Yearling Bredli Feeding

[bredli97]

Hello all,

I have owned my yearling bredli male for around 2 months now and he has been settling in well.

He has fed awesomely for the past 6 weeks and shed once (5th April) but in the last two weeks he doesn't seem at all interested in his mice.

The temperature is around 32-25 in the warm end and 20-24 in the cold end. But the last two weeks have had a cold snap and may have caused the temperatures to go down.

Not a lot has changed in his care routine over the past few weeks.

As he is my first python (and I am very new to snake care) I was just wondering if there was any obvious reason for him going off his food?
Or is it possible he is about to go into shed and is refusing food?

(I know this question has been asked many times and I am very sorry for asking again)

Thank you for your help

 

[Bart70]

If he has been a good feeder previously, and the temps are ok (you have not mentioned if it is 24hr heat or not) there is a good chance he is picking up the seasonal change and possibly feeling that winter is on its way. Half of my animals stopped taking food about 4-5 weeks ago and I haven't started reducing heating hours yet - the diurnal range increase due to the cooler nights (I don't heat at night) has been enough to kick several of mine off their food.

If he is otherwise well and healthy all should be fine.....monitor and see how he goes - not feeding for 2 weeks is more a sign to be aware of than to panic about......but can still be worrying for newcomers.

 

[bredli97]

Thank you for your reply Bart70,
He is on 24/7 heat, but i suspect the temperature in the cold end may be dropping slightly.
He is more active in the night time, but likes to sleep in the day. He otherwise looks healthy and full (round?)
He is also a bit duller than usual which may indicate another shed is on the way.

Thank you again for your help and I appreciate the time you took to comment.

Should I continue to offer him food every Sunday? (like usual)

Thanks again

 

[Bart70]

I would continue to offer him food at his normal cycle and see...if he is on 24/7 heat he is less likely to go off his food for winter but it does happen, or he might just be having a moment and will continue feeding next time around, or it could possibly be a shed coming on and he is hesitant to eat.

Also double check the temps and ensure his warm end is correct as this is a common cause of them going off their food. Keep offering him at his normal feeding schedule see how things go over the next 2 or 3 offerings......

 

[bredli97]

I double checked his temps and they are sitting on 33.6 degrees (Celsius) in the warm end, and around 20-21 in the cold end.
But I have bumped the temp on the thermostat to 35 to make it a bit warmer.
I have placed a sheet over his tank to try and keep the heat in.
I will continue to offer him food and hopefully he will eat soon.
Though it hasn't been too long since he stopped eating, he doesn't appear to have lost any condition.

Thanks again

- - - Updated - - -

Sorry, I forgot to ask...

Should I avoid handling him until he eats again (unless his tub needs cleaning)
Or should I continue with the 1-3 handling sessions for 2 - 5 mins a week?

Thanks again

 

[dodgie]

Warm up his cool end to 24c or more.

 

[Bart70]

Keep his warm end right.....the rest should look after itself. My Bredli is in a vertically oriented enclosure and only gets warmth near the top, with the rest of his enclosure at ambient....he will go there for warmth when he needs it and will move away as he doesn't. If you can easily influence the cool end temp then bump it up a little....but I wouldn't consider it as important as getting his warm end right.

Bumping is warm end up as you have done will do no harm and may kick his feeding response along if he has detected a seasonal change. Reducing handling can be effective with fussy eaters although in your case he has been feeding fine previously and has no history of being a fussy eater. Providing you have not changed your handling habits (ie - handling a lot more recently etc...) it is less likely to be related to handling but cutting back handling will not do any harm. The handling you are quoting is not excessive anyway, particularly for a snake that has not shown any signs of problems previously.

If all else is good and you are comfortable with his temps, let him go for a while and see what happens.

Also, I noted that you mentioned he is on mice?......Not sure how big your Bredli is, but mine was well and truly onto rats as a yearling, although without knowing the weight of yours it is hard to tell if it is just a little small for its age, or if you should be looking at a food upgrade. In any case, keep offering what you know he will take until he starts eating again as you don't want to add another variable to the equation.

 

[concussed_weero]

What l was curious about is how you would change a yearling from mice to rats if it has had mice since it was born.any thoughts??

 

[PDM_Pythons]

What l was curious about is how you would change a yearling from mice to rats if it has had mice since it was born.any thoughts??

Try rats... If don't like then scent with mice or tie a rat up a mouse bum then it will eat both... Try it for awhile then rats on there own

 

[PappaSmurf]

Sounds to me like he's coming in to shed. My yearling Bredli girl sheds every 4 weeks like clockwork. Also she is eating roughly 100gm weaner rats so i would consider a food change.