Yet another hunger strike for Wolfus

[Wolfus_305]

*sigh*
The last time he ate was January 5th.

I have not changed anything in his tank (except getting a thermostat to have better control of the temperature, but that was recent - about a month ago)

His hot side is always between 89-95 degrees
his cool side is at 85 right now
his humidity goes up to 70 during the day and dries out to 50 before I mist him again

He always has fresh water and his hides and clean substrate

I have not noticed anything different about his appearance (no mites that i could see, no wheezing/mucus anywhere, no wrinkly skin)

I've tried large f/t rats and medium ones. brown ones, white ones, brown/white ones, males, females.

Any suggestions to get him eating again?

Thanks for all the help in advance
Kendra

[stephanbakir]

Sorry to hear that. No idea :( besides braining and live. If he isnt underweight he should be ok.

[Lankyrob]

That hot side variance is prety big - should be more stable around 91f and the cool side could probably drop a little too 75f at absolute minimum.

How often are you trying to feed?

[Wolfus_305]

i put in the range because i would have to turn on/off the light manually to control temp before i got the thermostat. it's set for 92 on the thermostat

I tried a live tiny mouse once before and he refused it so i had to catch the darn thing and return it to the store :P

I tried to feed about a week after january 5th (when he last ate) and he refused it. then i waited till mid febuary and he refused it. then i waited till the end of april and he refused it and last night i tried again

[Jenn_06]

its really nothing to do to make them eat, my BP has not eaten since Dec. just keep a eye on his weight. they will eat when they want to.

[Lankyrob]

Personally i would offer every 14 days tho rather than once a month.

[Wolfus_305]

mhmm it's just annoying when he does this, i think he does it just to bug me

I'm not arguing in any way, but why every 2 weeks? (last time he went on a hunger strike for 11.5 months i was told that i should offer food less often so that he gets hungry and will eat when i offer it to him, not when he feels like it)

[Lankyrob]

Just my opinion really - nothing to back it up. When mine wnet of feed for three months i tried every 14 days - do you have other snakes to give the prey too when it doesnt take it? I tried mine first each time of all the snakes and if he didnt take it then one of the others got a "treat".

[Jay]

Put a blanket over his tanks just peak in to spot clean, and monitor temps. At the end of August offer him a fresh kill. Only do this if he is well fed. All of our snakes in captivity are overfed anyhow.

[Wolfus_305]

Nope, he's the only snake i've got at the moment which is another reason it ticks me off when he refuses the food i prepare for him like a good caring mother :P

His tank is 3/4 covered. the only part that lets in any light is the front glass, are you saying to cover that? Again, i'm not arguing, but what will that do? (I'm trying to understand so that I can apply the knowledge I get here in other situations with any future reptiles as well)

[Lankyrob]

I think he is going along the lines of reducing stress by taking awaythe external stimuli but the snake still needs a day/night cycle. Where in the house is the snake? Is there lots of "traffic" past the viv?

[Jenn_06]

i dont think its stress its breeding season and a lot of BP will go off food for a long time. when he wants to eat he will like i said before just watch his weight .

[Wolfus_305]

Rob: he is in the computer room so there's not much activity, the dogs aren't allowed in here and people only come by for 5 mins to check their emails :P

Jenn, ok, i'm sure he will eat when he is ready, i just wanted to know if there was anything i could do or a mistake that I was overlooking :) his weight is still good

[Jay]

Rob nailed it, if its already at least half covered then don't worry about it. If its a healthy bp he can go for a long time w/out food. Like I said before just wait it out he will eat again, just don't rush it.