How not eating

Brently · 11-26-14, 05:07 AM

Ok so it has been three attempted feedings so far and Athena just won't eat. She seems uninterested and shys away when offered food. Usually when she does this I just leave the rat over night and she takes it. But not recently. Some background. She is around 3 1/2 years old, 6 1/2 feet. 8' enclosure, 84 degrees on hot side 78 on cool side with basking area of around 92. Humidity stays between 40-60. She has been soaking a lot lately, no mites, no stuck sheds. Any thoughts or do I just wait it out?

**EL Ziggy** · 11-26-14, 07:03 AM

If your husbandry is on point, which it seems to be, and she's not losing significant weight I'd say wait it out. I think a lot of snakes are slowing down this time of year. Both my kings are hit and miss these days and one of my bulls even took a couple of weeks off which was a huge surprise. I'd keep offering food every 7-14 days until she picks up again. She'll eat eventually, even if it takes a few weeks or months. Best wishes and keep us posted.

Jim Smith · 11-26-14, 07:30 AM

I agree with EL-Ziggy on this one. My Hondos who are usually eating machines are noticeably slowing down in their eating and even refusing food. I think the shorter days are causing a slower metabolism in many of the snakes. Just wait her out and offer prey items (perhaps a bit smaller than usual) every week or so.

sharthun · 11-26-14, 09:34 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jim Smith

I agree with EL-Ziggy on this one. My Hondos who are usually eating machines are noticeably slowing down in their eating and even refusing food. I think the shorter days are causing a slower metabolism in many of the snakes. Just wait her out and offer prey items (perhaps a bit smaller than usual) every week or so.

I Agee with EZ and Jim .I have two snakes with similar behavior.

virtuousvixen · 11-26-14, 10:23 AM

Each year my king stops eating from early October through until late Feb/early March. I've started offering him food only once or twice a month now.

CosmicOwl · 11-26-14, 01:53 PM

One of the nice things about Florida is that my snakes eat all year round.

Brently · 11-26-14, 03:38 PM

I'm good to wait it out, I'm not freaking out or anything. It weird though because she hasn't done this any other year. But how do you know when to try again. I don't really want to keep throwing out rats because she isn't interested.

Brently · 11-26-14, 04:53 PM

I just realized that t says how not eating. It is supposed to say Boa not eating...

virtuousvixen · 11-26-14, 05:05 PM

My King was the same age when he started doing it. For a while i was still offering food weekly. After about 6 weeks i gave up and went to offering every 14-21 days. By the end of december i just offered once a month. Its handy having 2 snakes now. because if i offer him and he doesn't eat, i can offer it to my BP. Just keep a check that she does't seem to be losing too much weight. Is she spending time on the cool side or still on the hot side?

**EL Ziggy** · 11-26-14, 11:19 PM

I agree with Nikki. Cut your feeding attempts back a bit until she pics up again. I'd offer food every 10-14 days. You can always re-freeze once before discarding the prey item. It's also nice to have other critters to dispose of any unwanted leftovers.

Brently · 11-27-14, 12:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by EL-Ziggy

I agree with Nikki. Cut your feeding attempts back a bit until she pics up again. I'd offer food every 10-14 days. You can always re-freeze once before discarding the prey item. It's also nice to have other critters to dispose of any unwanted leftovers.

Well I only feed once every 18-21 days given the size rats she eats.

bigsnakegirl785 · 12-02-14, 10:49 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Brently

Well I only feed once every 18-21 days given the size rats she eats.

That sounds about right. I feed mine every 28-35 days, but he also gets rabbits instead of rats.

You could just go ahead and fast her for the winter, if she's a good weight it should not hurt anything, just start offering food again in 3-4 months. She may start eating for you then. I'd also lower temps by a couple of degrees if you do. I've heard that fasting them helps them burn off any fat stores they may have and increases body tone. This will be the first year I've fasted mine, and he's roughly the same age as your boa. He has never previously fasted and he showed no signs of fasting when I last fed him, which is the last meal he'll get until February or March. Once he passes all his food, I'll also lower his temps like I did last year.