JCP sudden food refusal

[Sairys]

Hi Folks, I hate to add to another 'my jcp won't eat thread' but he truly has me almost at wits end. I have had 'Kivan' my male jcp since September 2005, and he was less than a year old. He has always been my most veracious eater (even finishing off the left overs from my black pine). Though he suddenly has decided to refuse everything and anything presented to him. My black pine seems to exhibit better feeding responses than my once crazy jungle.

He is kept within a plastic (reptic-plastics) cage 3' long, 2' deep, 3' tall. Heat is provided by a UTH and measured by a probe thermometer (with rheostat). 90-92F hot spot, 80F cool spot. I mist his cage so humidity is between 45-60%. Adequate branches are provided, with leaf cover (silk), and cork bark hide for the cool spot, and plastic Rubbermaid hide for the warm. Water is always provided. His substrate is a bioactive substrate mix (re: The Art of Keeping Snakes by Philippe de Vosjoli), and includes a mix of peat moss, unscented non clumping kitty litter, sand (small quantity) and fir bark. Though I've tried paper towels before. He normally would eat an adult rat every 10 days and would eat with amazing tenacity (very quick strikes) but now he seems very disinterested and will usually move away when they prey is offered. He has been eating rats ever since I first purchased him.

It has now been almost 7months since he last ate. I haven't contacted my vet yet, as he displays normal behavior. He thermoregulates between hot spot/braches and still defecates (last poop was a few days ago), he seems very alert and active and does not display signs of losing weight/dehydration/fatigue. He was initially checked out for parasites and I only have the two snakes (both were checked for parasites).

Now I understand that male snakes will go off food during the winter months (my black pine does this every year), but now my black pine is eating again normally and yet my jcp is being stubborn as ever, he has never gone this long refusing food before.

To start the list we have tried: downsizing to smaller rats, dipping in chicken broth, various heating techniques (in a Ziploc, in water, drying off, etc.). I have tried heating the rat head using a heat lamp, we even tried scenting it with both a dethawed mouse and lizard (my husband's poor bearded dragon). We tried leaving it over night in cage, stuffing him in a smaller box and leaving him with the rat overnight, blocking out the front glass with towels and even moving him to a quieter less busy room to eat. We even resorted to offering him an adult mouse and he refused. We tried female rats, male rats, of all various colours, and even those with open wounds at night and during the day. We've tried tapping the prey against the sides of his body, and tapping his tail to get an aggressive response. He used to get really excited around feeding times and would coil to strike when we would offer food, but now there is no risk of striking when the cage door opens and rat aroma is wafting through the air. He was initially skittish but has now calmed down (even before going off food).

I really am against feeding live, especially with adult rats, my jcp has been eating dethawed for almost 4 years now and I really don't want to risk injury. When I purchased him he was eating live hoppers and it was a pain initially to switch him to dethawed rats, but I was successful. If anyone has any insight I'm welcome to anything but it seems a vet visit may be in due order.

[Joe]

I would certainly take a fecal sample into the vet just to rule out any parasites, I would suggest try feeding him a couple small hopper or fuzzy rats live, just something to stimulate a feeding response, also feed in complete darkness in a small enclosure, no chance of missing them that way. I have had some complicated feeder carpets in the past and in my expieriance assist feeding was always the thing that got them feeding again, assist feed 2 or 3 weeks in a row a very small rodent and typically after they get the feel of some weight in the tummys again they take off and start eating in no time, best wishes and good luck, let us know how it goes

[Will0W783]

Sairys, my male carpet is doing the same thing. He was always my most voracious eater, king of the "garbage disposal" snake- he'd eat anything the others refused. I did a Nix treatment for mites, and everyone else is eating normally again, but he just won't have it. It's only been 4 weeks, but I'm still concerned because he was always such a good eater. I don't have any advice other that what you've been doing and what Joe mentioned, but I can share your frustration. Seven months is a long time- has he been looking as though he's lost weight?

[Sairys]

Well I tried live a few days ago with a small rat hopper, and I still had no response, in fact it was sad to watch the rat snuggle up against my snake for warmth.

My snake looks perfectly healthy, and still has good muscle tone and definitely is not becoming lethargic. I watch those damn videos of snake owners prying open their ball pythons mouths' and the snake just sits there like a rock, my jungle whips around likes he's on crack.

I'm going to try scenting a rat with chicken (read about it on another forum), and then assist feeding (not forcing him at all). My big problem is that my snake is hyper and doesn't settle down, so I have to move very calmly and slow.

[Will0W783]

Good luck Sairys, I'm going to try to give my carpet another f/t rat this Sunday, as he is terrified of live ones...dumbass snake.