Zephyr
07-15-2009, 05:29 PM
My '07 CB male, Broler, hasn't eaten since early June. I'm borderline concerned.
Last year, he went off feed or was sporadically eating through the summer. He looked a little thin then but gained weight for brumation.
After coming out of brumation he began eating like a monster. He'd down 3 large pinkies in a sitting and have room for more the next day. In early June I moved him outside; he never ate while outdoors.
I find one of three things could be to blame;
1. He's still in mating mode. I took him out of brumation a little late to match-up with when I started finding the wild female garters. He made attempts at my female many times during feeding time.
2. He's got parasites. After moving him inside he defecated; It looked like a urital pellet and some other stuff. I saw nothing that looked like feces. (Pics are at these two links; http://img259.imageshack.us/img259/342/sdc10205m.jpg (http://img259.imageshack.us/img259/342/sdc10205m.jpg)http://img291.imageshack.us/img291/5462/sdc10206.jpg)
3. He's dieting. I read somewhere that snakes will sometimes starve themselves to burn off built up fat reserves. He became noticeably pudgy on his spring diet. He now has a slim but not skinny look, similar to his look last year but a tad thinner.
Just looking for some advice. :)
Last year, he went off feed or was sporadically eating through the summer. He looked a little thin then but gained weight for brumation.
After coming out of brumation he began eating like a monster. He'd down 3 large pinkies in a sitting and have room for more the next day. In early June I moved him outside; he never ate while outdoors.
I find one of three things could be to blame;
1. He's still in mating mode. I took him out of brumation a little late to match-up with when I started finding the wild female garters. He made attempts at my female many times during feeding time.
2. He's got parasites. After moving him inside he defecated; It looked like a urital pellet and some other stuff. I saw nothing that looked like feces. (Pics are at these two links; http://img259.imageshack.us/img259/342/sdc10205m.jpg (http://img259.imageshack.us/img259/342/sdc10205m.jpg)http://img291.imageshack.us/img291/5462/sdc10206.jpg)
3. He's dieting. I read somewhere that snakes will sometimes starve themselves to burn off built up fat reserves. He became noticeably pudgy on his spring diet. He now has a slim but not skinny look, similar to his look last year but a tad thinner.
Just looking for some advice. :)