Xena my 2.5 yr old MD

[BattMaker]

Hi guys. I have a bit of an issue with my MD.

She shed three weeks ago and it all come off in one piece. I went to feed her two days later and she was not interested. Didn't think too much of this at the time.

Tried to feed her for the last two weeks and still no interest.

She's been really active and is constantly rubbing her face on the glass.

She is in an enclosure 1500 x 800h x 500.

22c in the cold end. 29 at thermostat. 39 in the highest spot(next to the ceramic heater)

Any ideas???? Thanks

 

[alrightknight]

Eye caps come off too?

 

[Mace699]

hey have you recently moved her into the enclosure or has she been in there for ages and feeding fine? secondly if youve had any cold snaps over the last few weeks it could be putting her off her food i wouldnt stress if shes 2.5 years old she should have enough condition to get her through until it warms up. Some times they just go off after a cold snap.

 

[BattMaker]

Yeah I am pretty sure they did. She has very clear eyes.

 

[FusionMorelia]

have you gotten any new wood for the enclosure? mabey mites if its from the backyard (the wood not the snake)

Nato

 

[Twitch_80]

Looking for a boy snake?

 

[BattMaker]

She moved into this enclosure yesterday. She used to be in a turtle tank that came with her when I got her two months ago. She did the face scratch thing in her old enclosure too.

It is constantly the same temps in her enclosures. Would outside weather still count??

 

[Mace699]

i guess there could be a temp drop inside the tank if it drops a lot outside as thermostats are never 100% to be honest if you've just moved her to a new home i would wait a week or two and then try again. but also as nato said have you ruled out mites? but to be honest at 2.5 years old she could easily go without for for 2 month or more without losing much weight if any.

 

[FusionMorelia]

does she hang in or around the water a lot? was the enclosure new or old?
does it look like their is fine pepper in the water? how often does she shed?
was she in brumition prior to moving her to new enclosure?
what and how often do you feed her?

Nato

 

[BattMaker]

Every time I get her out I check her for mites. But I will have another look.

Can't see any black dots or white ones. Should I treat for mites anyway?????

How do you treat for mites??? I have mite spray. Is that all you do????

 

[FusionMorelia]

its hard to spot mites on a darker snake like MDs just check her water a lot and treat her furniture b4 use,
when u do a clean, clean A LOT and top of decent is awesome, you may not have mites its just an option,
she may be hungry, what and how often do u feed her ? do you weigh and measure her?
also hight traffic areas can stress them and make them want to escape and rub their face a lot

Nato

 

[BattMaker]

She is in the lounge now. She was in the hallway. Will she become more comfortable with her surroundings over time?.. The bloke I got her off had her in his bedroom so it makes a lot of sense. I also changed the substrate to an all natural compressed newspaper kitty litter so this might have something to do with it?

Thanks for all your help so far

 

[Mace699]

OK do you mind me asking how long have you owned her for? secondly as nato said did you clean the log before you put it in the cage? one way to check for mites it to get a paper towel and moisten it slightly have her slide though it and look for any little black dots. the third thing is how many times have you tried to feed her since she's shed and have you been getting her out between feeds or since she's shed?

 

[FusionMorelia]

she might be hungry, what are you feeding her and how often?
when hungry they rub looking for a place to get out to search for food,

so shes in the hall way? is it the main hallway in the house with people moving past a lot? mabey kids runnin in and out through it??
try putting her in a very quiet place, most peoples bedrooms are very quiet until bed perhaps the trafic and vibration from movement is putting her off? compared to the relative quiet of a bedroom?
anyway a few more ideas to look at


Nato

 

[BattMaker]

OK do you mind me asking how long have you owned her for? secondly as nato said did you clean the log before you put it in the cage? one way to check for mites it to get a paper towel and moisten it slightly have her slide though it and look for any little black dots. the third thing is how many times have you tried to feed her since she's shed and have you been getting her out between feeds or since she's shed?

I have had her for 6 weeks now.. She was getting fed every 2 weeks. I have continued this routine. She fed twice for me with no problem but since she shed she has not seemed interested.. I have tried 4 times with no luck. But my Labrador is enjoying the rats..

I put the log in the bath and soaked it in hot water for around 30 minutes..

She was a house python the guy I got her off used to let her free snake around the place. I get her out maybe three times per week for 15 minutes or so.

She rarely goes in her hide anymore. I thought if she was scared she would spend a lot of time in there (she fits in there easily)

Cheers

Feeding sub-adult rats

She was in the hallway. Now in the lounge

 

[FusionMorelia]

stress and fear are very different mate,
with your logs your better off to put it in the oven for an hr at 80-90c then into a black bag in the sun for a few days
that will kill off any mites and crapola on the logs/furniture you collect

i would suggest putting her into a quiet room for 2 weeks low traffic and let her settle into the new home
sounds to me like its stress, if she was allowed to roam free for hours then sold and now cooped up in an
enclosure apart from 45 mins in 3 short 15min sections of handeling and then put in a higher traffic area it
would stress her a bit i reckon,
so move her to a quiet room, let her be for a couple of weeks only handle for cleaning and care of enclosure
(changing water tidying up etc etc)

i think its more stress than anything

Nato

 

[BattMaker]

I will move her tonight.

The log is more of a tree so it wouldn't fit in a commercial oven.....

Thanks heaps for your help

 

[FusionMorelia]

then black bag it and put it in the sun i put mine on the roof in the day
top of decent is a great cleaner same with F10 and a bleach/water mix aswell,
(just air out the last and not to strong of a mix)