

I have always fed live food to my snakes and though fuzzies might have teeth (older fuzzies do) they do not have enough strength yet to bite through the scales/skin of a snake. So that you do not have to worry with.

As for putting the snake in another container...good luck! My corns were fed in a separate container and it worked like a charm.

[CanadianEryx]

Considering the size of this little fuzzy (it barely has fur) it probably won't have very strong teeth, but I'll still stun it, to my son's chagrin:). I really look forward to seeing if Eryx will actually eat!!! Thanks for your knowledge, Nenna!

[NennaMeerkat]

No problem I really hope he eats!

[CanadianEryx]

Hello All! This evening I put Eryx in her feeding container and, after smelling the stunned fuzzy a bit, she snatched it up and ate with no problem!! I immediately thawed a frozen pinkie and she ate that too. I also took the opportunity to completely clean her living quarters and she is now digesting her food on the warm side. She continues to retain her head cap as well as her tail so I will keep a watch until she sheds completely or has another shed. I'm just so happy she's finally eaten after 7 weeks without!! Thanks to all of you for all your help!

[NennaMeerkat]

YAY CONGRADS! So glad he ate for ya. What kind of container did you use exactly? I am trading my hoggie for a different one (breeder is concerned that she isn't eating for 5 weeks) and I have been thinking of trying my new snake feeding ritual in a different container...but I don't know what to use.

And it looks like you will have to start buying some fuzzies...live or dead ;)

[CanadianEryx]

I feed Eryx in a Hagen faunarium plastic terrarium which I line with newspaper (or flyers) before I feed. If you can't find it at your closest pet store you can pick one up at Rolf C. Hagen Inc. (http://www.hagen.com). You can snap the lid on and use the plastic cap to open and close it and it is well ventilated. I always transfer my heating pat from under the actual tank my snake lives in to underneath my feeding terrarium to keep things warm.
wrt feeding fuzzies rather than pinkies, I think you are right. Eryx is definitely ready for the next step up!