stimmie 4 month old not eating

[the jungle guy]

hi there im new to this forum and new to snakes ive recently decided to get a snake for it turn into a bad expereice but thats another story, the problem is the breeder can not provide feed/shed chart as promised this has being going on for nearly 5 weeks now, and not knowning when the snakes last feed/shed is,

my main concern is he (stimsoni liasis) is 5 months old weighs 10grams lengh approx 30cm, and has not eaten in the past 5 weeks since ive had him, the temps are a constant 32 at warm end around 28-29 the other end 24/7, his tongue is still two not like stuck together, no lump under the throat and no skin flap near tail,

the hide spot only big enough for him i dont handle unless its absoloutly needed to clean the clik clak (5ltr in size), so i dont disturb so he can settle in, ive tried offering the pinkie, in and out the hide, ive tried braining the pinkie in and out the hide, ive tried pinkie in and out a small box overnight, ive tried live pinkie in box over night,live pinkie in the clik clak, ive tried lizards tail blood on pinkie, and finally tried putting a pinkie in hes mouth but to only fail and piss him off, and several other methods that users from another forum has presented to me try and entice feed,

how long can he can go being a juvie and maintain health without eating and should i be really concerned, is there any other methods i can try before useing a pinkie pump as i dont want to if it not needed to, but i dont want his health to run down bad to point whers he is not really well at all and force feeding is the only option, rather not get to that point

if there is something that ive done not right or not on the right track dont shoot me down in flames and explain to me why, and remeber im new to snakes and only know what ive being told on reptile forums

thanks in advance to all that can help me

 

[DoLittle Farm]

G'day Stimmie,

Are you in Australia or elsewhere?

 

[the jungle guy]

sorry, yes in australia near sydney thanks

 

[python_dan89]

i would always suggest of feeding/growth charts just so you no =)

Cheers

 

[the jungle guy]

hi there thanks for replies, yes its ashame i cant get the feed history if i knew how it has panned out i would of brought elsewhere as i had trust in a person to come through for me but from now on ill be keeping records for my own personal information,


would you guys have any ideas on how i can get the little fella to eat any more tricks or am i at the last straw to pinkie pump

 

[the jungle guy]

74 views im sure someone in this rather large community can help me with my dilema, im a inexpericned herper urgently seeking some help from experience people

 

[Kristy_07]

Hi, mate. It's always hard when your littlies stop eating. Antaresias (stimmies, spotted, childrens) seem to be more susceptible to the change in the weather this time of year. If you do a search, or just look through the past couple of weeks in the Herp Help section, you'll see many others are going through the same worry.

It sound like you're doing everything right, and that the snake is in good condition, so, IMO, there's nothing to worry about at the stage. Snakes naturally don't eat when the weather's cooler, in case there's not enough heat to help them digest, so what your stimmy is doing is totally fine. I had a stimmy for 8 years (my first snake), and he wouldn't eat from May/June through to usually October. His temps were always similar to yours. So Unless you see him seriously start losing condition, I wouldn't stress too much. Maybe bump your temps up a degree or two, and continue to offer every 3-4 weeks and see what happens. But if he doesn't eat, and he's not losing condition, expect him to get hungry after winter.

For your own sake, maybe have a read of the other similar threads from the past few weeks, just to put your mind at ease.

 

[ZenPython]

I am relatively new to herps as well, and unfortunately have been in the same situation with hatchlings just not wanting to eat no matter what you try. It sounds like you've done all the right things and still no luck. It varies from snake to snake how long they can go without food. Once we started to be able to see the back bone of our hatchlings, we started to force feed rats tails in order to keep them alive. We just cut a rats tail no larger than a pinky, gently opened the snakes mouth and pushed it down. If you offer a pinky first every time you do this, the idea is that they will start to associate it with food. We also tried a freshly dropped geckos tail in the mouth of the pinky and this worked once or twice before the snakes went back to being completely uninterested. It's been a long process with our hatchlings but progress has been made and with a little bit of assistance they will now eat on their own. We'll keep persisting until they take the pinkies all by themselves.

 

[beeman]

Hi, mate. It's always hard when your littlies stop eating. Antaresias (stimmies, spotted, childrens) seem to be more susceptible to the change in the weather this time of year. If you do a search, or just look through the past couple of weeks in the Herp Help section, you'll see many others are going through the same worry.

It sound like you're doing everything right, and that the snake is in good condition, so, IMO, there's nothing to worry about at the stage. Snakes naturally don't eat when the weather's cooler, in case there's not enough heat to help them digest, so what your stimmy is doing is totally fine. I had a stimmy for 8 years (my first snake), and he wouldn't eat from May/June through to usually October. His temps were always similar to yours. So Unless you see him seriously start losing condition, I wouldn't stress too much. Maybe bump your temps up a degree or two, and continue to offer every 3-4 weeks and see what happens. But if he doesn't eat, and he's not losing condition, expect him to get hungry after winter.

For your own sake, maybe have a read of the other similar threads from the past few weeks, just to put your mind at ease.

As a breeder of Antaresia imo this animal is very undersized both in weight and length for a 5 moth old animal, this points me to the conclusion that the critter was never a good feeder
in the first place, Hence why there is no feeding record comming forward from the breeder!
Just for the record the hatchies we still have are all still feeding every 5-6 days and will continue to do so right through the cooler months. If they are kept right they dont switch off.

