Tx rat won't eat

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Posted by Kristen on August 29, 2001 at 22:01:10:

Well, since I have seen several remarks about wanting more postings, I guess I'll add one. I have been hesitant since I am new to snakes and have only one, kind of afraid of asking stupid questions or something, but I am having difficulty with my snake. I have a wild caught Texas rat that someone gave us nine weeks ago. He (I'm guessing) ate frozen pinkies and then frozen fuzzies once a week for the first five weeks, but has not eaten in four weeks. The first advice given here was that maybe he was about to shed, but he has shown no clouding of the eyes. Another suggestion was that maybe his tank was too warm, so we have not turned on the basking lamp that we used to turn on during the day( except for about 30 minutes in the morning - he likes to stick his head out of his hide when it is on). Another suggestion was to leave him alone for a week - no handling, and then try a live fuzzy. We did that yesterday, and he was in a separate box for 5 hours and never ate the live fuzzy so we froze the mouse and put Rocky back in his cage. I have found a reptile vet in my area and we are going tomorrow. It has been suggested here that maybe the snake has internal parasites, so we should know soon. I was hoping to take him and a stool sample to the vet, but since he is not eating, he is not producing. The guy at the vet said they can take one, but I was hoping to not do it that way. Do you think this is the most likely cause for not eating? Do you have any other advice or ideas? And now for the stupid question, what is LOL? I am grateful for this forum. I read it regularly, have gotten lots of info and advice, and I also find it entertaining. As for profile info if anyone cares, I am 38, a preschool teacher with a husband, a 7 year old son (the reason we kept the snake),a 18 month old daughter, and a dog named Harley (and we do ride). Thanks for any input.

Follow Ups:

Re: Tx rat won't eat markg 08/30/01 (3)
- Re: Tx rat won't eat Kristen 08/30/01 (1)
  - Re: Force feeding markg 08/31/01 (0)
- Re: Tx rat won't eat Kristen 08/30/01 (0)

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: Well, since I have seen several remarks about wanting more postings, I guess I'll add one. I have been hesitant since I am new to snakes and have only one, kind of afraid of asking stupid questions or something, but I am having difficulty with my snake. I have a wild caught Texas rat that someone gave us nine weeks ago. He (I'm guessing) ate frozen pinkies and then frozen fuzzies once a week for the first five weeks, but has not eaten in four weeks. The first advice given here was that maybe he was about to shed, but he has shown no clouding of the eyes. Another suggestion was that maybe his tank was too warm, so we have not turned on the basking lamp that we used to turn on during the day( except for about 30 minutes in the morning - he likes to stick his head out of his hide when it is on). Another suggestion was to leave him alone for a week - no handling, and then try a live fuzzy. We did that yesterday, and he was in a separate box for 5 hours and never ate the live fuzzy so we froze the mouse and put Rocky back in his cage. I have found a reptile vet in my area and we are going tomorrow. It has been suggested here that maybe the snake has internal parasites, so we should know soon. I was hoping to take him and a stool sample to the vet, but since he is not eating, he is not producing. The guy at the vet said they can take one, but I was hoping to not do it that way. Do you think this is the most likely cause for not eating? Do you have any other advice or ideas? And now for the stupid question, what is LOL? I am grateful for this forum. I read it regularly, have gotten lots of info and advice, and I also find it entertaining. As for profile info if anyone cares, I am 38, a preschool teacher with a husband, a 7 year old son (the reason we kept the snake),a 18 month old daughter, and a dog named Harley (and we do ride). Thanks for any input.

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