iHerp Answers: My baby female JCP is still finicky with eating. Is she stressed?

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My baby female JCP is still finicky with eating. Is she stressed?

Posted By:

mojosreptiles

In Relation To:

Auli'i [2008JCP]

I bought my baby female JCP a few weeks ago and she is still fiinicky about eating. The first week of feeding she ate her hopper (I left it overnight and it was gone in the morning). Last week she refused. The breeder I bought her from said that she was still eating intermittently, but was confident she would start eating regularly. I am wondering if she is stressed ... maybe take longer to adjust than I thought to adjust to the new environment? Could it be the weather cooling off? I have her in a plastic rubbermaid/sterlite tub with a small heating pad and their temp gradiant is about 78 - 85 or so. She is alot smaller than her brother. He, on the other hand, is slamming f/t hoppers like no one else's business and they're located right next to each other in their own tubs with the same type of set up. I'm actually wondering if I should downsize her tub becuase she's smaller. She likes to hide up in the tiny space between the top of the tub and the lid. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!


Points:	150
Topics:	General Health , Feeding , Caging
Tags:	Feeding, Feedingproblems, JungleCarpetPython
Species:	Pythons > Morelia > Morelia spilota cheynei
Administrative:	Show/Hide

Member Comment

10/26/2008 8:04:02 PM

RB3067

Try chicks

Member Comment

10/26/2008 10:21:45 PM

NCherper

Try live, chick down scented frozen, rat pups...try anything available. Make sure she has two hides (one on the warm, one on the cool). Just keep a good eye on her. You also might want to but her temps up on the warm side by a few degrees.

Member Comment

10/27/2008 12:59:33 AM

REPTILEN1NJA

i had this same problem and braining the mouse seemed to work now he is on a normal track of eating havent got a refuse in a couple of weeks

Member Comment

10/27/2008 10:47:35 AM

Sparkle

Don't worry too much, my baby CP took 3 weeks to settle in before he would eat. If the container you have her in is clear, try taping black construction paper over 3 sides so she doesn't feel so exposed. It is also possible that she's going to shed, they will stop eating if they are going to shed soon.

Accepted Answer

10/27/2008 1:40:44 PM

gfx

If she was a bit of a sporadic eater for the breeder, it makes sense that she's a bit of a sporadic feeder for you. If you've not done so already, get a gm weight on her asap. As long as she's in good condition, you've got plenty of time to work with her, just keep an eye on her weight and condition. I container feed my poor feeders so they have a smaller area to deal with. A small sherbet container is what I'm using for the '08 JCPs. If they dont eat, I put a little cypress in the bottom and tiny ceramic crock for water and I leave them in the container. It fits nicely into their shoebox rack when I decide to give up for the day.

If she's an angry little worm, make use of that behavior to get her to strike the food. Take a fresh thawed or fresh killed critter, dunk its head in hot water and then get it near her face. If she doesnt grab it, touch the sides of her mouth and/or the top of her head with it. If that doesnt work, piss her off by bumping the dead thing on the front 1/3 of her body or the back 1/3. Of she grabs at the prey at all, make it "live" and give it a little wiggle like you'd do with a fish on a hook. That'll often get them to wrap. Re-dunk the dead thing in hot water from time to time to keep it very warm, it'll often help them get the idea.

Do not handle her at all right now. Leave her entirely alone for at least a week before you try to feed her. If she doesnt eat for you over the course of a few sessions of pissing her off, leave her alone for a few days, then try putting a live pinky rat in with her overnight. If she doesnt take that and wont respond to being pissed off, try the various scenting techniques with braining, blood, etc.

If she starts losing weight or condition, you'll want to consider force feeding her for a few weeks to keep her healthy while you get her onto a decent eating routine. If she's in good condition and isnt losing weight, avoid the force feeding, its a very stressful last resort thing.

FWIW, you should probably convert your male to pinky rats while he's a good eater. JCP get addicted to mice pretty quickly, your food budget will be much happier when they're adults if you're feeding rats.

Assisted Answer

10/29/2008 1:30:51 AM

amarilrose

I don't have any personal experience with JCP's, but is there any way you could offer her a place to hide? Maybe a brown paper lunch bag or a wad of Spanish moss on her perch?

The general rule for other snake species seems to be that stressed animals will feel better with a tight hiding spot to give them a sense of security - and it doesn't matter that her brother does fine without one; every snake is an individual, and some just have some funny quirks - she could be the funny one. :)

I like the look of the other responses you have gotten. Try those and see if you can offer her some hiding places too.

Best of luck with her!!
~Rebecca

Author Comment

10/29/2008 5:56:54 PM

mojosreptiles

thanks for all the replies. she does have a hide, actually she has two - one toilet paper roll and one bowl laid upside down with a hole cut into it. those might still not be small enough for her though ... since she is very small and still likes the tight places between the lid. her brother has the same hides, but he likes hiding under the newspaper. perhaps i will try some moss or something. i heard that some things are not good because there is the chance that they could be swallowed. any thoughts on that?