 

[Kristy_07]

As a breeder of Antaresia imo this animal is very undersized both in weight and length for a 5 moth old animal, this points me to the conclusion that the critter was never a good feeder
in the first place, Hence why there is no feeding record comming forward from the breeder!
Just for the record the hatchies we still have are all still feeding every 5-6 days and will continue to do so right through the cooler months. If they are kept right they dont switch off.

Hey, beeman. I agree that if there's no feeding record, then it could point to the animal being a stubborn feeder.

That said, my stim (and, I admit, I've only had the one) stopped feeding from the first winter I had him, and didn't feed over winter his entire life. He was always a small animal, even full grown. I'm with you, though. Even if Stimmie's animal is a small individual, he does sound a little underweight.

My stim was always "kept right", and he shut down over winter anyway. I haven't had the same reaction with any of my Morelias, and have heard the same from other people - the ants are more reactive to the weather.

I certainly wouldn't want to give any misleading information to a new herper - my previous post, and my opinion, are based on the stimmy I owned, plus the information I have read through my own research, as well as others experience from reading similar threads. If it were me, I would bump the temps and continue offering every 3-4 weeks, but not consider force feeding until there was a serious loss of condition.

I'm sure Stimmie would appreciate if you had any other advice to add.

Cheers.

 

[the jungle guy]

thanks guys from all replies, ive bein reading through everyone else's problem seem's im not the only one at all,

but the reason for my worry is i have absoloutly no idea bout its past feeding even if its a estabilsihed feeder, alledgedly had 12 feeds, is this force fed or natuarally taken,

i under stand with the cooling over the winter months mine stays at a very constant 32 at the warm end and around 28 the cooler end 24/7 i was told to keep these temps so it doent start to cool, and still eats over the cooler months, is this right if i keep the temps up it would stop this from happening ?

so with bumping temps would say the warmer end around 33 or 34? 24/7 ive got told having around 34 can cause kidney failure is this correct or will it be fine?

ive tired with puttin the pinkie in the mouth only to of upset him to a point he would try and bite me which i couldnt blame him and plus im not that confident in doing that at all,

Beeman, i feel the little guy is under weight and size for its age aswell from what ive researched but then again im not expereiced with snakes like i am with other reps

 

[Kristy_07]

Do you know when it's last feed before you brought him home was?

 

[BARRAMUNDI]

Hi Stimmie
Another method that works really well getting slow starters going is using Day Old Chicken feather down.

-Get yourself some frozen DOC's, break the wing off one of them and allow the wing to thaw (so you dont waste the whole DOC).
-Warm up the pinky so it is quite warm, rub the DOC wing all over the pinky so that some of the down feathers stick to it.
-Offer food early evening and ensure the snake hasn't been too disturbed for the 2-3 days prior, make sure the enclosure is in a warm quiet room.
-Offer the food in a way that is very subtle and not "in the snakes face", ie leave half in the hide and check a couple of hours later.
-If unsuccessful, leave the snake alone and try again in a week or two.

This method has worked for me with GTPs, Jungles, Coastals, Childrens etc. Just keep rotating the type of "scent" you use untill you find the one that works. But DOC are my go to method that works 99% of the time.

 

[AM Pythons]

another one i use is garden skinks, catch em, put them in the freezer for 2 weeks, defrost & feed to snakes, i only use this as a last resort.. skinks must be frozen to kill any parasites, once you get them eating skinks, cut one in half put it in the mouth of a pinkie & try..

 

[cougars]

Try the chicken scent as suggested or you can brain the pinkie,It has worked for me in the past

 

[the jungle guy]

kristy_07, no im not sure of its last feed as there is not consistency of replies but apparently dozen feeds and 2 sheds

barrarmundi, i will try that trick but i will give it atleast 3 days minium rest before i re-attempt feeding would you know where i can find a DOC in newcastle area, took me a long time to find someone to sell live pinkies

tatt2tony, ive tried the skinks blood from a the tail with no luck, so you suggest to try a whole garden skink or pieces sorry its hard to understand over the net sometimes not as easy as face to face or over the phone sorry to sound like a noob, soon as the weather isnt as soggy ill go on a hunt for them, is there a easy way of gettin the fast lil buggers, or does pet shops, or any breeders sell them? ill try the doc method first and if that fails ill try your way as last resort as recommended by yourself,


also how long should it take for the snake to become interested in its food and take it? and how long should i leave the food in there for


once again thank you everyone im just stressed as i dont know its prior history and from what ive told and read he is underweight and size for his age and also with temps up should be regualur feeding, ie every 5-days

 

[the jungle guy]

Try the chicken scent as suggested or you can brain the pinkie,It has worked for me in the past

hi there yea ive tried the braining way with different methods ie, in and out hides, in and out box for that to fail,but have not tried DOC feathers will be trying this in nother 3-4days and will post up if this attempt ws succesfull or not


oh also most of my feeding has bein done around 10pm at night, when i was told it was the best time as there most active then, i use infra red bulb so there is no light interfering with him at all and try to put food in without distrubing him sorry i forgot to mention this in my main post

 

[BARRAMUNDI]

For DOC try any pet stores or even look for any chicken hatcheries in the area.

Leave the food item in there overnight, if you notice after a couple of hours the snake has come out of the hide and is cruising, re-warm and re-apply the feathers and offer the food from long tweezers, when the snake shows interest slowly move the food item away from the snake. Then slowly back towards and when it shows interest move it away again. If this continues then gently touch the snake around the side of the neck when it shows interest, if it grabs it dont move and allow it to swallow the food item before making any movements.

 

[AM Pythons]

im in newcastle if you would like some help..

 

[jacorin]

t2t...my super hero tony to the rescue...... haha btw...u home fri tony???