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Charlie doesn't want to eat!!!

W

Wildinferno

New member
so he hasnt eaten for almost 4 weeks now. he shed about 2 weeks ago so i understood why he didn't eat then but not now. the temps are good. 85 high, 75 low. he is about 8-9 months. is he old enough to not eat because of mating season? he is still active. i often find him climbing around. i've tried cutting the pinkies. still doesn't work. he will put his nose in it's belly but won't eat it. i usually put him in a smaller seperate container, but he just didn't want to eat. he just ignores the pinkie. even after a couple of hours. i've putting the pinkie in his viv overnight but he will move it but not eat it. not sure what else to do but just keep trying to feed him every 5-7 days. any ideas?
 
In the evening, put him and a pinkie in a paper lunch sack. Fold over the top several times and staple it shut. Put the sack back in the viv and put the lid on in case he gets out of the sack. Leave him completely alone until morning.
 
wade said:
In the evening, put him and a pinkie in a paper lunch sack. Fold over the top several times and staple it shut. Put the sack back in the viv and put the lid on in case he gets out of the sack. Leave him completely alone until morning.
Click to expand...

Wade, Why do you recommend this? I'm just curious, it sounds a bit strange! Is there any reasoning behind it, or just trial and error?
 
so would the fact that it's spring time affect him? i don't know how old they have to be before they can get into love mode. he is 8-9 months right now. he has been more active than normal with all his climbing around. that the only reason i can guess it's due to spring time.
 
Amanda, I don't know if there is a scientific reason. In the sack it is dark and quiet with no distractions. It is a little small so the snake is going to see the mouse ever time it turns around. The sack will be full of mouse scent. I don't know. But I have used this method hundreds of times and it usually works.

Wild hot guy, I don't think he is old enough to be worried about girls right now but could be. I think he is probably just going through one of those times. I would not be worried about it at this point but in a couple more weeks it could become a problem. Young snakes can't go as long as older ones without food.

Don't stress the snake out. If he doesn't eat this time, wait four or five days before you try again. Don't get carried away with cutting the mouse, that might put it off. If nothing else, you may need to try a live pinkie.
 
ok i'll try the paper sack method tomorrow night and let you know if he eats it. he still seems active and strong so i'm not too worried about it, but hopefully he will eat it. he is supposed to be eating 2 pinkies like he used to but i hope he will eat the one and then i can relax about it a little more. thanks for the advice so far.
 
he ate. thanks guys. not sure what really did it. i put him in the brown paper bag and before i could close it up he was eating within 5 minutes. then i thawed another pinkie to see if he would eat that one too and he did. the only different thing i did was what my buddy does sometimes. after i thaw the pinkie, i put it in the microwave for 6 seconds. but whatever it was, i'm just glad that he ate. no more worries for a while.
 
Hey lets give credit where credit is due. It was the brown paper bag. That snake would probably be dead by now if you hadn't use the bag. Lucky for you I was here to help.
 
Haha. You got it. Thanks to your paper bag Charlie ate 2 pinkies within 20 minutes after not eating for almost a month. Thanks Wade.
 
Wade - I have never tried a paper bag before, but I do cover the feeding tank with a towel for one of my shy females

Wildinferno - I personally would avoid microwaves! Can cause hot spots in the mouse or even cause it to explode (or so I was told by a customer lol) Warm water can give you a good temp without a burnt snake or a big mess :p
 
wade, thank you for the advice about putting the snake inside a paper lunch bag. I was having the same issues with my snake as wildinferno. After reading this post i decided to give it a shot. Finally my snake ate :). Also i am glad i put the lunch bag back in his tank as you recommended, my snake put a small hole in the bottom of the paper bag and escaped...lol. Thanks again, i was getting very worried because my snake hadn't eaten in so long.
 
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