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ChondroKyle	chondro wont eat!	Lead	[-]
Posts: 6 (08/14/06 19:22:35) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts Report Post	Tags : None Hi there. I am having trouble with my Chondro. He is just under a year old. He stopped eating just over a month ago and he just refuses to eat! He ate about three or four times just fine for me then he stopped. When I offer him food he looks like he is eager to eat and gets in the s shape but does nothing. I am starting to worry about him. I noticed that he has not defecated during this fasting time either. Does anybody have any advice for me? He looks fine and doesnt seem to be acting sick or different at all other than not eating. Thanks for your help! -Kyle
Mike Bair	Re: chondro wont eat!	#1	[-]
Posts: 49 (08/14/06 20:02:22) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts Report Post	Right now I would suggest waiting and see if it eats for you after some more time. It very well could be just a picky eater and if you are using frozen thawed, it might not like the temps you are offering the food at. If you are using frozen thawed, I would heat the mice/rats for 20 seconds using the hottest tap water you can and see if that helps. Obviously be somewhat careful before giving the snake the mouse as you dont want to burn the snakes mouth. A snake that old can go several months without having food, so dont panic just yet. Its still a bit young for it to go off feed because of being a male, so I wouldnt consider that unless you arent sure on the exact age. Males can go off feed around 18 months old, but that isnt always the case. There could be a couple things that might be causing it to go off feed. I would first check to make sure the temps are where they should be. If the probe is in the right place and keeping the temps where they should be then move down the list. It could be stressed from some type of change that you made to the cage, too much light, etc. If you did something different possibly go back to what you were doing before. The next thing is where did the snake come from. Was it a true captive born and bred baby? If it came from someone on Kingsnake and it was listed as CB, it very well could be farm hatched. Farm hatched isnt necessarily a bad thing, a lot of people own them and they have thrived, but it could possibly have parasites that are building up in its system. This can cause a chondro to go off feed. Keep that in mind. If it came from a reputable breeder, you might want to have a fecal done anyway, but most likely it will come back as negative. This is just to rule out parasites as a possible suspect. I would get this done as soon as possible, as it really doesnt cost much and can shed light on possible solutions. ------------- Mike Bair Chondro Dreams mike@chondrodreams.com
ChondroKyle	chondro wont eat	#2	[-]
Posts: 6 (08/14/06 20:30:05) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts Report Post	Thanks for the response! I got him/her from Rico Walder of signal herp. I havent really done anything different except place some blue masking tape over half of the ventilation holes to keep humidity up cause he had a couple of incomplete sheds, and the temp is at 86 degrees. I hope that he starts eating again soon! He was born on august 29th so he isnt quite a year old yet.
Mike E Lockwood	Re: chondro wont eat!	#3	[-]
Posts: 36 (08/15/06 06:43:48) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts Report Post	Hey Kyle, I've had three chondros behave the way you're describing. At first, I gave in and offered them live mice. This seemed to do the trick. So, for a while, I fell into the routine of giving them a live mouse. Then, as the rear end of the mouse was being swallowed, I'd place the head of a rat (more appropriate sized food item) up against the mouse and the snake would just keep on swallowing. This worked well and was an easy fix. However, it requires patience and if your timing is off, the snake won't go for it. I decided to just wait them out. I've heard people say that when they get hungry enough they'll eat. This seems to have worked for two out of the three snakes. They're back on thawed again. I learned that one of them seems to like to be gently tapped on the curves of his body with the food, or to have it held lightly against his rostral scale. This usually elicits a strike and a wrap. It's been about 5 weeks since the last animal has eaten. I'm pretty sure all of my cage parameters are set up correctly. I'm trying to hold out. But, I may give in and throw her a mouse. Hope some of this helps. Mike Lockwood Too Scaley Reptiles
Kim Burge	Re: chondro wont eat!	#4	[-]
Posts: 1499 (08/15/06 09:38:43) ezOP Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts Report Post	Kyle, Don't worry, this commonly happens to chondros in a new home. As you probably know, chondros are very sensitive to change. You can mimic the exact setup that a breeder was keeping the snake in and still end up with feeding issues. These snakes know when somebody different is feeding them so you have to figure out what your snake's "trigger" is. Maybe try a different time of the evening or heat your mouse up with a rat or scent with a rat. It could be a certain spot on their body they hate having touched. It does take patience but most of the time they come back around. I'm sure you've already done this but be sure to keep in contact with Rico about this because he'll be your best resource. Good luck and keep us updated! Kim Burge Southern Chondros kimberly@southernchondros.com
ChondroKyle	chondro wont eat	#5	[-]
Posts: 6 (08/15/06 18:13:38) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts Report Post	Thanks for all of your responses. I will keep you all posted! -Kyle
lilgreenmachine	chondo wont eat	#6	[-]
Posts: 14 (08/20/06 16:50:04) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts Report Post	You may also want to call Rico. My first GTP came from Signal Herpetoculture. They truly do offer excellent customer service. I had been keeping snakes for years and thought I knew what I was doing but my technique was all off as far as my chondro was concerned. One voice-to-voice conversation literally solved my problem.
coveredwithworms	Re: chondo wont eat	#7	[-]
Posts: 74 (08/27/06 07:27:24) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts Report Post	I purchased mine from Signal also and mine turned a year old August 14th. After the shipping mine didn't eat for three weeks. I was fortunate enough to have an experienced breeder come to my house and show me the correct technique. Before this I was doing it all wrong. I was trying everything from live (this only spooked out the gtp), fresh killed (didn't seem to make a difference), and frozen/thawed. The first time mine didn't eat even with help but the second time we used a little chick down on a f/k and it was like magick. I don't know if that was the trick or if mine just got acclaimated or hungry over time. I used the down several times after that and the snake ate pretty quick without hesitation. Then after a few more times I stopped using the down and the hair dryer to warm the food and mine still ate without problem. The last time I fed, on Wed. I had to bump the body a few times to elicit a response. Sometimes when mine eats it takes the food very slowly and will take it if I keep the food completely still. Others have said to move it around a bit but I guess they all have different feeding habits. Sometimes mine will seem to sniff it and seems to realize it is dead and lose interest but a little peskering seems to help. I'm still learning but that help I got went a long way for me. Good luck with your feeding trials.

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