Advice please: Curious is not eating :-(

[Lori P]

Hey guys... I'm having trouble with Curious, the little guy I got from Reed. He was a voracious eater when I got him-- there is nothing this boy wouldn't eat, from minnows to pinkies to chunks of salmon and trout. And I think Reed fed him worms and salamanders too. Well, about 5 or 6 weeks ago he started slowing down, and then stopped eating all together. For a couple weeks I thought it was just winter time... then he shed... then a couple more weeks went by and what he would do is, go up to the food, tongue flicking, but not grab at it.

So he went to the vet almost 2 weeks ago for parasite treatment. Since then, he's gotten more interested in the food-- he cruises the tank as if hungry, and when I put his food in there, he darts for it-- but then backs off. Well, this morning he grabbed a fresh minnow!!!! I was so excited-- he dragged it away to eat-- but when I checked back on him several minutes later, he had dropped it, and wouldn't go for it again.

What's up?? Why would he grab and drop?? I'm getting worried about him. Thanks...

[adamanteus]

Can you check his mouth for injuries? That might cause this. I wouldn't panic just yet, but I'd offer smaller food items and keep a close eye on him.

[Lori P]

Oh, hey, I have some small guppies. I mean, really small. Let me go offer him one.

I was wondering about a mouth issue... when hubby gets home in a bit, I'll get him to help me open Curious's mouth. Poor little guy... (Curious, not hubby, lol)

[drache]

not sure what to tell you
my hognose does this sometimes and then eats later when left alone with the food, but I think the case with Curious is different
the one thing I can think of is that the parasite tx somehow affected his appetite and possibly digestion
what comes to mind then is something like yeast, for which the tx would be benebac I suppose

[Lori P]

Sure... booster his good gut flora. I have Probios here. Good thinking. Thanks... going to offer that guppy now...

[Lori P]

Wow.

Lori, don't you feel stupid?

Well... yes.. as a matter of fact, I do...

Care to explain?

Well, it's like this... since Curious had moved onto the big minnows and pinkies, it really never occurred to me to go back and offer him the tiny little guppies.

And if you had gone back to the small guppies weeks ago?

Er-- well, I guess he might have eaten them, and all this worry and fasting might have been for naught... because he NAILED those suckers tonite!!

Here he is after three, frantically telling me MORE, more more!!!
http://www.thamnophis.com/thamphotos/data//500/medium/Curious_ending_his_fast_3_17_08_001.jpg

Oh look! Mom's favorite yellow guppy that she was holding onto! Well it's mine now!!!
http://www.thamnophis.com/thamphotos/data//500/medium/Curious_ending_his_fast_3_17_08_002_crop.jpg

Mmmmmm yellow guppy is extra yummy!!
http://www.thamnophis.com/thamphotos/data//500/medium/Curious_ending_his_fast_3_17_08_003_crop.jpg

More!! More more more!!! What do you mean, you're out of guppies??!!!
http://www.thamnophis.com/thamphotos/data//500/medium/Curious_ending_his_fast_3_17_08_004_crop.jpg

Well... I don't know what to say... I was looking in his mouth while he was eating and didn't see anything but I did notice he still played with these little fish a bit before swallowing, they didn't just get sucked down like he used to. So maybe there is something going on with his mouth or throat. I will let him digest this meal-- he cleaned out all the guppies!!-- and will try a very small pinky later in the week.

I really do feel very D'OH for not offering him something smaller sooner... sigh...

[EdgyExoticReptiles]

well idk why he ate them thats weird but happy lets just hope her keeps them down

[aSnakeLovinBabe]

i have noticed this thing with many of my male garters. for some reason... they don't like to eat big things. I would say half of all my males will refuse a food item if their mouth has to stretch much to swallow it. Can't say the same for the females. They'd swallow anything!

[EdgyExoticReptiles]

they difference is for the year i had him hed eat everything big or small he was my best eater

i have noticed this thing with many of my male garters. for some reason... they don't like to eat big things. I would say half of all my males will refuse a food item if their mouth has to stretch much to swallow it. Can't say the same for the females. They'd swallow anything!

[aSnakeLovinBabe]

yea... they're weird like that. Sometimes my young male vagrans is feeling brave and downs whole pinkies... then all the sudden he will go on a "if it's even half as wide as my head im not eating it" binge!

[Lori P]

Very interesting... geeez, the things they come up with to make us crazy!! Well, he was cruising the tank this morning looking for more, but I'm going to wait until tomorrow to offer a small pink and see what he does with that. I'm just glad he's eating!!! Reed's right, Curious is a huge pig, he always ate anything!!

