First Feed in 18months

[mysnakesau]

I am overwhelmed watching my beautiful Bindy swallow her second mouse just 10 minutes ago after refusing food for the last 18 months. I am not getting too excited yet. She only accepted two smallish mice but I am holding some hope now that I can save her from starving to death. She's just gotta accept another feed next week

For her last 4 sheds I have had to shed her. She rubs the head piece off and then stops. I soaked her in a warm tub for 30minutes and then peeled her old skin off. Then wondered if she would take a feed. She played around for a while, took a mouse and dropped it but eventually she ate it and took another. She took a 3rd mouse but then dropped it and left it. She was getting cold on my kitchen bench so I popped her away and will try upsizing her feed next week. Keeping my fingers crossed that this is a new beginning for her. Poor girl is skin and bone. She appeared to be struggling just to eat the mouse, like she had no strength. But hopefully that'll put a little energy in her ready for a another feed next week.

Serpenttongue - this is the same girl I have talked to you about before that I've thought had DPS.

 

[byron_moses]

good news i have my fingers and toes crossed for you

 

[Darlyn]

My god an anorexic snake, good luck with her she is beautiful.

 

[serpenttongue]

Excellent, Kathy!

Next feed, give another small mouse and then follow it with something larger.

Maybe even a good dose of sunlight might increase her appetite.

 

[Daniel_Penrith]

Very nice weldone, ive got a woma that hasnt eaten in 6months that im starting to worry bout! You have given me hope

 

[James_Scott]

Like serpenttongue said "try it on something larger". I would get the heat up to around 33 at the warm end and give it something at Least twice the size of that. Great job getting it eating again. You must be doing something right, well done.

 

[pythrulz]

Good for you that must of been very worrying wish you luck Most of us know how stresful it can be having a non feeding snake

 

[bigi]

thats fantastic Kath, fingers crossed more to come. Wow you can see she was into it, look at the redness under her neck in the last pic, giddyup girl

 

[mysnakesau]

...... I am not getting too excited yet. ......

Damn :cry: She regurged the two mice she ate. I have now downsized her enclosure to one that seems to stay warmer for longer, to see if that will make a difference so I can try again in a few days.

Yeah Nick. I am getting her outside at least two or three times a week now, in an outdoor mesh vivarium where she seems to enjoy curling up in the sun.

 

[shellfisch]

Damn :cry: She regurged the two mice she ate.

Bugger....

 

[licky]

mysnakes would you mind posting some proir history? previous enclosures/owners. if she is still shedding she must still be growing. how often do you offer food? what types of food do you offer? Ever tried feeding outside whilst in the sun?

 

[AM Pythons]

keep trying mate...

 

[mysnakesau]

I've had her for three years as a 5yr old (makes her now 8 ). I don't know how she was kept prior but I bought her with the male who had always lived together, and I have kept them together, in a 4x2x2 enclosure with 25w heatcord panel. Up until February 2009 she ate a good sized rat or two, weekly. Whether I breed or not, I let my snakes cool as they would naturally in the wild. Coming out of winter last year she refused feed after feed after feed. I have attempted feeding her outside in the sunshine, but I reckon I'll give that another go, but leaving her to warm up in my outdoor vivarium rather than just letting her wander the grass. She has continued shedding about 4 times a year, but I have had to assist shed her. Maybe I fed her too much and had good condition on her to keep her growing. But those stores now appear to be running low. I offered her a mouse right after shedding her the other night. She took two, but last night found both mice in the enclosure I have now separated her from her fella, putting her into a 3x2x45cmH enclosure with a 25w heatcord panel, lots of confinement and hopefully to keep her warmer. I am determined to get her feeding this season before I lose her.

 

[licky]

have you never tried quail or chicken? In those pictures it is hard to tell how thin (if she is) she is. does she still appear quite "built", with that groove down her spine?

 

[mysnakesau]

A friend gave me some quails to try and I forgot they are still in my freezer. Will let you know next feed Have tried offering her guinea pigs, rabbits and chicken when her appetite was still strong but turned her nose up at all of them. Only likes her rats or mice. But I'll feed a few of my snakes same tiime as her & thaw a quail in with the rats, see how she goes.

She isn't totally skin and bone yet. But her belly is sucked inwards when ever I pick her up so I try not to pick her up un-necessarily. And the skin around her neck looks deflated. I've had a highly reputable snake breeder come and see her over the weekend. He said she is looking on the thin side but it isn't too late to try and reverse it, if only we can get her feeding. He said he has heard of pythons going off their food like that, for no apparent reason and it can be extremely difficult to turn them back around. But I won't give up on Bindy. She's too beatiful for that.

Thank you for your thoughts.

 

[mysnakesau]

Update on Bindy

Last week she refused food but last night she took a mouse. She dropped it a few times but then picked it up and ate it. I didn't hassle her with anymore, just wanted her to settle with at least one. Fingers crossed, so far no regurges so am hopeful she might keep it down this time. I have her on her own in a smaller enclosure which is keeping warmer than her bigger one was. I know food refusal can often be due to incorrect temperature or enclosure set up but she was always a great eater and nothing in her enclosure had changed. I could put her in a tub, on the grass, off my arm and she'd eat. Since she stopped eating I tried hide boxes over her heat and warmer warm end but nothing seemed to be working. But now, I have her in a smaller enclosure and its rather cluttered which I know pythons like, and for some reason this tank holds heat better than others even though I use same heat source on them all. But one thing different is I have a heatcord entwined around wire mesh and buried in sand. But its only one-quarter of her enclosure that is sand, rest is newspaper. But it holds the heat so well, even when the heatcords are turned off for the night, it stays warm for quite a long while.

 

[shellfisch]

Fingers crossed, hope she keeps it down

 

[woody101]

thats awesome man! hope she keeps it down seeing this post gives me hope ive got a little stripe jungle tht hasnt eaten in almost 3months i put him in a clickclack to see if a small cage helps

 

[Insane]

yeah, best of luck mate.

my 10 month old jungle has been in hibernation for the last 4 months, ( she escaped while I was being a retardo. Recent warm spell in the weather combined with the egg trick.. (Leave an egg in a bowl in every room she might be in and let it sit there for a few days with the heat on. it'll start to smell a bit after 2 - 3 days, but this is what lured my jungle out of wherever she was hiding... turned around the night before I had to move house and she was slithering across the floor heading for the egg...) )

and she hasn't wanted to eat anything since she came out of hibernation a week ago.

She is just a goddam fussy eater. wouldn't touch mice, didn't even register them as a food source, kept sniffing at my hands etc instead. As soon as I went and got some day old quails today, I heated one up and within 5 minutes she had snapped it up like she hadn't eaten in well, 4 months. she now has a massive lump in her belly

Try out quails!

Dan

 

[mysnakesau]

I still have forgotten the quails, bit am now running low on rodents so her next feed will have to be the quails. Third time no luck Refused last feed, barely showed any interest. I gave her a nice clean floor today. Replacing newspaper with sugarcane mulch. She seems to like the mulch, actually curled up in her cool end. I've never seen her in her cool end. Might be time for that vitamin B injection.