Not hungry after shedding?

kiiarah · 09-30-14, 02:54 PM

Hey guys, so as mentioned in my other post Shesha shed (mostly) and I managed to get the last bit off for him with the help of a warm bath and patience, but I have read everywhere that usually they are very eager to eat after a shed and he had no interest whatsoever in the pinky rat I offered him last night. His feeding timeline is as follows:

9-19 - ate rat pinky (first at home feeding)
9-23 - offered another pinky as I was concerned that the one he ate prior to this may have been too small and he may still be hungry, he refused this one.
9-26 - he was in blue, but just in case I went ahead and offered another pinky rat since it is his normal feeding day, he refused this too.
9-29 - finally done shedding and ten days since last feeding but not interested in pinky rat (10 g much larger than the first one he ate).

Now given that I did have to handle him for 45 minutes or so and he just shed I am hoping maybe he is just stressed from the whole process, but now I am not sure what to do. He is already 10 days from his last feeding and I am concerned that offering every day will just prevent him from having time to recuperate and keep him stressed. He was very calm while I helped him shed but I am sure it wasn't relaxing for him. Should I give him a couple of days to recover before offering again and should I wait until his next feeding day (Friday) or just offer after say a 24 period of rest and recovery? I don't want to do anything to put him off food but I am concerned that at the breeder's he was getting prey items that were quite a bit too small for him (the breeder confirmed that he should be moved up) so I am eager to help him put on some weight. Any advice?

CosmicOwl · 09-30-14, 03:01 PM

No offense, but you're fiddling with this snake to much. Generally you shouldn't handle a snake on the same day as you feed, because the stress can make them turn down food or possibly regurgitate. If the handling was necessary, you should wait several hours, or until the next day to feed.

**EL Ziggy** · 09-30-14, 03:03 PM

Congrats on the successful first shed. You may be offering food a little too often. When my snakes refuse a meal I usually try them again 7 days later. You can try putting your snake in a covered deli cup with the pinky or leaving the pinky in the tank overnight and covering the tank. BP's can be finicky eaters sometimes. Best wishes and keep us posted.

Obsidian_Dragon · 09-30-14, 03:25 PM

After my snake sheds, I still wait until his next feeding day to feed--so if he refused while in blue, this is sometimes a 2 week gap. He's usually QUITE enthusiastic about eating by them.

kiiarah · 09-30-14, 04:26 PM

So then would it be best to wait until Friday and re-attempt. Also does everyone agree with the recommended 24 hours of no handling prior to feeding or should I make sure not to handle him for longer than that. I really want to make sure he eats this time, he seems too skinny for his age so I am getting concerned. The feeding tongs sort of seem to make him nervous, do you think he would eat it based on smell alone with no movement? Also how would I go about keeping it warm if left in the tank with him? The last time I attempted to feed him it really seemed to lose warmth fast. Thanks so much for the feedback. And no offense taken, I am grateful for all advice and information. Just want to make sure this little guy thrives in my care, I absolutely adore him.

jpsteele80 · 09-30-14, 04:45 PM

If you want to make sure your snake eats buy a retic lol j/k, i wouldn't be to concerned snakes can go months without eating and be fine, lay off the handling a little and i'm sure he will be fine.

CosmicOwl · 09-30-14, 05:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kiiarah

So then would it be best to wait until Friday and re-attempt. Also does everyone agree with the recommended 24 hours of no handling prior to feeding or should I make sure not to handle him for longer than that. I really want to make sure he eats this time, he seems too skinny for his age so I am getting concerned. The feeding tongs sort of seem to make him nervous, do you think he would eat it based on smell alone with no movement? Also how would I go about keeping it warm if left in the tank with him? The last time I attempted to feed him it really seemed to lose warmth fast. Thanks so much for the feedback. And no offense taken, I am grateful for all advice and information. Just want to make sure this little guy thrives in my care, I absolutely adore him.

24 hours isn't necessarily a hard rule. I've handled by snakes and then fed them several hours later. However, if I were trying to get a difficult feeder to eat, I would handle them as little as possible. Stress can quickly turn minor problems into serious problems. You might be able to feed tomorrow, but if you wait a day or two more, your snake will be a little hungrier.

kiiarah · 09-30-14, 09:09 PM

I guess a retic would solve the problem lol, but baby steps. I am sure I will find myself there some day. :P I am going to give it a couple days and try again. I am just not sure the best way to go about it. I am concerned that my methods for offering food may be off and causing him to stress and avoid food. I tried feeding him in a separate tub and he wasn't interested so last night I tried offering food in his tank by dangling it with tongs. I removed his hot hide and put down a section of thin cardboard to rest the rat on so it wouldn't pick up the bedding but he just slithered around past it looking for his hot hide. Dangling it with tongs had no effect, and simply startled him once or twice.

