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 #1780307


Morsel
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 Hunger Strike (When should I get worried?)

I have an adult Pueblan Milksnake that I’ve had for about two months now. It was handed down to me from a school program, they got it as a donation from one of the students.

Well, to make a long story short, everything was going pretty well. It settled in nicely, it’s very much a biter and does not like being handled/touched. I only handle it now to clean the tank which is usually holding until it calms and then placing it in a pillow case and then into a tub.

I’m pretty spot on as far as husbandry goes, not that a whole lot is needed where I live and where the tank is located etc. I’m just trying to cover all of the information I can before getting to the issue.

So, this has been the third week now that the snake has not eaten. I understand that sometimes they just don’t want to eat. Normally, and this is the thing I do with the other snakes, I feed once a week with one adult mouse.

It doesn’t appear to be losing much weight at all, it’s still pretty meaty spine’s not poking out or anything.

I’m probably just getting a little over concerned here but is there anything I should be looking out for? Anything I should do? Should I just wait it out and keep trying every couple of days?

Thanks



07/02/08  04:14am

 #1780449


MilkY_king
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   Message To: Morsel   In reference to Message Id: 1780307


 Hunger Strike (When should I get worried?)

I don’t think there is anything to worry about here dude. As long as your husbandry is good then he’s probably just going on a little fast. Sometimes I have just found snakes go without eating for no apparent reason. I have a Desert King (I know those are’nt milks but) and he ate 1 1/2 years without missing a single meal, the most conststent eater I had ever seen, but he one day stopped his streak and he is still down to this day not as consistent as he was but he is still eating and healthy. You can wait a long time (especially if he has a good bit of weight on him) before you have to be worried. Like atleast 6, 7 months, maybe a little longer.
Hope this helps!

-Brad
07/02/08  10:47am

 #1781054


Alligater
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   Message To: MilkY_king   In reference to Message Id: 1780449


 Hunger Strike (When should I get worried?)

are you sure he’s not going into shed and MilkY_king is also right my male tangerine honduran will stop eating for a month aand a half.



07/02/08  09:07pm

 #1781732


Morsel
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   Message To: Alligater   In reference to Message Id: 1781054


 Hunger Strike (When should I get worried?)

Nope, not going into shed. I know the signs etc before they even go into blue. There’s been no lightening or anything on the belly of the black bands which is usually a sign before they go completely blue. Too bad they don’t turn pink like ball pythons!

Thanks for the help there! I’ll just keep an eye on it and offer it some food during feeding time. If it won’t eat it I have king that would gladly take care of any left overs!
07/03/08  02:00pm

 #1782194


Alligater
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   Message To: Morsel   In reference to Message Id: 1781732


 Hunger Strike (When should I get worried?)

I do know how you feel about it,if one doesn’t eat,I got 2 female hondurans that are a eating machine and a 7 ft red tail that has never disappointed me yet.



07/03/08  08:36pm

 #1782552


L.ROY
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   Message To: Morsel   In reference to Message Id: 1780307


 Hunger Strike (When should I get worried?)

hi Morsel,
i have had this problem b/4.
have you tried live mice?
this is what i do:
do not disturb him for a week or two, then try live fuzzies in his enclosure do not feed him in a seperate feeding container. try 2 fuzzies at first then wait a week or two and try 2 more if he still is’nt eating he may be going into brumation mode which can happen at any time of the year regardless of temps and regardless of what some experts may say.
you may want to cool him down to 60 degrees and put him in the dark for a month then warm him back up to 75-80 and see how that works.
good luck and i’ll be posting some milk pics soon.



07/04/08  05:41am

 #1789383


Morsel
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   Message To: L.ROY   In reference to Message Id: 1782552


 Hunger Strike (When should I get worried?)

I may try live if this goes another week or two.

I wish I could cool it down, however, where I live makes that impossible. I live in the middle of the sonoran desert and I’m lucky if the house stays under 80 degrees in the summer. So a small brumation period won’t quite work too well at all. I am leaving it alone though, I keep offering but not to the point of stressing it out.

