Its been 2 months....

[triptych_angel]

Its been 2 months since my 5month old coastal carpet python ate, i've been offering her food once a week to no avail, i've left mice in there for her, i've brained them. I know its winter and they go off their food, but isnt 2 months a long time for a snake that age?

Havent been too concerned so far, but its getting a bit long. She gets very defensive when i offer the food, strikes at me or the mouse then lets go. She doesnt use her hide anymore but sits next to it. No change in enclosure just the same old click clack that we've always had her in. She used to be a ravenous little thing so its a bit different. Her temps are between 30-32 in the hot end. She also hasnt shed for about 3 months. She hasnt lost much weight either.

Cheers
Emz

[tszue]

well the first time i fed my coastal i used my hans to hang on to the pinki. i dont think it could distinguish wat the smell was and wat my finger was so it striked at my finger and started eating it. so after that i am using bbq tongs make sure you do the same thing. in the wiled baby pythons eat skinks and lizards so catch a normal skink and pour some blood onto the pinkey. dont sweat it will be OK

[triptych_angel]

Well she doesnt hold on, she just strikes in defense then lets go.

[nvenm8]

Sounds like she has put herself into hibernation. 2 months, although a long time by our standards isn’t really much for a python. A hatchling in the wild may go a hell of a lot longer than that before they get their first meal.
I would just be patient at this stage and offer food as normal. If she hasn't eaten in by the end of August then start to worry a little. I have been what you are going through and understand your concerns.

[triptych_angel]

Cheers nvenm8, puts me at ease a little, while i havent been too worried because i know its winter and such, its still good to have some reassurance.

[nvenm8]

Also there are other ways to entice a stubborn eater, I have taken away the water supply for a week at the end of a week i dip a thawed Rat/Mouse in the water. The python recognizes the smell of the water and bingo feeding python again. This is a very hard thing to do and I only used it when all else failed, but it did work 50% of the time.
I wouldn't even consider doing this at this stage though.

[Mangles]

I have two coastals, both 17 months old, and one of these (female) has eaten only once over the past 3 months, while the other (male) has fed the whole time, except when coming up to a shed. Both are kept under identical conditions and were good eaters. They were the same size three months ago but now the male is noticeably larger.

When offered food she will not even strike, just smells it and turns away. She still looks okay and is out a lot, and have been assured by my vet that this can be normall behaviour for some snakes during winter. Still it would put me at ease if when she starts eating again, so i can try and get some size on her.

[triptych_angel]

Same here, i'd just be so relieved when she finally eats.

[SnakeWrangler]

Originally Posted by nvenm8

Sounds like she has put herself into hibernation. 2 months, although a long time by our standards isn’t really much for a python. A hatchling in the wild may go a hell of a lot longer than that before they get their first meal.
I would just be patient at this stage and offer food as normal. If she hasn't eaten in by the end of August then start to worry a little. I have been what you are going through and understand your concerns.

If this is the case wouldn't it be a good idea to slowly drop her temps a little, I would say a hatchling in the wild would be a lot cooler in winter and therefore its metabolism would be slow and the lack of food wouldn't be a big problem, however because she is kept warm her metabolism would stay running as normal and could cause loss of condition.

I personally wouldn't like the idea of such a young snake not eating for so long, while it could probably easily survive, it still could have adverse affects. I would try the skink scenting idea if you haven't already, get a skink from your garden to drop its tail, then you can use it to scent the food item and the poor little skink gets to live, I would just scent around the nose at first because that is where you want it to take it from. Only thing is you might have trouble finding a skink now that its so cold.

I guess you will get a lot of ideas and help, this is just what I would do.

Cheers.

[triptych_angel]

thanks, i will try and find one hopefully there will be one in the concrete jungle that i live in.

Cheers
Emz

[JasonL]

If she is still in good condition I would refrain from feeding her a skink, and would cool her down and warm her up again in September when the night time temps start to rise. Cooled, untouched animals in burmation loose very little weight. As she hasn't eaten in so long there is no need to drop temps to slowly and I would be doing it over a week or two. If she is looking a bit bony you may be in a bit of trouble and skinks might be a good option, but only as a last resort as this can lead to other problems.

[triptych_angel]

She isnt skinny or bony, she actually hasnt lost a great deal of weight. just not as fat as she usually would be. i'll try cooling her down when i get home, what would be a good temp to have her at?

[JasonL]

Yeah, just cool it off, no night heating, and day temps of 25 for only say 4 hours. Keep an eye on it's movements to know when to restart feeding. Offer it a cool and hot hide, Hopefully it chooses the cool one and stays unseen till spring.

[Jason]

if your going to cool, her i would go to about 23-24 that way its below the optimum temps for her metabolic functions, as said by doing this and then in a month or so you will hopefully trigger a feeding respones in response to the rising temps. DONT use a slink!!! it may take time but i wouldnt use one cause then you may have a hard time getting her back on to mice. where in sydney are you located? maby someone local with more experience may be able to help out by coming over and trying (not saying that your not exprienced, just may people that have gone through the problem in the past) good luck, and dont panic!

[triptych_angel]

I live out near Parramatta! Well im certainly not experienced with a non eating snake thats for sure. Will use all the help i can get.

Cheers
Emz