Re: Fasting, shedding, eating

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Posted by Terry Cox on August 31, 2001 at 21:40:36:

In Reply to: Fasting, shedding, eating posted by Kristen on August 31, 2001 at 16:35:56:

: My 21" long Tx rat snake that I have had for 9 weeks has not eaten in four weeks. Finally today her eyes have begun to cloud over. Once she is finished shedding, do I offer her a full meal(1 fuzzy) or do I start with a snack of 1 pinky since it has been so long since she has eaten? Also, do I wait the usual week after she eats to feed again, or should I offer meals closer together for a while to make up for lost time? Is there any thing else I should know about the time between the eyes clouding and the actual shedding of the skin; this will be the first time since we have had her, and she is our first snake. Thanks for any info.

What does she normally eat, fuzzies? Then I'd offer her a fuzzy, at least one. The strongest feeding response is just after the shed. You'd be real hungry too, if you went four weeks w/o eating. If there's no bulge after about 4 or 5 days, you can offer another mouse to your snake. If it eats quickly, it probably is quite hungry. If it is very slow to eat, then it probably doesn't need it much. You have to learn how to judge that.

When in the shed, make sure the cage isn't too dry. They like a little humidity. If it's very dry conditions, you can provide a humid hide box, like something with moist sphagnum in it. That could help with shedding. Good luck.

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: : My 21" long Tx rat snake that I have had for 9 weeks has not eaten in four weeks. Finally today her eyes have begun to cloud over. Once she is finished shedding, do I offer her a full meal(1 fuzzy) or do I start with a snack of 1 pinky since it has been so long since she has eaten? Also, do I wait the usual week after she eats to feed again, or should I offer meals closer together for a while to make up for lost time? Is there any thing else I should know about the time between the eyes clouding and the actual shedding of the skin; this will be the first time since we have had her, and she is our first snake. Thanks for any info. : What does she normally eat, fuzzies? Then I'd offer her a fuzzy, at least one. The strongest feeding response is just after the shed. You'd be real hungry too, if you went four weeks w/o eating. If there's no bulge after about 4 or 5 days, you can offer another mouse to your snake. If it eats quickly, it probably is quite hungry. If it is very slow to eat, then it probably doesn't need it much. You have to learn how to judge that. : When in the shed, make sure the cage isn't too dry. They like a little humidity. If it's very dry conditions, you can provide a humid hide box, like something with moist sphagnum in it. That could help with shedding. Good luck.

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