Jungle won’t eat

Aussie Pythons & Snakes Forum

Help Support Aussie Pythons & Snakes Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
Status
Not open for further replies.

Benno87

Active Member
Joined
May 24, 2018
Messages
119
Reaction score
65
hey guys this is my first post. I’ve had my 6 month old jungle for about 6 weeks now. I waited for a week to feed it when I first got it and it accepted its food 1st time around as well as the 2nd time a week later. It has refused to eat the last 3 weeks and now I’m starting to worry. It appears to be acting normally still but I’m starting to worry a little now. All my temperatures etc are spot on and I’ve done everything the breeder told me to do as well as what I’ve read on here. Adelaide has dropped a hell of a lot in temp last 3 weeks but my enclosure is running with a quality micro climate dimming thermo so temps in the enclsure have not moved much. Please tell me I’m stressing about nothing and that my snake will eat again soon. Thanks in advance.
[doublepost=1529266835,1529266763][/doublepost]Should add that it’s a very flighty/snappy little snake that does not like being bothered. It came over by plane from qld.
 
You don’t need to worry untill it becomes like 2-3months of no eating :) your baby will be fine..

What are you trying to feed it? How big is the snake compared to food size? I know it’s common snakes won’t accept a small meal.

When did he shed last?
 
The snake was up graded to weaner mice a week before I received it so no issues with food size and it last shed on may the 6 or 9th if I remember correctly I’d have to look at the shed record. Thanks for the reply really hope it eats this week as it’s a pretty special looking snake and cost me a fortune lol
 
At 6mths it should be able to take bigger. As a general rule the prey items widest part should be at least one and a half to two times the width of the head. That will give you decent growth without over-feeding and risking unnecessary weight gain.

In saying that as long as everything else is ok a hungry snake will eat no matter the size of the prey.

Put up some pictures so we can guage the snakes size comparative to its meal.
 
That looks like an adult mouse to me :eek:

I think small Weaner rats should be next step

very very nice looking snakey snake!
 
Why up grade to a weaner rat? That size mouse is an excellent nutritious sized meal for that snake for a while yet.
sure. However getting them onto rats could fare difficult if he sticks to mice for a while
 
This was the week before I received it. Pic sent from breeder.

View attachment 324590
You might need to check with the breeder. I am thinking they may have said to upgrade to a weaner 'rat' and not a mouse because that is very close to the size of an adult mouse in the picture.
I think that actually may be a weaner rat in the picture going off the length.
 
It's a small adult mouse in the photo and a perfect size for that snake, and for a couple of months at least yet.

That looks like an adult mouse to me :eek:

I think small Weaner rats should be next step

very very nice looking snakey snake!

As George has asked, why move it up to weaner rats so soon? Adult mice have more good nutrition than weaner rats. In my experience, most people have difficulty moving from mice to rats because they try and get them on to rats far too soon because of some myth that the sooner they get on to rats the better. This is simply not true. If mice are of the appropriate size, then stick to mice. Larger snakes are probably more confident with rats because a rat poses more of a threat of harm to a smaller snake.

Now, back to the OP... Almost all problems with feeding established baby carpets are temperature related - and at this time of the year, with very short day lengths (even though we keep them in artificial conditions, they know the seasons...) and cooler temps, you may find more of a reluctance to feed. If all other behaviours are normal, you have nothing to worry about, and you may want to reduce the offerings to about every 2-3 weeks anyway. This will not harm the snake in any way. Having said that, if your temps at the warm spot are around 32-33C, and the snake was feeding a couple of weeks ago, it may be coming up for a shed (this may be as often as every 4-6 weeks in some snakes when they are growing rapidly.

Jamie
 
Thanks for all the replies guys. The pic I posted is from the breeder and was my snakes first feed with that sized mouse just to clear that up. The hot end of my tank generally stays between 32 and 36 depending if the heater is on inside the house so I know it’s not getting too cold. It’s been sleeping the last couple of days so I’ll dangle another mouse in front of it this week when he wakes up. Thanks heaps once again for your help again guys. It’s put my mind at ease a little bit but I’m still worried a touch lol.
 
Thanks for all the replies guys. The pic I posted is from the breeder and was my snakes first feed with that sized mouse just to clear that up. The hot end of my tank generally stays between 32 and 36 depending if the heater is on inside the house so I know it’s not getting too cold. It’s been sleeping the last couple of days so I’ll dangle another mouse in front of it this week when he wakes up. Thanks heaps once again for your help again guys. It’s put my mind at ease a little bit but I’m still worried a touch lol.
Don’t waste food, if it’s not going to eat, it won’t.. best bet is to wait for it to get hungry when he starts “moving and looking for food”
 
Thanks heaps for all the help and compliments on the snake guys. Had wanted one like this forever
[doublepost=1529579958,1529319781][/doublepost]Snakes out and about tonight and very active. Still won’t eat though:(
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Latest posts

Back
Top