Reptile Forum, Reptile Classifieds - CaptiveBred

[PBroon]

We need help. Our Royal Python just won't be persuaded to eat. We've been trying not to panic, but it's getting on for six months now. We've tried adjusting the temperature in his vivarium, offering him different sized food at different temperatures? He seems fine (although he may be a she, we haven't had him sexed), although relatively inactive. He's friendly and enjoys being handled, we just can't get him to eat!!

[Scott W]

How big is he/she? weight & length.

What was it feeding on before you got it?

Have you tried live?

Do you handle it at all?
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[The Docta]

G'morning,

Well, I know this sounds pretty disgusting but have you ever tried to offer him a mouse/rat whose scull has been opened?
A lot of snakes simply can't resist when they smell that.
Else it'll be tough to get a sample of his feces to be analyzed by a laboratory in order to find out, if the python has parasites...

Good luck

Jürgen
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1,1 Elaphe dione; 1,1 Elaphe schrencki;
1,1 Zamenis persicus; 2,1 Rhinechis scalaris;
1,1 Gonyosoma prasinum

[PBroon]

He's about 3 ft long. Haven't a clue what he weighs but will try to find out later today. We have had him since he was very small (about 1 ft long, if that) and up until Christmas last year he was happily taking small rats. We have tried a live mouse, but he just seemed a bit bemused and was quite friendly to it. We handle him every few days, and he's very happy to be handled.

[The Docta]

[mark]

have you tryed the hair dryer method ? get the rat real hot with the hair dryer and give it a wiggle works for me

also try not handling so much leave it a week or so then try ive got a fussy female that im just starting to understand and dosent miss a feed now i hardly handle her like once or twice every couple of weeks unless im cleaning her out and i also downsized her viv a bit so its very packed out in there now and shes a different snake
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boas and burms

[mark]

[kingkongtom]

How do u defrost ur food for most of mine i use hot/warm water apart from the royals they will only eat if i leave them out to defrost and one if i cut the head open and heat with the hair dryer
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burms
1.0 albino
1.0 albino green
0.1 grenn het albino
1.0 norm dh albino granite
boas
1.2 commons
0.1 pastel sib
and
0.1 sumartran blood python
1.0 spotted python
1.0 coastal carpet python
0.1 royal python
0.1 retic
0.0.1 golden tegu

[Dan]

Crazy as this sounds getting him/her feeding may not be a concern.

Has it (excuse the term "it" please) lost lots of weight?

Royals have a tendency to do this and there are 2 schools of thought. You can treat it like the animal it is OR you can ignore all natural tendencies.

If i were you i'd probably fill the viv with hay from top to bottom so you can't see anything but hay. Then leave well alone, change the water as normal but that's it. Then in 2 weeks warm a prey item and leave it in the viv somewhere near the end of one of the tunnels (it will create tunnels in the hay) and see how you go.
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TFA

The future is bright, the future is a net like pattern.................

I'm NOT an expert, so if you don't want to know my opinion don't ask!!

[PBroon]

Fascinated by all this, and thanks so much for taking an interest, all of you. You're right, I haven't actually got proof that he's happy to be handled. He doesn't smile or giggle or anything. He just seems relaxed and content to hang around with whoever's handling him, and he's not jumpy, as I have seen him be occasionally. I think we'll start with the room-temperature thaw and hair dryer method, then go for the straw if that doesn't work. How long does a small rat/big mouse take to thaw

Should we be trying to find out what sex 'he' is? Someone somewhere suggested that he might be off his food because he's going through puberty.