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3y old female refused food

D'n'D

D'n'D

New mom to bloodred Elsa
Hi all,

Trying to be as short as possible. My 3year old Elsa refused her little rat today - for the first time since she was a baby. Never ever has she refused food. Always ravenous and crazy when in her feeding box. Today she didn't even look at the food. She's been quite active over the past week or so, it is quite warm in her viv, due to summer temps, and when I handled her today all seemed okay with her. She never mated and her last shed was one piece (it has been a while since). Any ideas?


Also, her little bilge on the side of the cloaca, is still there, hasn't grown any bigger, soft to the touch and not seeming to give her any disconfort. Last stool sample about two months ago was fine. I think that lump is some fat deposit ...

My biggest concern is her refusal to eat, since she's never refused her food before.
Thanks!
 
Tried again today, no interest to strike but very active ... any idea why such an odd behaviour? She usually goes berserk once I put her in her feeding bin. I always had to be careful, she would strike at anything that moved around her. And now, it's like she is afraid of that dead rat ... She had 4 rats before from the same lot/bag so there shouldn't be any smell issue. Has anyone seen such behaviour?
 
How long since her last shed? My snake sometimes refuses to eat at shedding time. He went 5 weeks once without eating. On about the 3rd week of his feeding strike his eyes went blue and I knew he was about to shed. So I waited another week or so, gave him time to shed, which he did, and a few days later I tried to feed him. He was back to his ravenous feeding self. No big deal. Snakes can live 4 or 5 months without food if they are healthy.

It could also be maybe she has mating on her mind. Some snakes will go on a hunger strike during mating season. It's usually males that do this but females will do it too sometimes.

I would not worry about it if she seems fine otherwise. No need to try feeding every day. You're just going to waste a lot of mice. Wait about a week or so and try again. When she's hungry she will eat.

If she starts losing weight or appears to be sick, take her to a vet.
 
She's had a meal since the last shed - maybe 3 weeks ago, the last shed? She's roaming in her viv, more than usual ... maybe a mating instinct gone crazy??? She'll turn 3y in September and she's thrived so far - 120-140cm and over 550g. I will try again with a hopper that I feed to my hognose. At least if she doesn't want it, then the hoggie will eat it so no spoiling food here. Will keep you updated.
 
I agree with Karl, some of my females rip a prey item right off the tongs I use and coil them like a boa constrictor, but if they don't show any interest, a shed is usually the reason.
 
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