Brumate a Nonfeeder?

[Regit]

Bit of a long story here.
Jumanji hatched out June 15th, she had her umbilical dragging when she hatched out, so I put her in her own bin so it would fall off of it's own accord. She dragged it for a day, and when I checked on her later she had this in her bin.

And this was still hanging out of her

The thing hanging out of her dried up and fell off, and she was completely fine and normal after her first shed.

She ate once or twice with no problems, no assistance, all on her own. So I had my hopes up that she would be okay.

Since the two feedings, she hasn't eaten anything on her own. I've tried live, brained, slit, super hot, leaving in a cup overnight, chicken broth scenting, she won't take it.
My room mate has gotten kind of attached to her, he started force feeding her a couple months ago (mouse tails, then pink heads, then double heads, then small pinks, and now large pinks), and she digests and poops just fine, her weight is still hovering around 7-8 grams.

Roomie is getting frustrated though, she's making it harder and harder to get the pink down. Once it's in 90% of the way she takes it down, but anything less than that she spits it back out. We originally decided she had until November 1 to start eating on her own. No such luck.

I was just wondering if anyone has had success putting a nonfeeder into brumation, and having them come out of it willing to eat? It seems like a bit of a longshot, but I'm at a loss as to what to do! I know some just aren't meant to make it, but I don't want to give up on her just yet.

Any suggestions? Tips? More tricks to try and get her to eat? (I've heard of lizard scenting, but I don't have access to lizards other than crested geckos) Or should I call it quits?

 

[reptojam]

1st off I'd leave her alone, pressuring her to eat will only cause her to stress out and she'll become more stubborn to eat, which is horrbile for you I too had a pesky eater, but learned that it was my fault for trying to make her eat. Now she eats on her own. Sometimes they just don't want to eat. As for the brumation, I'm not too sure....anyone have suggestions on that???

 

[Regit]

She's been completely off handling aside from feeding, which we've been trying every five days. We always give her the option to take it on her own before forcing. We've tried leaving her for a few weeks to see if she'd get hungry enough to eat on her own, but no such luck. She just started looking skinny when we did.

How long did yours take before she ate on her own?

 

[reptojam]

my girl took 3 weeks! She was a pain in the A! She got a little skinny and I was concerned, I left her at a friend's house who has more experience with them and they told me it was just a stress issue. She was left alone (only messed with to clean up poop and change water) and after the 3rd week she finally gave in and showed interest in the pinky and took it from their fingers!

 

[reptojam]

have u tried using tongs and not touching the pinky with your fingers (scent purposes) and wiggling it in front of her to get her focused on it?

 

[Leew]

Yes for sure brumate. As long as she isn't eating she is digesting her own mass to survive. I have one several occasions brumated none feeders and had them come out in the spring and do great. The longer you wait to cool her the lower her chances of survival will be. She is burning calories right now that she will need to survive the winter. Just my educated with lots of experience opinion.

 

[bitsy]

I've certainly had it recommended to me as a technique by other larger-scale breeders. My bad luck that my apartment renders it impossible to get proper brumation conditions, otherwise I'd have tried it myself.

Think Leew's nailed the issue. She'll burn less calories in brumation. There's a risk she won't make it through, but then if she carries on the way she is now, is the risk any greater than keeping her active and still not eating? Ultimately it's your call. Not a comfortable one, but you have Leew's practical experience as reassurance.