Stimulating the appetite of a picky eater

[Qwerty3159]

Hi all. I brumated my checkered garter when he went off food in December problem free, but he still doesn't have much of an appetite.
He's eaten, off the top of my head, a hopper, several mouse pinkies, two rat pinkies, and a few nightcrawlers. This sounds like a lot but it's been close to three months now.
I've tried offering him live minnows, he was hardly interested. He doesn't care for nightcrawlers either. He ate a rat pinky as well as a mouse pinky for me about two weeks ago, and nothing since. I'm concerned because he is losing weight, especially around his head and back regions. He doesn't care much for frozen thawed fish either and really has only ever taken mice readily with me.
Meanwhile, my radix is pounding food like a champ!

[guidofatherof5]

Try braining the mice. That smell seems to get them very excited about eating.

[Tommytradix]

2 weeks isnt a big deal but if you say hes not keeping his weight he may have something else going on. i would get him in the vet for a check up just to make sure. things can go downhill fast with garters.

[Qwerty3159]

Thanks guys.
I'll definitely try braining the rodents again.

It's not that he hasn't been eating for two weeks as much as that he has been scarcely eating at all for the past two months. He has eaten once in a while but he's probably only had the equivalent of three or four good meals in all of this time. He's not rapidly losing weight or anything of that nature, but he has lost a considerable amount since before his brumation.

I'm planning to pick up a food scale so I can monitor his weight and I'll try setting up a vet appointment. He's certainly not starving himself, but whatever he's doing is beginning to take a toll.

[Albert Clark]

Hey Qwert, sorry to hear about the dilemma. When you brumated him, how long did you put him down for? What was the temperature that you kept him at and when did you bring him out? Usually 60 days is enough to reset the feeding clock and 90 days is the route to go when you are conditioning for breeding? Have you ever bred him before?

[Qwerty3159]

He was put down in late December and taken up in Mid February, I think it was about 60 days. I kept him at 55-60 degrees in the basement by keeping the heat off down there.
I've never bred him but I bought him from BHB reptiles as an adult. I have no idea how old he is, but I'll have had him a year in June and he was probably bred before. He ate fuzzies and pinkies for the first couple of weeks and then regularly ate one rat pinky a week until he went off food.

[Albert Clark]

Cool... Have you noticed anything abnormal in his breathing, noisy respirations or any outward signs of illness? The weight loss seem excessive to you though, right? Is he tongue flicking and appearing alert? What about his bowel and and urate production? Anything abnormal that you noticed there?

[joeysgreen]

I have to ask because I don't see the information. What is the enclosure like? Temperature gradient etc.

[Albert Clark]

Great points there jg!

[Albert Clark]

Hey Q, hope the checkered winds up being okay. Good luck with him.