Of course having been so heavily handled to help with his shed could easily have caused him not to be interested but it has been stressful because he pretty much went into shed right after I got him. I fed him about four days after he came home and he took it (after some persuasion, and even then he didn't strike it, just slithered over and put his mouth around it and swallowed it). A couple days after eating he went into shed. I would feel much better if he had a regular feeding record prior to this but he is so new to the household, it is like everything is just hitting at once. *sigh* I just hope he takes the food next time I offer it, I can't help but worry about him until he gets on a regular schedule.

**EL Ziggy** · 09-30-14, 10:20 PM

One missed feed is NOTHING to worry about. Trust us, he won't starve himself. If he misses a feed just try again in 5-7 days. He will eat eventually. I know it's hard but I probably wouldn't handle him until he's had 2 successful feeds consecutively. Some snakes can be a little difficult in the beginning. BP's are known to be finicky eaters. If it's any consolation my normally voracious Cal King hasn't eaten in 9 weeks and last winter he went 3 months without eating. When he's "on" he's a beast but he will shut down during the fall and winter months. As long as your temps, humidity and other husbandry are on point he'll eat when he's ready. Hakuna matata

kiiarah · 09-30-14, 10:58 PM

Thank you Ziggy, I am really hoping he cooperates with me, though I guess he knows himself best lol. I know I should trust him, after all he has instinct to go by, but I can't help but do a bit of the hovering new mom thing. So I just want to triple check on husbandry if I could to rule that out as part of the issue.

The basics: 30 gallon aquarium with screen lid
About 85% of the screen lid is covered by plastic wrap to keep humidity in.

Heat: Between 88 and 91 degrees or so on the glass in his hot hide.
Ambient temps between about 78 and 80
No top lamp, only a UTH hooked up to a thermostat.

Humidity: 50-60% normally, measured by Acurite digital thermometer/hygrometer combo
A water bowl is provided (large dog bowl filled 2/3 to allow soaking if desired), with zoo-med water conditioner as treatment, placed on cool side of tank.

Substrate: Aspen shavings about an inch and a half deep, shallower in the hot hide.

Hide placement: Two half log hides, one on the cool side one on the hot side.
Since bps like secure spaces I have pushed the shavings up against the back of each hide and have decorative hanging plants further concealing both.
The hides are not the same size, in the larger one (hot side) he has quite a bit of room, the top of the hide does not touch him, but he prefers it over the smaller and cozier one (cool side) which I have never seen him go in.

General Decor: There is a rather large climbing branch that stretches across the back of the tank from one hide to the other leaving room for crawling across the front of the tank. (Possibly too large? I read the larger tanks should be well filled in for babies to reduce stress).

I would appreciate any criticism, constructive feedback, or suggestions for what could be improved. Thank you so much for your support, first month at home, first shed, and food refusal are all pretty stressful, this is a great community and you are really helping keep me sane. I appreciate it tremendously.

NewHerp293 · 10-01-14, 08:01 AM

Obviously its different for every animal but my little rosy boa very readily took 3 pinkies right after about 25 min of handling.

**EL Ziggy** · 10-01-14, 08:01 AM

Your set up sounds great K

. I don't see any issues with your husbandry. Sounds like he's just settling in. Some snakes will just skip a few meals now and then. As long as he's not losing too much weight, or showing other signs of illness, you should be in good shape.

kiiarah · 10-01-14, 01:49 PM

You have no idea how relieved I am to hear that husbandry is what it should be. I have spent the last two weeks reading everything i can find, but as a new keeper I am still nervous about messing something up. It sounds like all the research paid off.

Ever since shedding he has been out and slithering about (early to mid evening), good tongue flicking and I have gotten in the habit of offering him a drink from his bowl every time I do handle him. Surprisingly he has no problem drinking while in my hands. He goes into his hide during the day, seems to be acting on a regular schedule.

What would be "significant" weight loss for a snake his size? His spine is not protruding but if you run your hand down his back there is a hard ridge where his spine is. Also when he lies in a tight "U" shape, his skin does wrinkle near the bend in his midsection. I haven't handled enough snakes to what normal skin does, though I have read that many bps are actually overweight. I keep thinking that if he was stiff and round enough for his skin not to wrinkle when he forms a tight loop he would be unable to curl, but how much give is normal? Is it true that males tend to be less chunky than females?

**EL Ziggy** · 10-01-14, 01:56 PM

K- Do you have pics of your snake and set up? How much does he weigh now? I doubt he's malnourished. My king hasn't eaten in 9 weeks and he's only lost 6g. He went from 423g to 417g. Let's see how your next feeding attempt goes.

kiiarah · 10-01-14, 02:28 PM

Here is a shot of him before shedding, that is a standard size paper plate for size comparison. Note that you can see the ridge where his spine is, not sure if this should be visible.

These are all of him after shedding.

The two shots before the tank set up show the wrinkles I was talking about before and the tank does have two hides, the cool one is in the back right corner but you can see there really is a size difference between the two.
I tried to get a weight on him the day after he shed and got around 90 to 91. He really didn't feel like sitting on the scale so I think it was causing the readings to fluctuate. I will try to get a weight when he is less active.