Going off Feed in Winter/Spring...

HeatherRose · 10-06-04, 11:20 AM

Hey fellow Epicrates enthusiasts

...

I've had my yearling female Brazilian for a little over year now, since last September. In the beginning, she only ate sporadically for me, and then stopped feeding completely in December. She ate once in February, and then didn't eat again until late April. Currently she has the most voracious appetite of any of my snakes, and is growing like mad. I've heard that this is common with Brazilians, but I only really get mixed opinions on it from caresheets, forums and the like. From what I've gathered, it seems to be totally random, and some snakes just go off of feeding in the winter or spring. Is this true?

My question is, should I expect her to go off feed in the upcoming winter/spring? What's everyone's experience with this?

Heather

Jeff_Favelle · 10-06-04, 06:26 PM

Same temps, same humidity, same cage = same feeding response YEAR ROUND. Change one of those and you MAY change the feeding response.

Sunshine · 10-06-04, 07:52 PM

Hello,
You didn't mention how old your BRB is, I gathered from the post that it is young? Maybe a yearling? My experience is that they always eat unless they are gravid or as males go "in breeding mode". When they don't eat for another reason besides the 2 foremention, there is a reason such as their environment. Like Jeff said, (sort of) something must have changed. If yours it not mature enough to be in breeding mode a close look at your specific husbandry may show something is not quite right.

I bet if you post all the specifics on the conditions in which she is kept, someone may be able to pinpoint a solution for you.

I don't think what you have described is normal, but if she's growing like mad there may also be nothing wrong.

Matt_K · 10-06-04, 07:54 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Sunshine
Hello,
You didn't mention how old your BRB is, I gathered from the post that it is young? Maybe a yearling? My experience is that they always eat unless they are gravid or as males go "in breeding mode". When they don't eat for another reason besides the 2 foremention, there is a reason such as their environment. Like Jeff said, (sort of) something must have changed. If yours it not mature enough to be in breeding mode a close look at your specific husbandry may show something is not quite right.

I bet if you post all the specifics on the conditions in which she is kept, someone may be able to pinpoint a solution for you.

I don't think what you have described is normal, but if she's growing like mad there may also be nothing wrong.

Quote:

I've had my yearling female Brazilian for a little over year now, since last September.

Sunshine · 10-06-04, 08:30 PM

Oh, Thanks, I double checked that and still got it wrong!

I suppose anything I say is now invalid......I'm only trying to help. LOL

Linda

Matt_K · 10-06-04, 08:38 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Sunshine
Oh, Thanks, I double checked that and still got it wrong!

I suppose anything I say is now invalid......I'm only trying to help. LOL

Linda

LOL, I figured you just miss-read what she said.. Im sure your post will still prove to be usefull no matter what!!

HeatherRose · 10-06-04, 09:00 PM

Hehehe.

Okay, she's in a 2 1/2 by 2 foot rubbermaid that's about 1 foot high. Humidity was 85-90% when she was just a neonate and now it's about 80-85%. The temperature gradient is 74-84 degrees.

I've got space heaters and A/C for the summer, so I've got full control of the weather (for lack of a better word) in my room. It stays quite steady.

When she went of feed, of COURSE I looked for something that would have changed...but I couldn't really find anything. She's eating and shedding beautifully, I was just looking to see if it was a seasonal thing.

I was told by some people that this does happen seasonally with snakes (I'd mention my snake wasn't eating and they'd say 'oh, it's spring' like I was a moron), but they could have been full of crap. Who knows these days.

Because of all of these varying reports I was just looking for everyone elses' experiences...

Thanks

Jeff_Favelle · 10-06-04, 09:34 PM

It CAN happen for a couple months. They see the photoperiod. They feel the barometric pressure, and they most certainly feel a couple degree drop in temperature. Measured in "degree-days", a 2 degree drop for 2 weeks is a 56 degree-day drop in temperature. That's enough to induce cycling sometimes.

The littlest thingss............................

As long as there's no major weight loss and it has access to FRESH water, it'll be fine.

Sunshine · 10-08-04, 07:04 PM

Everything your doing sounds perfect to me!

By the way, the SUPERMODERATOR on this forum is definately on the ball!

Linda