New owner jitters

jarich · 10-26-11, 01:38 PM

Hi All,

So I acquired my first GTP about two months ago. I know they are very skittish when stressed and its not uncommon for them to stop eating for a period of time. I also know that sometimes they just dont feed for awhile and not to get too worried right away. I know that he was feeding every ten days before I got him (on live mice), and that there were no feeding problems prior to me getting him. I have read everything I can get my hands on, including Maxwell's book The More Complete Chondro, so I am pretty sure that i have his set up right. Here is a picture of the enclosure to help with the discussion.

His humidity stays around 80-85% during the day and slowly drops to about 65% at night. His temperature has gradients from 78 (cool side, bottom of the tank) up to 84 (cool side top of tank) and a basking spot of 89. He definitely moves around the tank depending on his mood for the temperature.

I havent handled him really since getting him as I didnt want to add to his stress at all.

Like I said, I know they have a tendency to go off food sometimes so Im not stressing about it just yet. However, we are pushing two months now and Im starting to get a little concerned. I tried first to feed him prekilled, he came towards it but instantly lost interest when I wasnt making it 'move' with the tongs. Another time I tried bringing it (prekilled) to him at his perch but he got freaked out, hissed and then proceeded to do a ball python imitation. After that I tried to just let him go after a live mouse. The very first time he eagerly came down from his perch and struck. However he missed and then immediately gave up, going back up to his perch. Ive tried multiple times since then. Again, he exhibited all the hunting signs, came down eagerly to check it out and looked like he was ready to strike, but then got scared by the mouse and went back to his perch. I will keep trying every couple of days, but if anyone can offer some further advice I would appreciate it.

alessia55 · 10-26-11, 01:40 PM

Don't try too often. Offering food too often can be stressful. Let him go 7-10 days between feeding attempts. If he's not loosing weight, you don't have to worry yet. He'll eventually get hungry enough and eat (assuming there's nothing else wrong with him). Good luck!

**lady_bug87** · 10-26-11, 01:42 PM

you shouldnt try more than once a week if it doesnt take it then freeze it and try again the week after, GTP can be skittish is it in a high traffic area?

stephanbakir · 10-26-11, 01:42 PM

Great looking viv, alessia nailed it.

SkYyaMe1623 · 10-26-11, 02:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lady_bug87

you shouldnt try more than once a week if it doesnt take it then freeze it and try again the week after, GTP can be skittish is it in a high traffic area?

I've heard you shouldn't be refreezing & re-offering the same prey item for sanitary reasons...

Jenn_06 · 10-26-11, 02:39 PM

Breeding season how old is he?my GTP is 4 years old and will not eat for me... i would wait about 2 weeks then try again(live mice) if he still will not eat wait another 2 weeks, keep feeding live for now until he starts to eat normal again then try to switch to prekilled....

Never refreeze

jarich · 10-26-11, 04:57 PM

Great, thanks everyone. I was trying him about every fourth day, so Ill give it about ten days and then try again. He seems to have lost a little weight, but only just a little. To answer your question Ladybug, no, he is in my office so its just me in here typing away all day. And Jenn, Im not sure exactly how old he is but the previous owner said she thought he was about 3 years old.

Thanks again, Ill keep you posted.

Lankyrob · 10-26-11, 05:58 PM

My almost 2yr old gtp stoopped eating for two months recently too, he is now pounding f/t rats once again as if nothing has changed. Stick with it and try to get him off live food as soon as you can, would be awful for a beautiful snake like that to get injured by its food.

**millertime89** · 10-26-11, 10:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SkYyaMe

I've heard you shouldn't be refreezing & re-offering the same prey item for sanitary reasons...

once is ok, after that it starts to lose its nutritional value. Not so sure about the sanitation thing, a snake's stomach acid can dissolve damn near anything.

Lankyrob · 10-27-11, 12:37 PM

I wouldnt feed my family food that has been refrozen and i certainly wouldnt feed my animals food that has been refrozen - their food gets treated exactly the same as ours does.

**lady_bug87** · 10-27-11, 01:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SkYyaMe

I've heard you shouldn't be refreezing & re-offering the same prey item for sanitary reasons...

Oh I thought she was using fresh killed yea if it was already frzen she can put it in the fridge, feed it to something else or toss it

**millertime89** · 10-27-11, 05:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lankyrob

I wouldnt feed my family food that has been refrozen and i certainly wouldnt feed my animals food that has been refrozen - their food gets treated exactly the same as ours does.

I make food and refreeze it all the time. I use the weekends to make food for the week, and then reheat it when I want it.

ZARADOZIA · 10-27-11, 05:59 PM

It depends on how it is prepared and how long it was left at what warm temp for how long. Cooking food and then immediately freezing it is fine [human food]. That food can be thawed, heated, and consumed. Refreezing it can be dangerous, especially if the temps were not brought above 165 degrees for a few minutes (Time enough to kill bacteria).

With F/T rats/mice, I would be scared to do this because you thaw (normally) in warm water not much higher than 120F for 1-2 hours. That isn't hot enough to kill any bacteria. Then it sits out for? 20-30 min?
A bacterium generally doubles its size every 20 minutes.

The bottom line is to keep an eye on the time. I don’t refreeze F/T but that’s me. I also wear gloves when I am preparing meat for dinner…lol

For more in depth info:
Basics for Handling Food Safely
Bacteria and Foodborne Illness - National Digestive Diseases Information Clearinghouse

Lankyrob · 10-28-11, 06:34 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by millertime89

I make food and refreeze it all the time. I use the weekends to make food for the week, and then reheat it when I want it.

But if you defrosted it would you then refreeze it to eat at a later date.

In effect what you are doing with your family food is the same as we do with our snake food - we prepare it then freeze it. The issue comes with defrosting and then refreezing it.

jarich · 10-28-11, 06:53 AM

This is true especially for meat. Freezing doesnt kill many bacteria, it just slows them dramatically. So when you thaw it, they start producing again. This is especially true of bacteria that were in the stomach and intestines of the mice/rats. By the time you thaw them a second time you are really pushing it with the bacterial growth. Also, the freezing process turns water in the cells into ice crystals, which are incredibly damaging to the cell walls in animals. Thats why when you thaw meat out you notice it is very watery compared to its fresh counterpart. Freezing it again can leave you with a gross watery mess of a feeder animal. And lastly, freezing meat causes fat to oxidize; repeated freezing can make the fat in the animal turn rancid.