I have a ball python that’s also a very picky eater. I’ve tried every trick in the book to get him to eat thawed food and it just doesn’t work. I’m kind of used to this behavior. It sucks but he’ll probably be feeding on live mice for a long time.



07/10/08  02:57am

 #1796193


Snakebuz
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   Message To: Morsel   In reference to Message Id: 1789383


 Hunger Strike (When should I get worried?)

If your snake is eating F/T and you enjoy the ease of not having to go pick up live mice regularly, I’d only feed live as a do or die option. A snake might get spurred into eating by the live offering, but it might also not go back to f/t. It sounds like you’re used to having to get live though, your ball python. 90 % or so never eat f/t, unless you slip them in following him eating the live one.
07/15/08  12:36pm

 #1801637


Morsel
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   Message To: Snakebuz   In reference to Message Id: 1796193


 Hunger Strike (When should I get worried?)

Well, a little update on this. When I went to get food for the python I picked up an extra mouse. I offered it to the pueblan. Not a bite, not a strike, not a whole lot of interest other than some basic tracking and tongue flicking. I watched for about ten minutes as the mouse ran around the tank aimlessly and the snake did nothing before giving up.

I don’t think there’s any health issues going on, it’s still got a good bit of meat to it, the spine isn’t all pokey. It’s drinking and passing urates/urine like normal, just kinda inactive and not interested in food. I redecorated the tank a little bit, made some more places to hide etc. They got explored a bit but I don’t think they were used.

I’m going to try a f/t tomorrow, hopefully the snake will feel settled by dusk tomorrow.
07/19/08  05:33am

 #1801733


MilkY_king
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   Message To: Morsel   In reference to Message Id: 1801637


 Hunger Strike (When should I get worried?)

Well, what sometimes works for me is just letting them go without food for a while. Then after a few weeks, introduce food and most of the time they will eat. (S)he will probably eat though, don’t get too worried. Keep in mind that it might be from stress also so just leave him/her, (which you probably already are) for a little while.

Good luck with him/her and please keep us updated!
07/19/08  09:40am

 #1802146


Morsel
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   Message To: MilkY_king   In reference to Message Id: 1801733


 Hunger Strike (When should I get worried?)

There’s been no stressing at all. This is one of those ’no touch’ snakes because it gets quite defensive and bites. Unlike my king, this one has great aim *wincing*
07/19/08  05:32pm

 #1802957


MilkY_king
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   Message To: Morsel   In reference to Message Id: 1802146


 Hunger Strike (When should I get worried?)

Lol, okay just make sure and keep us updated and good luck.
07/20/08  11:55am

 #1825761


Motley
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   Message To: Morsel   In reference to Message Id: 1780307


 Hunger Strike (When should I get worried?)

3 weeks is nothing to worry about. Fasting can sometimes last 2 or 3 months with older milk snakes. Just keep an eye on your snakes weight until it eats again. If it loses more than 10% of the weight it is now, consider having it checked over by a vet.
08/10/08  05:20am

 #1837601


Morsel
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   Message To: Motley   In reference to Message Id: 1825761


 Hunger Strike (When should I get worried?)

Well, Zuni shed last week, had to have some assistance with that. I used the towel and a little warm water in a tub trick. Left her alone for an hour and then she let me touch her head a little to pull off a bit of skin at her nose to loosen it up and she slithered out of the rest pretty easy with my hand just sort of holding the shed. She was thin but her new scales look shiny.

So today, I decide to feed her after she’s had a few days to rest from this soak and the shedding process. I’ve also had live mice in the room to kind of get her hungry. So I toss a thawed mouse...a little sniffing action no biting. Sighing, I took a pair of sharp scissors, cut into the scruff of the neck of the mouse, past the skin, a little into the muscle tissue. Set the mouse back inside. Then there was some SERIOUS feeding action.

I’m so happy it’s over with, she lost a lot of muscle and she wasn’t as strong as she usually was.



08/20/08  08:18pm


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