problem dumeril

[John9k]

Hello,

Hello, I have a new snake. Since he is in my hands, his temps / humidity are fine, he is kept in a rack with plenty of aspen to hide. He has no mites and I see him drink water. Im starting to doubt the place I got him from...

They told me he was rolling on frozed rats, but he never showed interest. I went back over there, they informed me they had to give him a live one once and a while to "start him back up". Has anyone every of the "start back up" technique? I put a live rat in there and he did show interest, but gave a real pussy of a strike, the rat was just too fast.

So I killed the rat, put it back in the cage, and all the snake did was rub its nose against the rat!?!? Then he lost interest again...

I have been giving him 5 day breaks in between feedings.

Also, He shed in peaces this week, his humidity is at 60-80 depending on time of day, plus I use shedding aid.

Thanks you all for your help.

John

[exwizard]

Several questions come to mind? First off, you say "new snake". How recent an acquistion is this Dum? Also when you affer f/t how hot are you getting the rat?

[John9k]

I would say just over 4 weeks, The rat is around the mid 30s, close to 90 i think in US mesures... I also have female on the way.

[exwizard]

Originally Posted by John9k

I would say just over 4 weeks, The rat is around the mid 30s, close to 90 i think in US mesures... I also have female on the way.

Take your time with him and be patient. One thing Dums love is consistancy. If youre planning on feeding him f/t, I would suggest being consistant with that as well. Youd be surprised how long they can go without food. In addition to that, heating the rat up to at least 38C will definitely help. Get it nice and hot for better heat signature.

As far as the bad shed is concerned, youre doing well keeping the humidity up but what Ive found works well is soaking the snake for a good hour in lukewarm water, then assisting the shed afterward.

[KORBIN5895]

Honestly you humidity must be off. If it shed in pieces and you have had a good humidity range it should have come off better. Your gauge may be off.

[jaleely]

My female at about ten times, then stopped, and my male has not eaten since i got him...August 6th, 2011. Who was, btw, sold to me as "a great eater!" written right on the container. Jerks lol
I've come to realize that Dumerils are just this way. He's hardly bigger than a hatchling, too, i think. He drinks, and scoots around sometimes...but has never shown any interest in dead or live food (which i am against live, since they can be hurt eating it...but i did try for him).
I'm just going to wait and see, until the weather warms up. It did for a week and he finally started moving around and changed his hides, but still not interest.

[icole]

How old/big is he? My dum's first shed was in pieces, even though she loves to soak in her water dish.

[Terranaut]

Where abouts in Canada do you live?
As said above be patient. If your temps and humidity are spot on but they have bad sheds and refuse to eat they are stressed out. Was this snake in a tub before? Maybe your snake is still adjusting to its new home. Post a pic of the snake next to the prey you are trying to feed it so we can compare size. Good luck. And remember they can go months without food.

[BarelyBreathing]

What are the EXACT temperatures and humidity levels? What are you using to measure them?

[Terranaut]

Skip the shedding aid. Not needed if your humidity is right. Also my female JCP doesn't strike 9 out of 10 times. She just grabs it and starts to eat it. Your snake is most lilely use to frozen and has no need to strike unless instinct kicks in.

[theapexgerman]

What are the exact temps?what percent do you got the humidity at?

[John9k]

How old/big is he? My dum's first shed was in pieces, even though she loves to soak in her water dish. I would say 3 feet not sure of age, I was told its a may/2011, but it looks big for that.

Where abouts in Canada do you live? Montreal Quebec

Post a pic of the snake next to the prey you are trying to feed it so we can compare size. I will this saturday

What are the EXACT temperatures and humidity levels? At this exact moment, the ambient air is 28.5c/84f most of the tub, the floor (aspen) is around 30c/86f, its a little warmer in the hide, around 31c/87.8f. It has a cooler spot where his water bowl is, there the floor is 27c/80.6, but ambient air is the same. It has been a solid 74-75%h all day. The snakes body temps are around 27-30 depending where he is.

What are you using to measure them? I use 2 exo terra hygro/thermo meters to make sure data is good to mesure the ambient air, and a laser heat gun for the floor.


I dont know if this is of any importance, but the snake gets REALLY active during the night, pretty much spends the whole time making the same paths in the aspen.

From what I read, they are nocturnal ambush hunters, but the second the sun sets, it just wanders around! wich, from my understanding, is out of character?



Thanks for the help!

[theapexgerman]

My dumeril is last years hatchling and he's only 22 inches or so sounds like you got the temps right and stuff maybe he just need some more time to adjust

[John9k]

It finally ate!

I gave it a small live mouse, I sorta had to "poke" the snake for it to take notice and flick its tongue out.

Took about 2 hours for it to finally strike and constrict. I have two questions.

This meal was about 1/2 the size of what he should be eating, should I wait another 5 days before I offer again?

Also, he was supposed to be a F/T eater, should I keep feeding live or go back to F/T?

I managed to get some interest with f/t while his feeding instincts where still running wild, but it seems that the slightest "wrong move" with the dead prey turns him off :/

Thanks
John

[MoreliAddict]

Sometimes a live meal will put them back on feed so that's good. It's worth trying f/t again.