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please help - opal female will not eat

marshaelaine

marshaelaine

New member
I bought an opal female from Rich at Serpenco in the middle of November. she ate every 7 days until January 8th. that was the last time that she has eaten. I keep trying to feed her, but to no avail. two days ago I got some rat fuzzies, but she refused to eat the rat also. please help, I do not know what else to do. she has lost 5 grams in the last 2 weeks. she seems to be active, and roams her tank most of the night, she just will not eat.
I'm hoping that you all will be able to help.
Thanks for any help that you can give me,
Marsha
 
When is the last time she shed? Or has she shed since you've had her?

Most won't eat once they go into blue, although some do and just regurge. And then you get some like mine, Thumper, who will eat right up until the day before a shed and be hungry again 2 days afterwards.
 
temps? any changes in the viv maybe caused stress? drinking normally? I can't go much further because I haven't been dealing with corns nearly as long as many others on here, but these are just a few reasons I have seen that might cause this. Also how long are you waiting between offerings of food? I know you should wait around 4 or 5 days, or until the next scheduled feeding, before you offer food again because that just causes undue stress if they don't eat. And we all know you don't want a regurge issue coming out of a non-feeder issue.
 
one side of her tank is about 74 degrees, while the other side is about 85 degrees. I usually wait at least 4 days before offering food again, some times it is a little longer. I am very new to raising corns also, my other corns seem to be doing fine. I had one young snopal that was always a poor eater, and I switched him to rats. so far that seems to be doing the trick for him. so I thought I would try rats on "Karinna" (my opal), but she just ignored it.
Thanks for trying to help, I appreciate it,
Marsha
 
best of luck, and check in the morning and you will probably find quite a few responses from the experienced ones lurking somewhere, although most are probably in bed by now......... :shrugs: either way, I wouldn't worry, she's not going to starve overnight, or in the next week as far as I know.
 
Have you tried any of the tricks? Such as braining, slitting the back, dipping the head in chicken or tuna broth, heating the prey up to really hot, or moving back down a size? It could also be possible that she has a health problem. Have you checked for mouth rot?

Also, how old is she? Sometimes females, and males, will go off food in the winter/colder months since they switch into "romance" mood.

Good luck and maybe someone else will offer some more advice! :}
 
I have slit the backs and brained the prey. I have not tried dipping them in tuna or chicken broth. which would you suggest first? I did try a smaller size prey when I tried the rat fuzzie. I do not know what to look for as to mouth rot. I do not know what it looks like, if you would let me know I will look closely at her. she was hatched in 2005.
Thanks for trying to help,
Marsha
 
if she seems to be "roaming" more than usual, her non-feeding could possibly be due to stress. i would provide more hides. toilet paper tubes, or even go to a local pet store and get one of those little caves. i would provide more hides, and then wait at least a week before offering food again.

sometimes offering food too frequently after refusals can also stress them out, causing another refusal.

i hope this helps a bit.
 
Seeing as she's an adult female (2005?), could it be that she's ovulating? Sometimes you can tell by a change in shape (they get plumper along their rear third) or by running your fingers along her underside. I have a female here that will miss a couple of feeds around the time she ovulates and once she's past that, she resumes eating up until her pre-lay shed, just a thought.

I wonder if Rich would know if she goes off feed around this time each year?
 
I would say that it is just that time of year. My adults are still down for the winter (I'll start bringing them up this week sometime) and won't start eating for a few weeks. She probably just senses the season (light cycles and whatnot) and is ovulating like Sue suggested.

Since it has only been 3 weeks, I wouldn't worry one bit. :) My adult males only eat once every 3 weeks anyways, and my adult females eat every 1 1/2-2 1/2 weeks, except for when they are being prepared for, or recovering from, breeding.

The weight loss that you saw was most likely a loss from her going to the bathroom, so I don't think it should be of concern. The thing that does concern me a bit is the fact that she shed 3 weeks apart. That isn't normal for an adult, it is usually an indication of mites, scale damage (does she climb a lot? I have a male that bends his scales all out of whack while out climbing, so he sheds a lot more often than a typical adult...), or potentially an internal health issue. Since I don't think, from what you've posted, that it is an internal issue, I'd give her a thorough check for mites or damage to her scales.

Also, I would suggest (once she's back to feeding regularly) spreading her feedings out a bit. Once a week for an adult could quickly lead to an overweight snake.

Hope that helps!! :)
 
She does not seem to climb compared to some of my other adult snakes. I looked at her scales and I can't anything wrong with them, they seem to all be laying nice and flat and are in good shape. I was a little worried when she shed as quickly as she did, but she seems healthy. When she starts eating again I will spread out her feeding days more that I have. I have been feeding her every 7 days.
Thanks for the help,
Marsha
 
I must admit it was the short time span between the two sheds that made me think of ovulation, as this is what Ruby does and it's around that second shed that she refuses a couple/few meals :)

Hope your baby is back to normal feedings soon for you.
 
I want to thank everyone who has tried to help. Karinna still is not eating. I have tried dipping the rat pups and mice in tuna juice, but she still wont eat. it has been 35 days since she has eaten. she is now rattling her tail at me when I take her out. she has never done this before. I am at wits end. I don't know what else to do.
Thanks,
Marsha
 
I want to thank all of you for trying to help. after 45 day she has finally ate a little something. she ate a 13 gram hopper. It is a start - yeah!!
Thanks,
Marsha
 
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