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 #2084095


Snakesgalore
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 Northern pine not growing?

hey ive got this northern pine that doent seem to be growning very much she is about a year old now and some times refuses to eat then the next week she will attck your hand if you dnt put the mouse in fast enough when i got her she was shedding about every 2 months and she hasnt shed in about 8 months and she was eating pre killd mice but now she wont even sniff at a pre kill it has to be live and im very careful when feedind herany idea why the switch and why not growing?



10/14/09  11:46pm

 #2084141


JackAsp
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   Message To: Snakesgalore   In reference to Message Id: 2084095


 Northern pine not growing?

First of all, how big is she? Growth rate is determined largely by environmental factors, but slowdown size is determined genetically. So if she’s two feet long, that’s bad, but if she’s four, then you might just have a snake that isn’t genetically pre-determined to get very big. People talk so much about six foot long pines that they sort of forget how many of them really aren’t that large. I used to have a pair that ate constantly, and neither of them even broke four and half feet. Also, speaking of environmental factors, how many mice was she eating before, what size were they, and how often?
About the switch: what time frame are we talking about? I mean, when was the last time she ate a dead one? How long was it before you offered a live one?
You might try doubling up, offering a live mouse and dead one at the same time. It works better if you put the food in a tall bucket, hold the snake above it, snd let it drop in on the mouse at its own pace. Then, once its coiled around in there it sort of forgets what it killed and what it didn’t. You can even start with just a live one, then kill another and sneak it in there during constriction. A snake that wants firsts will usually take seconds, and that way at least it’s less likely you’ll be bashing mice on days that it turns out the snake isn’t even hungry. Plus, taking the snake to the food instead of the food to the snake eliminates confusion-bites.
One note about that bucket trick: you will almost definitely have to uncoil the tail end from your forearm because they go into constriction mode very enthusiastically. It comes right off if you start at the tip, and doesn’t seem to distract them any from their mouse-squeezing fun. Sometimes after a while they’ll even recognize the bucket when they see it, and go racing across your arms to look into it when you take them out. If that happens, you might eventually be able to use that enthusuasm to retrain her to just eat dead. I had one NPS that I finally got onto f/t that way, after over eight years of him NEVER eating dead.
10/15/09  02:49am

 #2084240


Snakesgalore
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   Message To: JackAsp   In reference to Message Id: 2084141


 Northern pine not growing?

the switch was almost right away after one feeding she went to live not by my choice but aslong as she is eating i guess it will have to do she about 2 feet long and still looks healthy just with some rubbing marks on her nose from where she rubs against the glass all the time she is eating hopper mice i read that you say that if shes 2 feet thats bad why is that ? mabe she is just a smaller pine or slower growning ?
10/15/09  12:07pm

 #2084245


JackAsp
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   Message To: Snakesgalore   In reference to Message Id: 2084240


 Northern pine not growing?

Maybe. I mean, I have heard of growth that slow, but she’s small enough that I’d be worried, especially combined with the stress behavior and the shed-slowing. How many hoppers does she eat at a time?
10/15/09  12:17pm

 #2084262


Snakesgalore
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   Message To: JackAsp   In reference to Message Id: 2084245


 Northern pine not growing?

just one



10/15/09  01:05pm

 #2084465


JackAsp
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   Message To: Snakesgalore   In reference to Message Id: 2084262


 Northern pine not growing?

If you haven’t tried offering a second one, I say go for it. Get more into her while she’s in the mood, if it tends to be a while before she’s ready again. Sure, one a week would be better than two every two weeks, but sometimes you’ve just got to shrug and go with the schedule they’ll accept.
10/15/09  10:04pm


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