Weightloss in short period of time

FinishingFlight · 07-04-16, 11:47 PM

So as I had posted before I have recently obtained a pair of Axanthics about a month ago. I've been struggling a bit with getting them to eat for me since I got them. The female has me concerned. For about 3 weeks of not eating she seems to have lost weight way too fast. My normal female went on a hunger strike of 4 months and didn't loose weight this quickly.

When I first brought them home the female had eaten the day before and weighed 72g. She ate one F/T fuzzy from me four days after, and then refused food for 3 weeks.

She was overly stressed by my presence, or even the food presence. So I offered food only once a week, tried braining, scenting, live pulling water a few days before and so on.

Finally last week she took a pinky after leaving it in there with her, and then took a F/T fuzzy, also after leaving it in there. Noticing her body looking leaner I took her out three days after feeding and weighed her, she was only 62g.

Is a 10g difference over a month something I should be concerned about? She is about the same length as my other female (maybe 1" shorter), but she weighs 20g lighter.

I tried my best to get pictures, does she look skinny? Is this something I should be contacting a vet for? Or giving her more time?

Ian of Oldham · 07-05-16, 12:00 AM

Are you feeding day or night, as some will only take food at night, do not handle her the day you feed and put it in at night just leave it and see if that helps.

2 Royals 1 corn 1 Boa and a mad Cat.

**Andy_G** · 07-05-16, 08:05 AM

That could've been poops left in her system. Not a signifigant amount of weight IMO and she doesn't look unhealthy in the picture at all. It sounds like she has settled in and has begun eating so I would say that if she continues to eat well then she will gain weight, if that doesn't happen a vet visit may be in order....i would be happy to suggest a few things to increase the consistency of her feedings if you want... if not, ignore the following.

What are the temps and what kind of cage is it? I hate sounding like a broken record, but these guys do better with warmer temps and start off much better in a tub for their first year or so(at least!). The main triggers for fasting with these are insufficient temps and inappropriate (too big or too exposed) caging. If you have them in a tank, change that and perhaps revisit it once the snake puts on some size.

These guys are most active at dusk and dawn and with westerns in particular, time of day shouldn't affect how they are eating, unlike corns, boas, balls, etc... Just keep leaving the food item with them overnight and if temps are right and they feel secure the problem should fix itself.

Perhaps someone else may have other suggestions? I know that some other people have inconsistent feeders.

FinishingFlight · 07-05-16, 04:57 PM

Ian of Oldham - Since getting her, she has only been handled once for weighing and otherwise still left alone. So not sure. She has been offered food day and night, left with it, wiggled in front of her, pushed her nose against it (thats a heck no). I'm getting close to wanting to try scented, or getting another live.

Andy - I'm glad to hear that it doesn't sound super concerning. I am seriously considering just putting her in a tub. Possibly the male too. He is doing better but still isn't eating as I would like him to. Their temps are around 90-94 on the hot side and the cool side is around 75* during the day time. At night I turn everything off and it drops to 70* on both sides. Should I maybe get an under tank and just heat consistently?

**Andy_G** · 07-05-16, 04:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by FinishingFlight

Ian of Oldham - Since getting her, she has only been handled once for weighing and otherwise still left alone. So not sure. She has been offered food day and night, left with it, wiggled in front of her, pushed her nose against it (thats a heck no). I'm getting close to wanting to try scented, or getting another live.

Andy - I'm glad to hear that it doesn't sound super concerning. I am seriously considering just putting her in a tub. Possibly the male too. He is doing better but still isn't eating as I would like him to. Their temps are around 90-94 on the hot side and the cool side is around 75* during the day time. At night I turn everything off and it drops to 70* on both sides. Should I maybe get an under tank and just heat consistently?

Yes. Night time drops will cause feeding issues. Consistent heat is key. If you're able to get the cool side/ambient up a few degrees, that would also help.

FinishingFlight · 07-05-16, 05:23 PM

I'm going to look into getting some heating tape. I've heard stories of them causing fires so I've been a bit hesitant to try them but the heat pads get too expensive over time. Considering I have a cage that is long and narrow (30x12"?) if I ran the tape along the back, length wise, would that give enough of a gradient for hot and cold from front to back within a 12 inch space?

**Andy_G** · 07-05-16, 05:31 PM

Don't run it along the back because it won't do what you want it to as effectively, get 1 foot of 11 inch heat tape and place it under one side, that will work best. The exo terra heat pads work fine as well. The only circumstance where they would cause problems is if no thermostat or rheostat were used...but they should always be used in the first place to control heat from any tape/mat as well as with ceramic heat emitters.

FinishingFlight · 07-05-16, 05:52 PM

I had meant under the tank, my bad. So with the 12x11" section of heat tape that will help raise my ambient temperature on the cold side as well?

I plan on having three cages on a shelving unit, I would like to have all three running off of some type of under tank heating. I have a thermostat on the way soon as I decide on pad or tape, can I plug in a powerstrip to a thermostat and only have the probe for one of the pads/tape? can they handle multiple or would I need three thermostats?

**Andy_G** · 07-05-16, 06:42 PM

In a tub possibly, in a tank no, so you can use the light as well for ambient heat if you like. Power bars aren't usually the best to plug into a thrrmostat, it's usually better to use a split extnsion cord or get a thermostat with multiple plugs.

valkea · 07-05-16, 08:43 PM

Try covering her enclosure with a towel / blanket to get it pitch black after you put food in. That's helped my male eat when he's being fussy. I've also put him in a box with food and left him there for 30 mins - hour but that may backfire since it does involve handling them more.

From my experience they can be temperamental. Mine sometimes will take from tongs, sometimes I need to leave it in their enclosure and sometimes they just refuse. Mine are in tubs with belly heat.

Edit: forgot a word

Ian of Oldham · 07-06-16, 12:02 AM

I turn my heat off at night , But I al so have heat bricks that heat up with the lamp and lit it out at night, it work very well for my lot

2Royal, 1 Corn, 1 Boa and a mad Cat.

Snake_eyes_88 · 07-06-16, 12:53 AM

I run my temps consistent 24/7... Never had any serious feeding issues from this myself...

If you turn temps down to 70s in the night I'd worry about feeding him at all.. Considering their whole digestion system is reliant on temperature, If you drop the temps that far after feeding when there's food inside the stomach then surely there will be digestion issues?

My reptile room stays 24c as a base temp, I still wouldn't want them going without heat with a full stomach.

Ian of Oldham · 07-06-16, 03:56 PM

Dose the temp not drop at night in there native country, they do not seem to have feeding problems over there.

FinishingFlight · 07-07-16, 10:39 PM

I'll have to get some pictures up soon but I now have a sweater tub on top of a heating mat. My thermostats just got here yesterday so I put her in there. I have the thermostat set at 98*, does that sound all right? My ambient air is now at 77-80* I'm putting everyone else on belly heat and thermostats too to try and help. Then I just need a smaller watt for my lamps so I can raise the ambient air temps.

I'm glad my normal female is a pig and is a crazy eater. She has seemed to do fine with my current set up. Yet I just want everyone more consistent with great husbandry.

Plus its a reptile convention on saturday and we now have two empty cages...

**Andy_G** · 07-07-16, 10:56 PM

Dial it down to 95-96.