Husbandry mistake, picky eater, or something else?

[spinach]

A few months ago I switched my juvenile jungle from fuzzies to hopper mice and ever since he's seemed to have a difficult time feeding. He's been big enough to comfortably eat a hopper since back in July/August, but more than half the time he will just strike/wrap, hold on to it for like 10 minutes, seems to inspect it very closely all over, then just loses interest and goes back up to his perch. He's still eating every 2-3 weeks on average so not a super urgent issue but its probably not a great sign in a pretty young snake (not quite a year old). He last ate 3 weeks ago, last night I saw him hanging out in that typical hungry position hanging down from a branch so gave him a mouse, to which he did the same thing. Struck, wrapped, then lost interest in a few minutes.

I just wanted to ask for advice since this is my first snake so definitely not an expert, and would hopefully like to resolve whatever is causing this in case it becomes more serious further down the line. The only husbandry issue that stands out to me is that his enclosure is a bit small for his current size, but its not nearly as bad as some of the ones you see out there and a good upgrade is in progress at the moment. Temp range is about 32 - 23, got a pair of hides with lots of clutter and stuff to climb. Nothing there immediately stands out to me to cause a snake to not eat, so I am wondering if I maybe just got the only picky carpet python in the world. In that case would it be worth trying a different source or even trying out rats?

Would really appreciate any insight into the possible cause here or if anyone has any similar experiences.

 

[Herpetology]

Tbh, I didn't read all this, I felt dyslexic.

Something like this would usually boil down to husbandry issues.
How old is the jungle python? if it's older than 6 months it could probably go onto weaners, some snakes will drop the food if it's too small for them to bother with.
I would double-check temps with a temp gun at multiple locations.


First, I would try the braining technique, squeezing the nose until a yellowy-red goop bubbles out of the nose. This will give some nice smells to the snake and might entice a stronger feed response


Next, I would try feeding at night time and covering the sides of tanks to provide some privacy. When my coastal was small I had to leave the food overnight and in the morning it would be gone.
a few weeks without feeding is nothing. I wouldnt even be worried 2months.
You may have to go back to a basic tub setup with heatmat and 14L Sistema tub

 

[spinach]

Tbh, I didn't read all this, I felt dyslexic.

Something like this would usually boil down to husbandry issues.
How old is the jungle python? if it's older than 6 months it could probably go onto weaners, some snakes will drop the food if it's too small for them to bother with.
I would double-check temps with a temp gun at multiple locations.


First, I would try the braining technique, squeezing the nose until a yellowy-red goop bubbles out of the nose. This will give some nice smells to the snake and might entice a stronger feed response


Next, I would try feeding at night time and covering the sides of tanks to provide some privacy. When my coastal was small I had to leave the food overnight and in the morning it would be gone.
a few weeks without feeding is nothing. I wouldnt even be worried 2months.
You may have to go back to a basic tub setup with heatmat and 14L Sistema tub

Wasn't aware they might refuse food if its too small. Good to know since I was considering getting another pack of fuzzies just so he would have at least something in him. I have left mice in there overnight a few times with no success.

Braining sounds a bit disgusting but will give it a go. Thanks

 

[Bluetongue1]

With all due respect, this is the first time I have heard that a snake will release a seized prey item because it is too small. Prey size in nature varies but snakes, like other opportunistic feeders, will normally consume whatever they can get a hold of. Granted, captivity differs considerably from the wild, so it may perhaps happen.

Morelia hatchlings are large enough to start on fuzzy mice, so one would expect at nearly 12 months of age that it would be eating adult mice or say a 35g or so rat. While there is no “correct” sized meal, an appropriate food item at your rate of feeding should leave a clearly discernible bulge once in the snake’s stomach. For a snake with healthy body condition this should be around one and a quarter or so times its normal midbody diameter.

In addition to upping the food size, you can also try playing ‘tug-o-war’ for several seconds with the food item, once the snake has latched on and coiled. Tugging on the rodent’s tail in this manner can help to elicit a stronger feeding response. Presumably it mimics the rodent’s attempts to escape, as would occur in nature, making the snake more determined to ensure that this does not happen. It is at least worth a try.