Stimson feeding. Out of ideas

[Snowman]

Do experienced people here ever feel like tearing their hair out??? Camm8, don't start believing that snakes need baths to shed properly. Snakes have been successfully shedding for eons without interference from neurotic owners who often over-manage their animals literally to death. For goodness sake, Antaresias are hardy, tough animals that do VERY WELL without the crap you are imposing on your animal. The snake was obviously coming into a shed cycle anyway, but don't convince yourself that your interference "did the trick" - it was going to happen anyway, and probably with a lot less stress on the animal.

If it won't eat what it usually eats, then it's not hungry. Antaresias in the wild probably feed for about 3-4 months of the year, and then only about 3-4 times. It's what they do, and they have very well tuned energy budgets. They may eat more frequently in captivity, but then, all our captive snakes are over-fed because we like to see them eating, not because they need the food. Shedding is an area where newcomers seem unable to resist interference. When they are coming up to shed, LEAVE THEM ALONE - no handling and certainly NO BLOODY "BATHS."

I hate to see these poor animals tortured by newby keepers because they refuse fit the preconceptions of what a snake "should do" - it's the keeper who needs the help, not the snake.

I've said very often on here - you need ONE mentor whose knowledge and advice you can trust, and you need to stick to that advice. The more you canvass opinions from the wider herp community, the more confused and indecisive you will remain. You have received some very good advice in this thread from some very experienced keepers, but by and large you seem to have rejected it and done what you wanted to do because of your anxiety. Try and understand that the outcome is a natural event, and not because of the "success" of your strategy.

I've written this to try and prevent the same behaviour happening again the next time the poor animal is due for a shed.

Jamie

It almost seem like some new keepers go out of their way to ignore good advice from experienced keepers. And seek the advice of other noobs, as that is more in line with what they want to hear and their pre conceived ideas about snake keeping.
Un necessary baths, showers, feeding, feeding specific colour mice, and the list goes on and on....
These poor reptiles that are being tortured just for the sake of someone who lacks common sense. At the end of the day our pythons require very little from us. And certainly much less than some of these people are giving them.

 

[KaotikJezta]

About a third of my snakes refused their last feeds, the weather here has been weird so I am not at all stressed and they will be fed again when the majority are in hunt mode next. The more you fus and stress and try new things the more stressed and unlikely to eat the snake will be. I feed mine when they are actively looking for food which is generally not at all over winter and with varying degrees of regularity in the warmer months. I would also suggest that having a cool end of 27 is not having a cool end at all.