Children's python not eating

[SPOTTEDMAC]

dont be too worried when mine were young 1 didnt eat for 3 months then all of a sudden just started and hes been finer since

[zinger]

ok i dont no what people are saying about converting it over to rats
to keep them eating regularly i keep mine eating adult since it was about 50 cm
go to www.dolittlefarm.com it has information on about how much u should feed and wat size u should feed to certain species

[python_newbie]

Thanks for that zinger, the website was very helpful.

[python_newbie]

Just updating: my snake still hasn't eaten. I've tried braining, feeding at dusk/night time, fresh killed adult mice, defrosted fuzzy mice, defrosted adult mice, and I couldn't find a heat globe that was the same size as my fitting. He's still fairly active at night and often pokes out during the day, although he's still steering clear of the UV light. I took him to the vet (not sure if she was a specialist reptile vet, but all of the reptile owners I've spoken to go there, and I live in a small city so I don't know if we'd even have a reptile vet), who squished his head (why would she do that?), held him for a bit and checked out a few protruding scales that I pointed out before telling me he was still "active and alert", didn't have mites and should be ok.

I will remove the fake plant tonight as I introduced that around the same time he stopped eating. I'm also going to look at heat cords and change his hide from a plastic one to a cardboard one to help retain any heat. I might look on eBay for a 12 inch heat globe or buy a new fitting. Oh, and remote a thermometer. I'll be looking for one of those too.

[Lockie]

Hi Python Newbie,

The vet you took it to doesn't sound like a reptile vet - they should have done a fecal smear.

I had the same problem - mine took 4 months to solve, and by the end of it my jungle python's skin was loose and I felt like the most neglectful python owner in the world.

Its not that i denied him vet treatment - its just that by the time I had tried mice, rats, scented mice, scented rats, quail and day old chicks, a little time had passed. To make things worse he WOULD eat once every 5 weeks or so - which totally threw me off! Once I knew that I couldn't determine his problem, and that I knew I was doing everything right as far as I knew - eg temps, housing, lighting cycles, hides etc, I booked him in to the vet.

I took him to a reptile vet, and they did a fecal smear (where they smear his poo on a bit of glass, and look at it through a microscope). Turns out he had amoeba protozoans - I could see them wiggling around when I looked through the microscope. The vet gave him 2 doses of Flagyl, two weeks apart and he's been fine since - he's never missed a feed and he's slowly putting some weight back on.

Any vet can do a fecal smear - and they should already know what a protozoan is, and be able to identify it if it's present. Flagyl is given depending on the pythons weight - if they get stuck your vet could call the South Penrith Vet Clinic on (02) 4721 4796 and they'll help - they specialise in reptiles.

I'm not saying that you're python has the same problem mine did, but there's a quick way to find out!

Hope you get it sorted soon!

regards,
Lockie

[python_newbie]

I've noticed a lump in his belly now... it's about 1-1.5cm in diameter, soft to touch and he doesn't see uncomfortable, but I still want to take him to the vet. I'll have to wait until Saturday though as I am flying to Melbourne tonight :/ Does anyone know what lumps can mean? I tried googling but with little luck. Would an intestinal infection take this long to show up? Can a vet still do a fecal smear if he hasn't eaten or defecated in this long?

[Australis]

Originally Posted by notechistiger

A pinkie rat is usually smaller than an adult mouse, and they've got more nutrients than mice. That's one reason why people recommend rats over mice.

Do you (or anyone) have any information relating to mice having less nutrients against rats?

For me its just the convenience of feeding one or two larger feed items of rat against
feeding several mice to the same value.
Cant see any drama in feeding Antaresia on mice exclusively considering their
relatively small adult size.

Unless ive missed something here?

[notechistiger]

python_newbie: A lump of any kind in a snake that has not eaten for as long as yours is not good. My bet would have to be either some kind of parasite, or cancer. So yes, a vet trip is definitely valid. And I don't know about the fecal smear, you'll you have to talk to vet about that.

Australis: I was told that was so by the guy I used to buy my reptiles and products from. I'm not in contact with him anymore, but he was a trusted source. I wrote down what his explanation was- it certainly sounded logical. I'll see if I can dig it up for you. However, I would still recommend rats over mice for Antaresia. At 50cm long, a childrens should have no problem getting down a fuzzy rat, and as you say, it's much more convenient then feeding three or four mice to achieve the same result.

[python_newbie]

I took my snake to a specialist reptile vet yesterday, who said the lump was just a non-harmful body worm (most likely from being fed gecko tails or the like as a hatchling). He pricked the snake's skin and removed it, but said it was purely for cosmetic reasons and if the worm had remained there, the snake would have pooed it out with no problems. He also said the worm wouldn't have affected his appetite and that I should try feeding him a gecko tail (they're non-native and live around my house) or scenting a mouse with frog urine to get him feeding again. He said that even though the geckos aren't captive and could carry diseases, at this point in time it's more important that he starts feeding, and since the geckos are urban ones they aren't likely to have any weird diseases anyway.

The vet also said I shouldn't need to buy a heat globe/mat/cord/whatever now because the wet season is nearly here. He said my snake should be fine in the colder months without a heat globe too because he's native to here and that I'd only need to use a heat globe in the dry season if I wanted him to eat, not necessarily because he needed to eat.

[pythons73]

The vet told you 2 try frog urine,thats the first that ive heard,how will you do that.

[python_newbie]

Well, I'll find a frog in my yard and pick it up (which apparently causes it to pee), then rub the scent on the mouse.

[Wench]

i thought snakes need heat regardless of season?? even when cooling they still need somewhere warm dont they??

[rodentrancher]

Maybe we've done the wrong thing with our MD pythons then? We turned the heat off for the cooling season. Will turn back on at the end of September. Cheers Cheryl

[Wench]

i was just asking a question.

guess it depends if ya snake hibernates or not then??
buggers me.
i was told that even in winter ya snake still needs a basking spot/somewhere warm - but maybe thats coz my snake isn't hibernating and needs heat to digest etc.

[notechistiger]

This is very wrong. In the wild, a snake would bask in the sun for a few hours, then go hide in the shade- continually moving between warm and cool places to keep its body at the optimum temperature. In an enclosure inside the house (where it is always cool), a snake doesn't have this opportunity. By not providing heat, you're almost guaranteeing the snake will get sick with a possible fatal condition, such as an RI.

Now that the worm has been removed, try and see if your snake will take a mouse. If the vet gave you a wrong piece of advice, there's no guarantee that the other was also wrong.