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Jungle Corn loosing weight- thoughts?

Hypancistrus

New member
I have a male jungle corn that I've had since 2007. He's been a sporadic feeder since purchase and has been on feed strikes every now and then, the longest of which was from February to July of 2009 (I think-- was not using iHerp back then). I also did not have a scale then to take weights, but he didn't seem to lose condition much just by visual assessment.

At this point, he has not fed since June and has dropped a lot of weight: from 384 grams on May 1st to 299 grams tonight. I took the weight tonight because he was starting to look thin to me when I offered food today. :nope: He did strike at the food this time, but would not take it afterwards.

I'll arrange a vet appointment this week seeing as how the weight loss has been so dramatic, but I wasn't really concerned until now because of his history of going on feed strikes and then bouncing back and feeding great. I figured this was just another one of his strikes, but the weight loss is worrisome.

Temps seem ideal for corns... 80* on top of the aspen, with mid-80's at the bottom. Cool side is in the mid-70's.

I was wondering if anyone has any thoughts. Tara asked me how old he is and I really don't know... the local reptile guy told me he was "about a year old" when I bought him in December 2007, but I don't know if he actually knew that for sure. He doesn't seem to keep the best records.

Here is his tracking info on iHerp. I do not mark refusals, but he has been offered a f/t pup every 10 days or so since June. I didn't want to bother him into not feeding by offering more frequently.

http://www.iherp.com/HerpTrack/Tracking/Default.aspx?AnimalID=15305

No one else in his rack is having issus-- indeed, none of our other snakes are off feed at all at this point. He shed in July. Hasn't pooped recently because he hasn't eaten, but there was nothing worth noting about his last poop or I'd have put it into the iHerp tracking.

If anyone has any thoughts, I'd love to hear them. I will make his vet appointment on Wednesday when I take the tortoise in for her follow up. The tort, incidentally, has responded VERY well to the Baytril and Panacur and has gained 4 grams since the medication kicked in. We're psyched-- hopefully she has now rounded the corner and will start GROWING. :)
 
Possible issues include internal parasites, a metabolic condition, a malabsorption disorder, pancreatitis, liver problems, kidney problems, etc.

Unfortunately, the link for the tracking doesn't work as it says I don't have permission. Any regurges or diarrhea?
 
Possible issues include internal parasites, a metabolic condition, a malabsorption disorder, pancreatitis, liver problems, kidney problems, etc.

Unfortunately, the link for the tracking doesn't work as it says I don't have permission. Any regurges or diarrhea?

Nope, no regurges. Last poop (which was some time ago) was totally normal and he is on a normal shedding schedule.

Was talking to some people on FB last night. I'm going to try a live rat pink this week, lock him up with it overnight. See how that goes.
 
I have a couple snakes that were sporadic feeders. Bacon and Lila. Lila went on a four month feeding strike. It turns out both just wanted rats. Oh- wait- include The Dingo in there, too. Hard to get him to eat a mouse fuzzy or worse, hopper. When I switched to rats for them- they all eat, every time, no questions asked. FT rats. Fuzzies- that are roughly 20 grams. You might not even need to try live. All my snakes treat FT rat pinks like a super-special treat.
 
They all get rat pups now Nanci. We don't feed many mice above hopper sized. Maybe we should do the opposite and get him a mouse.
 
Oh, that may seriously be the issue. Some snakes find the strong scent of rats very, discouraging. Jasmine, would not eat rats until recently.
 
Tara was the one who switched us all over to rats. Up until she moved in (June 08) all of mine were on mice of various sizes. He was still a sporadic feeder, even on mice.

I swear to God it's the king blood... I've never had these issues with pure cornsnakes. All of them eat well and the most they skip is a couple weeks during the spring (males).

Our kings are almost all fussy, sporadic feeders....
 
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