Snake not eating

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Gav_86

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I am the owner of a Stimson's Python (bought Feb 2013). He was approx 3 years old then. I am having trouble getting him to eat, (last meal 2nd April 2013), he has not eaten in the last 14 months although regularly poos and drinks. He seems to have lengthened but is visually thinner and now does not grip as well when I hold him. Help, what do I do, how do I make him eat?

He lies in a 4 foot terrarium with a 26 watt flourscent on in day times as well as a heat rock. He also has a 60 watt UV night light that comes on at dusk and runs for 10 hours.
 
Get rid of the heat rock. Get yourself a heat mat or cord and put it underneath a ceramic tile. Those heat rocks are garbage as a heat source.
 
You won't get him to eat until September at the earliest. Can you put up a photo of the terrarium? If its one of those all glass ones it will be hard to heat. Lose the heat rock they are more for lizards. get heat cord or a heat matt under a tile or get an incandescent light fitting and a light bulb and cage off ebay. Hook it up to a thermostat and keep the hot end around 32c and the cold end around 27c or lower. Come September start offering him food, if he doesn't strike leave it in his hide at the warm end and brain it by putting a needle through the head to release brain smellz.
 
This time of year is the worse to try and get them to eat with winter, he clearly had a feed or two after you purchased him but if he is pooping you would think that would mean he is digesting something??? With him not holding/gripping on it may be best to take to a vet to do some tests to make sure all is ok, whilst its not unusual for these guys to go off food - not gripping could be an under lining issue.
 
As i read it you really don't have an adequate heat source, heat racks are good for decoration as long as you don't turn them on, but are dangerous for snakes as when they fail they usually fail on and as snakes don't feel much on their bellies it usually ends up cooking your snake, as mentioned above use a 7 or 15 watt heat pad or heat cord routed into the floor and have a tile on the top and set the thermostat to 32-34 deg. I am having trouble understanding how a snake that has not eaten in 14 months can still be defficating but i will take your word for it and will suppose it is defficating waste from burned up fat reserves, as also mentioned above july is a hard month to try and get any snake eating as their metabolism is keyed to slowing down all processes for winter, maybe if you get your temps right hunger will set in, as with everything else in the herp world these are only suggestions and if you are still worried take your stimmy to a good rep vet for a check up and maybe a vitamin injection, hope this was of some help. :) ................................Ron
 
It's just defecating white urates right? This is just the equivalent of mammalian urine and just indicates that protein metabolism is still taking place. Breaking down muscle reserves to survive. This can't go on for ever.
Sort out the temperature.
Good luck.
 
Totally understand where you are coming from, in all seriousness I think the best you can do is bump up the temp in the enclosure abit. What I've done in the past is left the food item on the floor for an hour or two and my snakes just gone for it infact sometimes the younger snakes can get a little afraid and just need to get use to you abit.
 
This snake not eating is a direct result of poor husbandry! Antaresia are very temp sensitive and if these need are not provided correctly they will not eat full stop. They need a hot spot of 32-34dg to maintain their body's functions and continue to eat!
 
Put your heat lamp on a day cycle as well. If you can get the temps to a more satifactory level he may well eat at this time of year as he is (by the sounds of it) consuming his own tissue so he will be hungry. I didn't notice any mention of ambient temps in the tank so get yourself some aquarium thermometers and stick one at each end of the tank and tell us what the the temps are currently.

It is one thing for a snake not to eat for 4 or 5 months but not 14... unless that was a typo? My Spotted stops eating around late April to mid May and won't look at food until late August but she is in excellent condition and doesn't even look like she lost an ounce over the winter.

- - - Updated - - -

This snake not eating is a direct result of poor husbandry! Antaresia are very temp sensitive and if these need are not provided correctly they will not eat full stop. They need a hot spot of 32-34dg to maintain their body's functions and continue to eat!

Having said that the enviromental temps don't need to be that high so long as they can get to a heat tile when they want to boost there temps. My enclosure sits in the mid 20's year around and Skittles thrives. She moves around the enclosure a lot and seeks out the heat tile which is in the mid 30's when she wants to and stays put for varying periods especially if she has eaten in the last 3 days. Bare in mind the range that Anterasia spread across and the fact that it's day time and night time temps varygreatly from those you state.
 
- - - Updated - - -Having said that the enviromental temps don't need to be that high so long as they can get to a heat tile when they want to boost there temps. My enclosure sits in the mid 20's year around and Skittles thrives. She moves around the enclosure a lot and seeks out the heat tile which is in the mid 30's when she wants to and stays put for varying periods especially if she has eaten in the last 3 days. Bare in mind the range that Anterasia spread across and the fact that it's day time and night time temps varygreatly from those you state.
Having kept many Antaresia over the years as well as bred 100's of offspring from them I completely understand their temp needs, as I stated the problem will be the snake has not had access to the temp ranges needed to maintain its need to eat and digest food hence the reptile not wanting to feed! (it was feeding when purchased)
We drop our reptile room temps to single digits over the winter months and have no problem in keeping anything feeding up to sub adults as the temps of their hot spots are adequate to maintain their functions where as the adults will stop eating as their body clocks and hormone levels change as the seasons progress.
 
[MENTION=31251]stimigex[/MENTION], I wasn't disagreeing with what you said, or questioning your breadth of experience, but rather clarifying something for the OP. I have read threads plenty of times where people try to keep the ambient temps of the warm end in the mid 30's, I personally don't do it nor feel that it is necessary and the condition of my snake is the evidence I can offer for that.

I think the OP has some learning to do about their husbandry skills and the needs of their snake for sure as this is a fairly extreme example of what can happen when the snake stops feeding, but they are only going to learn that with wider research and by those of us who post replies giving more than just a sweeping and somewhat condeming statement. How about giving them some set up suggestions based on your experience? Do you keep your ambient temps that high or do you provide 'hot spots'? What sort of wattage heat sources would you recommend etc?
 
I am the owner of a Stimson's Python (bought Feb 2013). He was approx 3 years old then. I am having trouble getting him to eat, (last meal 2nd April 2013), he has not eaten in the last 14 months although regularly poos and drinks. He seems to have lengthened but is visually thinner and now does not grip as well when I hold him. Help, what do I do, how do I make him eat?

He lies in a 4 foot terrarium with a 26 watt flourscent on in day times as well as a heat rock. He also has a 60 watt UV night light that comes on at dusk and runs for 10 hours.

Let me give you a few easy to understand instructions:

1) Throw the heat rock in the bin
2) Purchase a heat cord, ceramic tile (big enough for him to fit comfortably on) and a thermostat
3) Take him to the vet, probably has RI

Can I ask why​ it took you 14 months to ask for help?
 
So is there any update on how the sanke is doing? Did it get taken to the vet? Are the temps etc addressed? Has it eaten?... Enquiring minds want to know.
 
May I ask other members why you recommend heat cords and tiles ? What is wrong with an infa red heat globe and thermostat ? I don't think underbelly heat is a good thing...
 
Under belly heat is quite a natural thing [MENTION=39074]CC_Viper[/MENTION]. Snakes often curl up on rocks or bitumen roads especially of an evening soaking up radiated heat to help boost their metabolisms. There is nothing wrong with other heat sources but most people run two heat sources, one for ambient temps and the other for radiated warmth.
 
Thanks Gruni, I only use a heat globe in my enclosure..
 
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