BRumating a baby....

[amattel]

So One of my Eastern Black necks is eating like a pig and growing nicely, the other is still refusing food.

I have been putting him in a deli cup with a guppy and a tiny bit of water and leaving him there for a few hours (this is how I convinced his sister to start feeding on guppies). Every time so far, he doesn't eat so I put the whole deli cup in their enclosure, take off the lid and he crawls out while his sister heads over and eats his guppy.

My original intention was not to brumate either of them this year as they were born late (October) and I would rather encourage their growth by keeping them warm and well fed this season.

My question is: At some point of his continuing to refuse to eat, would it make sense to give him a short brumation keeping in mind that he has not eaten more then 2 or three times in his life (all with the breeder) and is a very tiny fellow.

[guidofatherof5]

You are at a very interesting/confusing crossroads with your little snake.
A- He's preparing to brumate and has stopped eating
B- He's just off food
C- He may be heading into a "failure to thrive" situation(hope not)
Now, if it's "A" and you brumate. No harm, no foul"
If it's "B" and it's a short not too cold brumation it should be "No harm, no foul"
If is "C", brumation could kill or weaken him more. No brumating may only prolong the eventual death from "failure to thrive"
I hope and pray it's not "C". I have had babies begin to eat and look great and then suddenly stop and starve to death.
I don't allow that last week of life to happen as starvation seems to me to be agonizing to the snake. I will put the snake down before they suffer too much.
I didn't intent for this reply to be full of doom and I hope it doesn't come off that way.
These were just my thoughts on your situation.
Keep us posted on this.

[ssssnakeluvr]

if you do brumate, keep it short....3 to 4 weeks, and check frequently for signs of weight loss (skin folds). after this time warm the snake up and should start eating again. if any skin folds start showing bring him out and warm him up. will take longer when the snake is cooler tho. good luck and keep us posted

[amattel]

Thanks for the info.

I haven't given up on him yet.

I am noticing that he is not very active while his sister is cruising the cage.

I wonder if the african dwarf frogs from the tropical fish store would tide him over until I can get him on guppies.

I will head into the forest to see if I can find any amphibs under rocks for him.

[infernalis]

good luck on you amphibian hunting.

they are still findable, it just takes more work when the weather goes bad.

[Mommy2many]

I hope and pray it's not "C". I have had babies begin to eat and look great and then suddenly stop and starve to death.
I don't allow that last week of life to happen as starvation seems to me to be agonizing to the snake. I will put the snake down before they suffer too much.

I can only follow the human experience. It has been said that in the final days of dying that it is more painful for the family to watch the non-eating days than it is for the patient. I can only hope that the same rings true for other animal species besides ourselves. We have been told that it does not bother the patient. I hope this is true. Sometimes it hurts to care so much.

[amattel]

I just noticed last night that he is going into shed, so perhaps he will be hungry afterwards.

[guidofatherof5]

Yes, they usually eat after the shed.

[ConcinusMan]

Shed is good. Only growing snakes will go into shed as a general rule. Eastern Blacknecks have a reputation for being fussy eaters, especially when they are very young and/or have recently been moved to unfamiliar surroundings or are otherwise stressed due to any one or a few of a myriad of reasons. They are just not good "beginner" snakes generally speaking.

If he is active and moving about the enclosure after he sheds, give him a day or two after shed and offer food again. A good time to do this is in their mid-morning very shortly after they have warmed up fully. Another good time is late in the day, close to "lights out" but make sure it is very low light intensity, like it would be at sundown. If he doesn't eat, don't offer him food again for at least a week of very dry "weather" Sometimes it helps non-feeding eastern blacknecks if you withhold water for a few days, do not offer food more than once a week, and keep the humidity very low. Follow up by a good heavy misting that should suddenly increases humidity briefly. Sometimes they get a bit parched after the fast and lack of water, and come out because of the sudden humidity increase and will then snap up food for it's water content.

Good luck and keep us posted. Let's hear how he is doing, good or bad.

[amattel]

thank you. I will keep you posted.