Murphy
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- Nov 10, 2018
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I have a male children’s python which is somewhere between 22-24 months old. He lived in the tropics in Queensland until July when he came to live with us in north west nsw. It was right in the middle of a harsh winter where it was getting down to -10 at night. So I think coming from a place which is warm even in winter to an actually cold place might have been a shock for him. He has brumated basically this whole time. He has a glass reptile enclosure, he has a heat mat at 34 degrees with a hide on it, and another hide in the cold part of the tank and a heat lamp. However, he spends 100% of his time in the hide on the cold side. All day and all night. The heat mat is working fine.
So I know that they don’t eat when brumating so I haven’t worried about trying to feed until mid October (about 3-4 weeks ago). It’s really heating up outside now it’s around 35-40 degrees outside the house in the daytime. Still no activity from him unless we actually pick him up, then he’ll move around. But otherwise he stays in his hide without moving.
I’ve tried all sizes of mice, even pinkie rats. I thaw them out and warm them in warm water. I move them around with the feeding tweezers to simulate movement. Sometimes he’ll come up and sniff them then just goes back into his hide.
ETA: last time he ate was mid April, 7 months ago with his previous owner in Queensland.
So I have a couple of questions. How long do you jiggle the mice around on the tweezers for? I did it for about 10 minutes, is that not long enough?
Also, his tank is in a room in the house which has no natural light. I turn the heat lamp on in the morning and off at sunset trying to simulate daytime. Does this matter to them? Should I move him into a room with a window so he can have natural light?
Please help me, I’m starting to get very worried, and it’s becoming very expensive to keep throwing away the food.
So I know that they don’t eat when brumating so I haven’t worried about trying to feed until mid October (about 3-4 weeks ago). It’s really heating up outside now it’s around 35-40 degrees outside the house in the daytime. Still no activity from him unless we actually pick him up, then he’ll move around. But otherwise he stays in his hide without moving.
I’ve tried all sizes of mice, even pinkie rats. I thaw them out and warm them in warm water. I move them around with the feeding tweezers to simulate movement. Sometimes he’ll come up and sniff them then just goes back into his hide.
ETA: last time he ate was mid April, 7 months ago with his previous owner in Queensland.
So I have a couple of questions. How long do you jiggle the mice around on the tweezers for? I did it for about 10 minutes, is that not long enough?
Also, his tank is in a room in the house which has no natural light. I turn the heat lamp on in the morning and off at sunset trying to simulate daytime. Does this matter to them? Should I move him into a room with a window so he can have natural light?
Please help me, I’m starting to get very worried, and it’s becoming very expensive to keep throwing away the food.
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