Hypo Feeding Problems

[starmom]

I have a little female hypo born 7-16-07 and who has been in my care since 2-26-08. I purchased her from a respected and reputable breeder. I feed every 7 days; though when she was little I fed every 5 days. She is housed in a little 16qt tub with a small water bowl and two small zilla hides.
When she arrived she weighed 176g. She now weighs 210g.

Here's her records:
3-16-08: ate a f/t rat fuzzy (19g)
3-21-08: ate f/t rat fuzzy
3-26-08: ate f/t rat fuzzy
3-31-08: shed and poo and weighed 197g.
4-03-08: refused food
4-08-08: refused food and weighed 186g.
4-13-08: ate a f/t rat fuzzy
4-18-08: ate f/t rat fuzzy and weighed 192g.
4-23-08: ate a f/t rat pup (27g) and weighed 222g.
5-01-08: ate a f/t rat pup
5-04-08: poo'd
5-08-08: ate a f/t rat pup
5-12-08: poo'd and weighed 243g.
5-15-08: refused food
5-16-08: poo'd
5-22-08: refused food
5-29-08: refused food
6-05-08: refused food
6-09-08: weighed 210g.
6-11-08: shed
6-12-08: refused food
6-14-08: refused new prey of f/t mouse hopper.

I am pretty much at my wits end trying to figure out this girl and her eating issues. Any suggestions would really be appreciated. Thanks so much.

[FIREball]

Let her be, I have a het pied female and pastel female doing the same thing right now. They are eating on avg every 3-4 weeks. All the others are eating great

[starmom]

But- are yours doing this yo-yo weight thing? Are they similar age?? Are they this little??

[kc261]

I think a small amount of a weight yo-yo is not surprising. However, the drop from 243 just after a poo down to 210 is pretty big. That's close to 15% of her weight.

Have you thought about contacting the breeder to see if they have records from before you got her? If she was very consistent in their facility it might point to something in your set-up or care of her. Not that I think you are doing anything "wrong", but maybe this snake is just extra particular?

Maybe she needs more security? Not just a good hide but a towel over her enclosure?

[SatanicIntention]

6qt tub, one 4" clay or plastic planter saucer, newspaper, small water bowl, possibly some balled up newspaper or paper towels.

Stick this whole thing in a dark place, where it remains dark the majority of the time. No handling, change water every couple days.

If you can get a live small adult mouse, try that. Sometimes they just need a few live meals to get back on track, then you can get her back on f/t. Her eating is the main thing and that much weight loss isn't making me feel good.

None of my babies her size have ever refused food, even if they are in shed. Even my Enchi male, who is a shy boy, will still go after his mouse once I close his tub.

Try pre-scenting for a good half hour to an hour with the mouse in a cage next to her tub, in the dark. Use a flashlight, drop the mouse in her tub by the water bowl or on top of her hide, and close the lid. Back away slowly so you don't distub her with movement, and leave the room. Come back in 30 minutes to an hour and see if the mouse is gone. If it is, great! If not, just wait until next week.

Some of my more shy juvies I have in 6qt tubs that are tinted a dark grey. Sterilite sometimes makes different colored tubs throughout the seasons. If you want to try one of these, I can always send you one if you can't find one in your area. I have red ones too.

Also, what are her temps? Higher they are, the hungrier they are going to be I keep my babies at 82-84 room temp (ambient) and 94-95 hot spot.

[starmom]

She's in a rack system so a towel is not needed. Also, because it's just a 16qt with 2 hides and a water bowl, there is no left over room!
I'm going to go through my paper work in the morning and read her records from birth- the breeder sent them along with the snake
Awesome suggestion and one that I overlooked

[SatanicIntention]

Oh, and here's a picture of how I set up babies. Others may do it differently, but this is the general consensus of how a hatchling tub looks.

[starmom]

That's the way mine looks Becky except for 2 zilla hides so she can go from the warm end to the cooler end when she wants too. This little one has just been a problem eater for ever. I hate like heck to try her on live because I don't have any way to get live rodents...

[kc261]

Silly me for not mentioning the balled up newspaper trick! But you say there is no room anyway in her enclosure.

Even in a rack I think you could darken her enclosure, either with a tinted tub like Becky mentioned, or just tape a towel or paper to the front of her tub (outside of it obviously with the tape).

When you say this one has been a problem eater for forever, does that mean while she was at the breeder too? In that case, I think I'd be a bit miffed the breeder didn't mention that. Maybe you could call and ask if they remember this particular snake and did they have any tricks that seemed to work with her?

[SatanicIntention]

Getting her to eat is the main thing, and that weight loss is a big concern. Babies her size should be eating, alot.

Do you have a way to get live mice? You can always switch her back over later, but getting her eating is your main priority. She can't really afford to lose weight.

I know it's easier having her in a 15qt tub, but she probably feels exposed in there. Try the smaller tub, they can easily thermoregulate just by getting on top of their hide or going next to the water bowl. I know Adam most likely had her in a 6qt baby rack. I've never used the Zilla hides, so I can't comment on those. I've had wonderful luck with the clay and plastic planter saucers. They are round and low to the ground, and the snakes just really take to them.