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 #2077684


Greenterror
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 Worried about my ssssssnake

my gopher snake has not been out or eaten for 3 weeks is this ok



09/28/09  01:07pm

 #2077691


Concolor1
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   Message To: Greenterror   In reference to Message Id: 2077684


 Likely Shedding . . .

Keep the water filled and the temps okay, and just keep an eye on it. My gopher went from August of last year until mid-November on a hunger strike until, in desperation and per JackAsp’s advice, I brumated him along with Momma and Papa Corn (I was planning on breeding them anyway and did so successfully).

He came out of my cool closet with a nice appetite (wouldn’t do frozen, though), and he’s essentially doubled in size since...
09/28/09  01:21pm

 #2077702


Greenterror
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   Message To: Concolor1   In reference to Message Id: 2077691


 Likely Shedding . . .

hello i thought that about the shedding but he only took 2 weeks last time he shed, i breed rats so live would not be a problem, last feed i had to give him live then his behavoir changed wich led me to think he was shedding. after the 2 weeks i thought he might of gone into hybenation , i have checked him his little face pops out to see so he aint sleeping do you reckon if i bring the temp bk up he will come out.

nice1 for successful breeding



09/28/09  02:07pm

 #2077831


JackAsp
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   Message To: Greenterror   In reference to Message Id: 2077702


 Likely Shedding . . .

It could still be shed-related. Even if it still only takes two weeks, maybe he went off his feed for, say, a week and a half, and then the shed cycle started right when otherwise he would have gotten his appetite back.
What are his temps now? And how stable are they? This is the time of year that room temps tend to bounce around a lot, so it might just be an issue of being more careful and precise rather than just flat-out making him warmer. The solution might be as simple as putting a towel over the cage at night to slow down drafts.
Also, what’s his cage lighting like? Pits are diurnal, so if the cage isn’t well-lit they can get more sluggish as ambient sunlight decreases. It generally doesn’t matter what KIND of daylight you give them, as long as days are bright and nights are dark and the schedule stays consistant, but in some cases of winter depression I have found that more natural-looking spectrums get them back to normal pretty quickly. Whether that is from the visible lighting itself or from the UVA that’s mixed into it, I have no idea, but often my old lizard/turtle lights that are still working but no longer putting out any UVB but still look good and have UVA wind up getting used as snake lights.
09/28/09  05:34pm


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