Member Comment

10/30/2008 12:49:00 AM

amarilrose

Again, I don't know JCP specifics, but the concern about swallowed substrate can be handled a few ways.

Do JCP's tend to stay coiled up in one spot, or are they kinda all over all the time? If they move a lot, it should be fairly easy to offer the prey in an area of the cage that doesn't have any moss. If they like to hang out in one spot, then maybe offer the prey from a direction away from the moss. Things like that. Swallowing moss or substrate should pretty much only be a concern during feeding.

For my snakes that are not nervous or shy feeders, I prefer to feed them in a separate feeding bin. If she gets going for you and becomes a more bold and consistent feeder, feeding bins without any substrate are a great way to both prevent accidental swallowing of material you didn't want to feed and some cage aggression. All of my bin feeders also exhibit a fantastic feeding response when I place them in the bin - and not when I open the cage!

I hope that helps you some... but I would like to see some comments from someone who actually has experience with this species too!

Member Comment

10/30/2008 2:12:30 AM

amarilrose

Sorry, that was supposed to be: ...some "more" comments from someone with JCP experience.

Member Comment

10/30/2008 11:15:20 AM

gfx

I wouldnt get too concerned with adding more hides, but your snake may like to have a perch. Baby JCPs like to climb and will very often be found hanging from the lip of the container, a heat panel, a light, wires or whatever else they can coil around. You can make a perch by constructing a long H out of 3 pieces of plastic coat hanger and zip ties. Make the legs tall enough so you can lean it diagonally against the side of the container so the horizontal part is away from the wall enough to make a comfortable perch. Chances are your snake will still use the edge of the container, but now you've given it options.

My guess is that if your other snake is thriving, your housing is probably ok. Your snake was a poor eater for the breeder, she's going to continue the behavior for you. The good news is that female pythons tends to like their dinner time so eventually she'll get the hang of it and turn into an eating machine. Its your job to keep her healthy and growing until she gets to that stage. Its really tempting to try to "fix" things when they dont want to eat and often this will make things worse. Some snakes take a few weeks after shipping before they will take a meal and they need to be left alone to settle or the process is just prolonged. The best you can do right now is get a gm weight on her and let her settle in. What's her gm weight? Is she a snappy little thing or is she more laid back?

Author Comment

11/1/2008 3:14:01 AM

mojosreptiles

i do have a bamboo perch going across her tub. i think you are right though ... it will just take time for her to settle in. i try not to bother her too mcuh; only to clean and feed. its just hard when she is sitting up under the lid because its harder for me to open it up without her falling off.

i dont' know her weight yet ... i'm sure the breeder will tell me, but getting a scale of my own is on my to-do list. she's definitely a snappy little thing ... she kinda has the little woman syndrome but im sure that will go away as she gets bigger and older.

thanks for the info :)

Member Comment

11/1/2008 12:40:58 PM

gfx

You should definitely pick up a gm scale asap. They're cheap at the office supply stores, just make sure you get one that measures in 1gm increments, not 2gm. I picked up a Pelouze SP5 for around $30 I think, I use it all the time. Snakes dont show you they're sick until the problem is advanced. Keeping weights on her while she's being a snot about eating will help you keep an accurate idea of her health and if her fast is affecting her.

Snappy is good. Snappy critters are a lot easier to get feeding than laid back, hiding critters.

Mine fall off of the ledge when I open the tub too. Makes 'em easier to pick up when they're all disoriented. :)

good luck and let us know when she gives in and eats on her own!

Author Comment

11/1/2008 3:40:16 PM

mojosreptiles

hmm well she hides alot, but when you try to take her out of the tub, she strikes and gets snappy. go figure! i will definitely keep you all updated. i'm pretty sure she'll eat for me this week ... its been 2 weeks since the last time so she's gotta be hungry!

Author Comment

11/9/2008 6:26:57 PM

mojosreptiles

oh no ... another week without eating :(

Member Comment

11/9/2008 7:55:46 PM

gfx

Did you get a gm weight on her? My non-eater JCP came in at 21gm, she blew off food until she got down to 17gm. She seemed fine, but IMO that was too much loss for an animal of her age and size so I started to force feed her. She has yet to eat a meal on her own, but she's up to 30gm now so I've got a little bit of mass to play around with. The point being that I'm using the gm scale to determine what steps to take next. She wont look scrawny and lethargic until its too late so IMO you must get a gm scale for her to monitor her body mass and well being.

You got her from a breeder, right? What does the breeder suggest?

Member Comment

10/7/2009 4:34:39 PM

dalvers63

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