kandie_kitten
New member
Hi everyone!
I posted last month about the very obese snake I adopted, so I wanted to give an update on his progress.
He's been with me now for over two months, and we've made some progress. With his new exercise schedule (swimming included!) he's lost a little weight (about 15 grams), and the scales don't look as stretched anymore.
He's also much longer than I had originally thought (he almost always was coiled, so I never got a real idea of how big he was).
I had him in a 40-gallon breeder, but I was looking for a nicer cage...But when I was cleaning out my parents' basement, I found a 75 gallon tank
Since it was used to hold old books, I asked my parents if I could steal it, to which they were happy to get rid of it. I spent a few hours cleaning it up and inspecting it, and it's in perfect shape. I have it set up very nice, with lots of heat gradients, hides, climbing objects, etc.
So he's now in there, and he can really stretch out, which is how I found out he is, in fact, over 5 feet.
Eating however, is still an issue. The suggestions I had here was that I should feed him one adult mouse every 2 or 3 weeks, but he won't eat an adult. I tried frozen several times with every trick I could find (thawed it and warmed it, rested the body in soiled bedding of live mice, brained it, made it dance with tongs), and nothing. I left it in overnight, thinking that then he would, and nothing. I tried repeatedly with F/T, and he will have none of it.
So I tried a small live adult, and he ignored it. He wasn't the least bit interested. Again, I left it overnight (though it scared me. I had nightmares of the mouse clawing my poor snake) and the next morning, snake and mouse were curled up on the heat pad together, looking very comfortable. So I returned the mouse to the shop I got it from (weirdest pet shop moment ever)
I tried going down a bit in size, with hoppers. Again, frozen he would have none of, but he eats live hoppers instantly, so gets two hoppers every 2 weeks.
tricky snake.
I posted last month about the very obese snake I adopted, so I wanted to give an update on his progress.
He's been with me now for over two months, and we've made some progress. With his new exercise schedule (swimming included!) he's lost a little weight (about 15 grams), and the scales don't look as stretched anymore.
He's also much longer than I had originally thought (he almost always was coiled, so I never got a real idea of how big he was).
I had him in a 40-gallon breeder, but I was looking for a nicer cage...But when I was cleaning out my parents' basement, I found a 75 gallon tank
Since it was used to hold old books, I asked my parents if I could steal it, to which they were happy to get rid of it. I spent a few hours cleaning it up and inspecting it, and it's in perfect shape. I have it set up very nice, with lots of heat gradients, hides, climbing objects, etc.
So he's now in there, and he can really stretch out, which is how I found out he is, in fact, over 5 feet.
Eating however, is still an issue. The suggestions I had here was that I should feed him one adult mouse every 2 or 3 weeks, but he won't eat an adult. I tried frozen several times with every trick I could find (thawed it and warmed it, rested the body in soiled bedding of live mice, brained it, made it dance with tongs), and nothing. I left it in overnight, thinking that then he would, and nothing. I tried repeatedly with F/T, and he will have none of it.
So I tried a small live adult, and he ignored it. He wasn't the least bit interested. Again, I left it overnight (though it scared me. I had nightmares of the mouse clawing my poor snake) and the next morning, snake and mouse were curled up on the heat pad together, looking very comfortable. So I returned the mouse to the shop I got it from (weirdest pet shop moment ever)
I tried going down a bit in size, with hoppers. Again, frozen he would have none of, but he eats live hoppers instantly, so gets two hoppers every 2 weeks.
tricky snake.
