Rainbow feeding

blakkangell · 08-10-16, 08:50 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bigsnakegirl785

If she's going blue, that is probably why. A lot of my snakes will refuse to eat in shed, even if they strike and coil. My yearling girl Homura can be hard to tell at times when her shed cycle is just starting out, so I've fed her a few times at the beginning. She'll strike and just pull it to the ground without coiling, at most throwing a coil over it but not around it. Last week I decided to break my no-feeding-during-shed rule and tried to offer a mouse to Sanji in blue, just to see if he'd take it, and he struck and coiled, but then proceeded to sit on top of it and refuse to eat.

I'd go ahead and doublecheck husbandry just in case, and if she doesn't eat when she sheds then I'd start thinking of trying other things. Even a young rainbow can go months without food, so don't worry if she continues to refuse, just keep checking your husbandry, the snake's weight, and try different feeding methods. I'd use live as a last resort, though.

Yea, husbandry is good. She hasn't started to lose weight so I'm not worried. I'm just going to leave her alone until she sheds and then try again after that. I've had her for maybe 5 weeks ish and she has eaten just fine for me 3 times and then now it's been two weeks without.

bigsnakegirl785 · 08-10-16, 06:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by blakkangell

Yea, husbandry is good. She hasn't started to lose weight so I'm not worried. I'm just going to leave her alone until she sheds and then try again after that. I've had her for maybe 5 weeks ish and she has eaten just fine for me 3 times and then now it's been two weeks without.

Yup, then definitely sounds right. Shed cycles last anywhere from 1-3 weeks in my experience, definitely won't hurt her to wait.

Good luck, hope she eats! I find their feeding response is strongest the first 24 hours after a shed, too.

blakkangell · 08-11-16, 09:21 AM

Thank you all!

blakkangell · 08-15-16, 08:30 AM

OK, Lily shed fine and pooped. I tried feeding her. She didn't strike, but showed interest. She tried eating it, but kept pulling her head away and shaking it a little. Then adjusting her jaw A LOT. As if it hurt to stretch her jaw??? I'm giving her hoppers, she has taken them before... Her jaw looks normal to me? Maybe at the most the bottom looks like it might be a bit swollen? I'm not sure what to do and it's worrying me now. My other snake has never done this. If she doesn't eat in a few weeks then I'm going to take her to the vet in the cities.

Snakesitter · 08-16-16, 01:48 PM

Give her another meal or three of whatever she is used to eating. Then you can try weaning her again.