Snakes not eating well

[Sssssnakey]

We've had two babies die. I'm nearly having to force feed one or two of the remaining five babies. (I hold a wiggling guppy by the tail and keep sticking it in their face until they grab it and swallow it.)

Sammy (the mom) wasn't eating very well either. I turned on a heating pad under her tank and that seemed to help with her, but I'm not sure it would work well with the glad containers the babies are in.

I'm not sure how much the babies are supposed to eat, but they usually only eat 2 or 3 guppies a week. Sometimes only two at one time and then none until the next week. What is normal for less than 6 month old babies?

Thanks!

[aSnakeLovinBabe]

I would maybe try some cut up worms or something other than guppies, it sounds like they are not very fond of the guppies. 2 or 3 guppies per week is not a whole lot, even newborns I would be feeding 1 guppy every day or 2 of them every other day.

[Sssssnakey]

Thanks. Maybe they just want something different.

[Mommy2many]

My babies eat cut up worms or salmon everyday. I alternate between the two. Every other week or so, I'll throw some guppies in there. And occasionally I'll give them pinky parts (I save those for the big guys). My babies love the worms, sometimes more than salmon. It's like, "Mom, we want Mac & cheese for dinner tonight!"

[ssssnakeluvr]

they could be going into brumation.....some do it automatically in the fall, go off feed... as long as they have good body weight, I take them off feed if they skip 2 feedings. they are off feed for 2 weeks then cooled off for a month. then they are warmed up and they generally start eating.

[Quibble]

they could be going into brumation.....some do it automatically in the fall, go off feed... as long as they have good body weight, I take them off feed if they skip 2 feedings. they are off feed for 2 weeks then cooled off for a month. then they are warmed up and they generally start eating.


What do you do if a snake decides to go off feed, and does not have a great enough body weight?

[ssssnakeluvr]

as long as they don't have skin folds on the sides I would put them down for a shorter period...maybe 2 weeks

[MasSalvaje]

I am with Don on this one. With the temps as they are now in northern Utah you either need to prepare them for brumation or you need to get a heat source in there to help offset that response from them. I do not brumate any of my first year guys and I learned that if I don't add a heat source they go off food very quickly. Early fall is the hardest time for me to keep the little guys feeding because it is still a little to early for most people to turn on the heaters for the year but can still get rather cold, especially at night. I found that a room heater on a therostat works well for combating that problem.

The babies I have will only go after the guppies if I have the lamp on in the cage. If you can't use a lamp as in your case, I would recommend heating the entire room to the desired temp. Keep working at it and let us know how it goes.

-Thomas

P.S. You can try feeding different items to the little guys but I have personally never had a wandering of any age go after a worm. I am not saying it won't happen or hasn't happened for others but it won't matter what you try if other conditions are not conducive to good feeding.

[Stefan-A]

P.S. You can try feeding different items to the little guys but I have personally never had a wandering of any age go after a worm.
It was the first meal I gave my own babies and a year-old male emptied a bowl full of slugs and worms the one time I tried it.

[MasSalvaje]

It was the first meal I gave my own babies and a year-old male emptied a bowl full of slugs and worms the one time I tried it.

And that is why I left the disclaimer in there.

I have used slugs and leeches with much success but I have never had any luck with worms (That is only with my vagrans). I don't know if it is just my snakes or if it has something to do with the local they originated from but they don't ever seem to take.

My point was that it does not matter what you try to feed them, if there are other factors that need attention first they are not going to feed.

-Thomas

[Sssssnakey]

We had another baby die last night. :(

Three of the remaining four babies ate a guppy last night (cheer) but I'm going to try wiggling the guppy in the face of the last snake this morning in hopes it will eat. I'm also going to head to the pet store and buy more worms and maybe even go to the grocery store and get some trout to cut up.

Last time I tried worms they wouldn't even look at them. I think they thought they were pets. ;) I had found some really skinny night crawlers in my front flower bed and put them in with them. The previous time I had cut up night crawlers and they wouldn't look at them let alone eat them. They seem to be really picky.

I've also noticed that they don't seem to have very good eye sight. When they're going after their guppies they don't seem to really see them that well. They'll strike at places the fish aren't even in and haven't been in. Weird.

Are there liquid vitamins I could give them or something?

[Sssssnakey]

The one that hadn't eaten ate one guppy yesterday but refused more when I tried again later and again today. I'll try again later today with it.

Last night one of the babies ate two guppies and a chunk of worm. That is the most I've ever seen one of them eat. The other two ate one guppy so they're eating everyday now. I think they're getting better.

Sammy gobbled down two goldfish today so she seems to be liking the heating pad.

[gregmonsta]

Sammy gobbled down two goldfish today so she seems to be liking the heating pad.

No goldfish!!! :rolleyes: .... not a 'safe' food source.

