Please Help!!!

[RussClarke]

Hello All

Have posted before on this subject but to no avail. I am extremely worried about my newly purchased two year old corny Jasper. He hasnt eaten for 4 weeks and anything I present to him makes him move away. I think he is in shed now as his eyes are going milky. His viv is kept between 27-30 degrees, he has a water bowl, a hiding place and branches to climb. He has a basking light ( 40 watt reflector bulb ) and an exoterra heat mat controlled by a thermostat. Humidity is between 40-60% (varies through 24 hours )
Its upsetting to see him like this and I have been told that he is not eating because its breeding season, doesnt need internal lights, doesnt need a basking light! What am I doing wrong. He has been tried on rat weaners, adult mice, pinkies, fluffies allsorts! Still no joy! What should the temp be? Humidity? Right food? Fresh or frozen? What is the best way to present( and when to re-present if no feed response ) on paper towels? With tweezers, moving the prey? How often does he need to be handled or not? When to handle and not? When should I worry about his lack of appetite ( timescale ) and do I need to involve a vet yet?
I want him to start feeding again as I have really grown to love him and I will not lose him at any price!

Sorry for all these questions but I am deperate to get him feeding again!

PLEASE PLEASE HELP!!!


Russ ( Yorkshire )

[bitsy]

To start with, some Corns don't eat whilst in blue so you're probably best advised to stop feeding attempts until after he sheds.

doesnt need internal lights, doesnt need a basking light

That's correct. Corns don't bask. In the wild they come out at dawn and dusk when the sun is at its weakest, so a bright light will make him less inclined to move around the viv and might stress him. You only need a heatmat for heat.

You say that the viv is 27-30 degrees, but does he have a temperature gradient? It shouldn't be a uniform temperature. The cool end should be in the low 20s and the warm end about 30. The heat mat should be under about a third of the viv floor, at one end.

I'd say that humidity isn't key unless he is about to shed, and you can provide a mini-humid environment by giving him a damp hide (sandwich tub filled with damp moss/vermuiculite/paper towel with a hole cut in the lid). Are you doing anything to keep the humidity up? If it's too damp, you risk bacteria growth and skin conditions.

Have you changed anything recently e.g. moved him into a bigger viv, moved the viv into a different room etc.? They don't seem to take kindly to change and can fest for a while as they adjust themselves to a new situation.

It's a bit late on for him to be on a breeding fast, so I'd say you probably have something else going on. Any of the above things could stress him to the point where he stops eating, so it might be worth reviewing your setup.

Make sure you weigh him at regular intervals. Adult Corns can fast for months without long-term harm, but if he starts to lose weight I would advise seeing a vet.

I'd keep offering him his normal sized food, or maybe one size down. You could try hand-feeding him, although if he doesn't usually take food this way, beware of stressing him and putting him off even more (a balancing act!).

In the meantime, try adding supplements to his water to keep him going. Probiotics like Reptoboost will keep his gut flora healthy (the "good bacteria" that we hear so much about these days) so that he will be able to properly digest food when he does eventually start to eat. A supplement such as Critical Care Formula or BSP drops will get a little nourishment/vitamins into him.

[RussClarke]

Thank you very much! There is a lot of stuff there which I am sure will help JASPER.
Will try to keep you posted!!

[bitsy]

Good luck to you Russ. Let us know how things progress.