I was thinking... there could have been two things going on. One, he was off feed for parasite reasons, and then when they tubed him, they could have hurt his mouth so even tho he wants to eat now, the larger items hurt. Maybe?

[drache]

that sounds very possible
tubing can cause bruising and abrasions

[Lori P]

Oh PHEW... Curious finally ate a pinky today!!! We went thru the grab and drop on this minnow (I didn't get anywhere to get him any guppies this week) -- he dragged it all the way to the top of the bark and then dropped it. But it was so obvious he wanted it... so I dangled the pinky, he grabbed it, fought it, dropped it, then I dangled it again and he grabbed it and finally got it down...

http://www.thamnophis.com/thamphotos/data//500/medium/Curious_finally_eating_pinky_after_fast_001.jpg

He thrashed it around a bit so it got dirty, but, he was finally keeping it in his mouth!

http://www.thamnophis.com/thamphotos/data//500/medium/Curious_finally_eating_pinky_after_fast_002_crop.j pg

At this point I finally started to believe he was going to keep it down.

http://www.thamnophis.com/thamphotos/data//500/medium/Curious_finally_eating_pinky_after_fast_003_crop.j pg

The bad thing is, his second parasite treatment (tubing) is Tuesday... wondring if I should postpone it for a week??

[adamanteus]

Lori, I would still suggest smaller food items. The minnow looks pretty big for a snake with a 'sore throat', even the pinky could be split lengthways to make swallowing easier. If you're worried about his meals being too small, you can always 'post' additional pieces as the first one is about to disappear into his throat.

[Lori P]

You know, I tried chopping him up a minnow mid week and he was still spitting it out. I split it length wise, so it was thin. And then today, he was searching so hard for food I thought, let me just try this... ok, now I feel like a really mean mom!! Well, at least he ate today... and he's looking for more now, so it must not have hurt his throat too much. I'll go slice a pink lengthwise and see if he takes it easier.

[adamanteus]

i have noticed this thing with many of my male garters. for some reason... they don't like to eat big things. I would say half of all my males will refuse a food item if their mouth has to stretch much to swallow it. Can't say the same for the females. They'd swallow anything!

That's interesting, Shannon. Obviously I've had many Garter Snakes that prefer smaller food items, but I never made the 'male' connection before. I'll pay closer attention from now on.

[Zephyr]

I have seen no connection here. My boys were loving the tilapia fillets I gave them yesterday, and I had cut them a little on the thick side.

[Lori P]

Oh good grief!!!! He just ate another whole one and left the sliced one!!! LOL Maybe his sore throat is gone now... well, at least my guilt for the night is gone!! :-)

[adamanteus]

Tonight is obviously a night for repeatedly proving me wrong! I'd best be very careful what I say from now on!

[Stefan-A]

Hey, I'm wrong all the time and you don't see me shutting the hell up. ;)

[Zephyr]

However, I will say this:
Males appear to be harder to "fatten up." My males always look skinny compared to the females, and it seems harder to get them larger.

[adamanteus]

Absolutely! My females dwarf my males!

[Zephyr]

Absolutely! My females dwarf my males!And the weird thing is that I could give one of my males 3 pinks and one of my females 3 pinks, and 5 days later, the female will have gained an inch and a few ounces, while the male looks the same, maybe even skinnier! :O

[Lori P]

Gosh, this makes me think I have Miriam and Mordecai reversed... she is so tiny, but she eats more than he does now. She ate three pinks today, for the first time in her life!! :-) And lately he's just been eating one or two, yet still growing like crazy.

[adamanteus]

But if you watch them, don't you find your males are always on the move... constantly cruising? I guess they burn off the calories!

[Zephyr]

But if you watch them, don't you find your males are always on the move... constantly cruising? I guess they burn off the calories!Heh, no. My males are almost always hiding under the newspaper, while the females are always out basking or fishing.

[adamanteus]

Mine seem different... My males seem to move around 'pointlessly', whereas my females (whilst visible and basking) are more sedentary.

[Stefan-A]

My male would follow the female around, doing whatever she did. But he did do a bit more cruising than the female.

[anji1971]

Lori,
Glad to see Curious is eating again! Hopefully the next tubing won't undo it all again-- fingers crossed!

[Lori P]

Thanks Anji! I'll let the vet know what happened so hopefully they can try to be more careful. It's hard with such little snakes, I know.