Children's Python won't eat

[Sylphy]

Hi, I'm new to the forum and snake care. I have a young ( about a year old) Children's Python who hasn't eaten for over a month.
I had problems getting her to eat early on but she's been voracious for a long while.
I recently came back from a holiday during which she was taken care of by a friend with snake experience.
Apparently she was eating fine while I was away. She went into hiding soon after I picked her up and I assumed she was shedding, which she was. Usually she is really hungry after a shed but she hasn't been interested.
It has been a little colder around here than normal. (We are in Darwin and I don't use a heating pad or anything. )
I'm also wondering if it could be that what I'm offering her is too big. She has just recently moved onto full sized mice.
She eats frozen mice and I was also wondering if it's ok to keep defrosting and refreezing the mice or if they should just be thrown out if she doesn't take it?
How often should i keep trying to get her to feed?
Any advice would be very much appreciated.
Cheers.

 

[CrystalMoon]

If there doesnt seem to be any other underlying issues I would leave her be for a week or two. I would not refreeze any thawed food for you or your reptiles just my personal opinion..... The colder weather may have a bearing? I am in a very hot region and do not use heat pads unless the weather cools off and I have given the kiddies their feed. Mine have not gone off their food at all but they are all gluttons lol

 

[The_Geeza]

U say she? Female for def?.... If u have dramatic cooling without heat within the enclosure then this could put the snake off food.. Not really. Good idea to re freeze food items due to bacteria build up... People do tho... Explaining how u thaw and heat the food item will also help for people to come forth and Answer

 

[Sylphy]

Not 100% sure it's a female. Does it make a difference?
i just leave the mouse out to thaw and give it to her like that.
How long can they go without food?

 

[peterjohnson64]

Snakes can go for ages without eating. There is a few reasons your snake is not eating. But first, thank you for telling us what you have said is it is really good. Most people just say their snake is not eating and then expect a sensible reply.

Snakes will certainly go off their food when it gets cooler. Remember a snake is cold blooded and can't regulate it's body temperature. It can ONLY digest it's food if it is warm enough. Failure to digest its food means the snake dies. I have had a number of snakes that just refused to eat over winter. Even tropical species such as GTP's. I have one here right now that will not eat from April to October. He does not hibernate. He is doing fine. He just grows a bit slower.

I once picked up a new carpet python that I bought as a good eater. It took him more than three months to eat for me. The he became a great eater. Almost certainly this was from the stress of changing his environment. Can you imagine snakes being big nomads in the wild? No, anyone that has them around their hoses knows that they are territorial so a change of environment is definitely not natural.

You are in Darwin so this one wont apply to you but lots of people think they need to give their little snake lots of room to explore. Problem is, they have the heat source at one end and a hidey hole at the other. The snake is stressed because in such open spaces it feels it would get eaten (think of yourself in an open field where T Rex roamed) so they hide in the cold end. The snake just keeps getting worse, wont come out, can't warm up, wont eat. Dr Robert Johnson (read reptilevet.com.au) once quoted this as the number one reason he had snakes into his surgery.

The last and most unlikely reason your snake isn't eating is that it is sick. Being in Darwin I can't see this being a usual respiratory infection but if you see any other signs of poor health (not easting is not really the one you are after) then get him to a vet.

And if you want my credentials read the acknowledgements in this: http://www.environment.nsw.gov.au/resources/nature/hygieneProtocolSnakes.pdf

 

[Sylphy]

All good! Warmed up and she's gone back being as greedy as she was before!