[aSnakeLovinBabe]

No goldfish!!! :rolleyes: .... not a 'safe' food source.

Second that! NO goldfish! :)

[Sssssnakey]

Oh no. Will it kill her?

So can Sammy (the mom) eat any fish? She seems to really enjoy hunting.

[Stefan-A]

Oh no. Will it kill her?
Not from one, or even a few feedings, but over time it may be fatal.

[mustang]

NO GOLD FISH ITS "the snake thattl bite back in the insides gold fish"

[Sssssnakey]

So can an adult snake eat any live fish?

[Stefan-A]

Yes, but does it need to eat live fish?

[Sssssnakey]

I just thought that since she seems to like hunting rather than going after frozen and warmed pinkies that fish would be a safer hunting choice than a live pinky.

[drache]

supposedly men like hunting, and still we make them sit at desks all day
it is true however that with a snake you won't be able to replace the urge with spectator sports

[Mommy2many]

Guppies are safe for live fish hunting expeditions. You should be able to find them out there, I think. A few of my guys also enjoy "fishing".

[Stefan-A]

I just thought that since she seems to like hunting rather than going after frozen and warmed pinkies that fish would be a safer hunting choice than a live pinky.
Visual foragers, motion attracts their attention more easily than scent alone. It essentially puts them in a different hunting mode. I wouldn't exactly call that enjoyment.

[Mommy2many]

Perhaps "satisfaction" is a better word choice.

[Stefan-A]

Perhaps "satisfaction" is a better word choice.
I wouldn't call it that, anymore than I would call it enjoyment. The problem is with the assumption that emotions have anything to do with it.

[MasSalvaje]

I am going to agree with Stefan. We far too often associate human emotions with the actions of our animal friends. Although the stimulation of hunting live prey may benefit the snake in some way, I don't think you can say that it enjoys it anymore than a f/t or pre-killed prey item. Food is food, they eat to survive not for entertainment, IMO.

-Thomas

[mustang]

WOW GOOD EXAMPLE I DO SIT AT A DESK TOO LONG AWAY WITH URABANIZA...*hello this is robert whom is calling?*

[Mommy2many]

I am so happy that on this forum we can discuss opinions and we can all agree to disagree.

Back to the original intent of this post, whatever options and ideas we can offer our members to help them and their snakes, to provide solutions for a positive outcome and provide for basic needs, should be welcomed, barring any erroneous information that could lead to harm or mistreatment.

This forum is a wealth of information, ideas and opinions; from all ends of the world. You could not want for a better opportunity to tap into the experience and education of the people that are represented on this forum. The combination of all of these factors is what makes this site so valuable to many of us.

[Stefan-A]

Although the stimulation of hunting live prey may benefit the snake in some way,
I haven't seen anything suggesting that they would benefit from live feeding, but one thing is clear: The prey certainly doesn't benefit from it.

[Mommy2many]

On that, we can all agree!:D

[MasSalvaje]

I haven't seen anything suggesting that they would benefit from live feeding, but one thing is clear: The prey certainly doesn't benefit from it.

I think that is because it has not been studied, frankly I don't really know if you could study something like that. As a result I didn't want to jump to conclusions and say it does or doesn't if I don't have the studies to back it up. I will leave it at may help.

-Thomas

[mustang]

I am so happy that on this forum we can discuss opinions and we can all agree to disagree.

Back to the original intent of this post, whatever options and ideas we can offer our members to help them and their snakes, to provide solutions for a positive outcome and provide for basic needs, should be welcomed, barring any erroneous information that could lead to harm or mistreatment.

This forum is a wealth of information, ideas and opinions; from all ends of the world. You could not want for a better opportunity to tap into the experience and education of the people that are represented on this forum. The combination of all of these factors is what makes this site so valuable to many of us.
i feel sorry for a newbie who gets like 10 different answers from us since we all disagree:D but all the ideas are good tho

[MasSalvaje]

i feel sorry for a newbie who gets like 10 different answers from us since we all disagree:D but all the ideas are good tho

On general care I don't think we disagree all that much. I think all of us would agree that the care sheets provided on this site are very useful and contain a lot of good info on care.

What people put there own twist on is the method they use to provide that care. There are members on this site from all over North America and Europe covering several different climates and geographic areas, there are going to be differences in methods. They are not wrong, as long as they provide the proper care, just different. It is good to hear what works for everyone so we can try them all and find out which one(s) work the best for us and more importantly our animals.

-Thomas

[Mommy2many]

They are not wrong, as long as they provide the proper care, just different. It is good to hear what works for everyone so we can try them all and find out which one(s) work the best for us and more importantly our animals.

-Thomas


Exactly!!!

[mustang]

i guess we can all agree on that ...your honor the jury has reached a verdict....we find the defendant mr.smith accused of agreeing to disagree ..not guilty! hhaaahahahahaha