Male adult won't eat

Hello, I have a male adult that has always eaten well in the past. He shed two weeks ago and I've offered him food twice. He is very active in the tank acting like he would much rather be out of it. Normally he is rather mellow. I'm wondering if he is now in breeding mode?

I have 2 adult females that are in a large tank by themselves and they are not active at all. They ate last Sat and have been curled up on the warm side of the tank all week.

I'm wondering what to do... Should I put the male and one of the females together? This will be the first year I've bred a snake myself.

Thanks!

Becky

I believe there is a cooling process and other things you must do before breeding so I am not sure you should introduce the make now. I am no snake expert, but have been keeping rhacs for over 7 years now and notice they tend to eat less in the winter anyway due to the cooler temps- also adults depending on age will have appetite drop offs from time to time. I may wait another 4-5 days and try to feed again. If you really want to breed these guys do a earch and find out the proper measures to take before introduction- good luck!!

I know that you can breed without bromating. I have them in my bedroom which stays pretty warm. He is just acting different than normal so trying to figure out why.

What are your temps? In degrees, please.

75-80 degrees

Ours did that last year. He was definitely in breeding mode, even without brumating. Last year was our first attempt at breeding, with little success I might add. Like Danielle said just do a little research before you get started.

That is what I'm thinking. I just wonder how long he will go without food if I don't put a female in with him. He is a virgin, however, the two females are not.

Our guy went about a month before he started eating again. Breeding him is no guarantee that he will start eating again right away. It can be very stressful as we learned, but they will start eating when they are ready.

It sounds more like a brumating issue, then a breeding issue.
Have you tried brumating it?

What are your Curtains and blinds like? Can the snake "see" the natural photoperiod ? Ie the Day's getting shorter? It may be trying to find a cool place to brumate. Maybe it's restless, and trying to get out, as it is too hot. It's searching for a nice cool spot to campout, for awhile.

I've never tried to bromate... it kind of scares me... afraid the snake will get too cold. He does hang out in the cold part of the tank alot. I have blinds that I keep open during the day. He doesn't get direct sunlight but does see the light, i'm sure.

The only cold place I have is my garage. If you will give me directions on how to bromate I will do it. How cold of temp can they handle. I will have to put a gauge in the garage to see how cold it is getting in there.

Should I bromate the 2 adult females too? They ate last weekend. Should I feed them again this weekend?

Thanks for all the responses!

Becky
... who is new at this...

You can not brumate a snake with food in it's belly.

You have to wait until ALL food has been passed. Then you have to gradually lower the temps you are keeping it at. Down to 50-60 degrees.

There are many articles, on the net about brumation. I would suggest you read a few of them, if you are planning on actually doing it.

Hi Becky...
Even though you keep your snake warm, he is still are aware its winter...he can see the shortened daylight. Its not really that unnatural for snakes to go off their feed somewhat at this time. If it continues for weeks and months, that is a different story. But if your adult snake is a good weight and in general good health Id not be so concerned that he missed a feeding.

Sincerely,
Susan

I'm not terribly careful about bringing temps down slowly, and I imagine most folks who have been breeding for a while aren't either. I turn the cages' bellyheat off for two weeks without feeding. Then I have a "cold room" -a garage addition that I close the heat ducts off to and pull the blinds on the windows. I clean fresh cages, and add a hide and a water dish and plop them in the cold room. Colubrids are moved right to those cages, going from a temp of 72 or so directly to 45-55. Here they stay from December 1st to Valentine's Day (so's they'll be in the mood for love ). If they are a hognose, I pull the males out two weeks early to warm and feed/black milks get an extra week or three/etc.
If I have fussy feeders, I will routinely give them a two week fast and move them right into this cold room -provided they aren't thin. All I do with this room is check from time to time, and make sure everyone has plenty of water. I have a little radiator that is set on 50 degrees, but I've had it drop into the high/mid 30's in there during a power outage without losing an animal.
All that said, I doubt I would brumate your snake if it were mine. Bump the warm side up to 84 or so, that may be all the doctor ordered to get him eating again.