[gaz2374]

well for me anyway . all 3 of my snakes wont feed . my larger royal which has been fine shed 3 weeks ago and has not bothered eating since hes about 1yr old.
baby royal bought 5 weeks ago not feed atall even though was supposedly a good feeder.

and the childrens python with the bad eye still wont feed and is now very snappy (never used to be ).

all look healthy still not getting skinny or anything. just wondered if its cos if the weather or time of year or something.

 

[beestingbutterfly]

yeah it prob is the weather.. check your tems... are they higher?? if you put your central heating on the ambient room temperature will rise and so will the temp in your vivs... they may also know that winter is coming... have they been gutsing alot prior to their fasting session...i know its stressful for you, but bear with them, as they r all doing it its prob nothing to worry about.. but if in doubt pay a visit to your lovely vet!! :lol:

 

[gaz2374]

the large one always fed on time every week .

other two not sure about as the childrens was a problem feeder to bigin with and the baby royal just hasnt bothered taking it. temos are the same as always at 84ish during day and 75ish at night.

 

[gaz2374]

only thing iv done different is instead of the heat bulbs going off at night iv kept them on but reduced the temp each night due to it being cold outside. but also the red light seems to startel them if i stand there and turn it up so i can see them . so maybe a good idea to get them turning off again.

 

[beestingbutterfly]

yeah try it... somethings bthering them,

 

[liam_rokocoko]

make sure your temperatures for the royal are 92-94F on the warm side and 82-84F on the cold 24/7, don't let the temps drop at night. thats is probly what is putting them off food they don't like temperature fluctuations, you have to try and keep them consistent.

 

[welshgaz]

In all climates your going to have dips in temperture in the night so personally I wouldn't keep my tempertures constant throughout both. I don't believe that simulates a natural habitat. If you want to check what temperatures it should be at this time of year look at the snakes natural habitat and search for the weather of that area during the beginning of the winter months. Royals though are nutorious for failing to feed around the winter periods.

Mine hasn't fed in 3 weeks but thats because he was shedding I'm hoping. Still wouldn't be surprised if he didn't eat. He's also jipping around his viv' alot at the minute searching for ladies I think.... Best thing to do is keep an eye on his weight, if its falling dramatically theres something wrong.

 

[scottiedog]

:lol: welshgaz your male doing the same as mine :lol: he has been going mental every night this week was wondering what was wrong with him ?? now i know he is looking for some female company :lol:

 

[welshgaz]

:lol: welshgaz your male doing the same as mine :lol: he has been going mental every night this week was wondering what was wrong with him ?? now i know he is looking for some female company :lol:

Its really good because normally the buggers just sit around in there houses... now he's out looking for love, he still not getting he can't get through the glass mind :lol:

 

[royalpython]

I leave royal python temperatures alone at 90F on their heat mats. If you play with temperatures it will leave them to think it's time to breed. It doesn't simulate a natural habitat like welshgaz suggests, but it's done no harm to mine thus far. I have the heating on in both rooms and this keeps a good ambient temperature of around 75F, so if they want to cool down then they are very capable of moving into another hide spot. I would bring the temperatures down a little during winter if you want to breed them.

 

[beestingbutterfly]

I'd be inclined to go with what welsh gaz said, no where in the world stays at the smae temperature in the day and the evening, so surely what your doing is confusing your snakes natural rythm?? i wholeheartedly agree that the temperatures need to be kept in the correct temperature gradient... but there should be two temperature gradients for two different parts of the 24 hours (night & day.)

 

[royalpython]

I've kept my royals like this for 4 years, nearly 5 years.. i've successfully been able to breed mine, and all my adults are of good weight, averaging around 2kg. All 7 eggs of my oldest hatched, so i see no rythm spoiling going on. Usually if natural light enters the room they know what time of year it is. I've got all my snakes eating at the moment, except one which is new. I'm not ditching anyone else's methods, i'm only saying what works with me. I have the facility to do a night time drop when i want to breed them using a day/night thermostat. When i first used the day/night facility a long time ago the royals changed their minds and stopped eating with me. I always feel i'm providing them some luxury with a constant temperature for when ever they require it, and cool end for when ever they want it. My oldest royal can eat giant rats when she wants to, so i'm pretty sure what i'm doing is ok.

 

[welshgaz]

Ok Royals are native to west africa and there have been studies done on the royal populations in Ghana... Here is a link to max/min temperature guide of places in Ghana.... Royals are found in all the places here, basically shows there should be a night time drop but not less that 70-75 ideally!

Ghana - Climate

 

[liam_rokocoko]

umm, they are not exactly on a once a week feeding schedule in the wild, of course the temps. will drop at night in the wild. but if you want them feeding consistently every week the temps. have to be right 24/7. this is the reason why yours aren't feeding. you don't have to believe me but i gareentee you once you keep the temps. consistently at 92-94F on the warm side and 82-84F on the cold, they will start eating again.

 

[royalpython]

I understand what you're saying welshgaz, i've got the book from Kevin McCurley, and i know what temperature's the night time drop should theoretically be... but as Liam has said, if we fluctuate these temperatures over winter they will stop feeding. It is ultimately up to the keeper (and snake of course) to decide whether the snake wil eat during winter and keep the temperatures constant. I tried to fluctuate the temperatures in summer (a while ago) 8 hour drop over night, which theoretically would be similar to their natural habitat, and i got a negatitve response, and have since ditched these idea's until I want them to breed.

Another method you could try Gaz2374 like i've said in another thread is if you try feeding a warm rodent to them, but don't warm them to long as it might cook it and/or end up a breeding ground for bacteria.

 

[Razaiel]

Definitely up that temp, I think. Adult BPs can go quite a while without food but a whole year is a long time. I'd be a bit concerned about the baby not eating too. Snakes know if the temps aren't high enough to digest their meal - thus they won't eat or it can trigger a regurge if they do.

 

[royalpython]

I will quote what it says from Kevin McCurly (for those who don't know, he's made millions from breeding royal python morphs), and hopefully this'll put matter at rest...

"Ball pythons thrive at AMBIENT temperatures of 80-85F during the day and will tolerate 78-80F at night. ADDITIONALLY, ball pythons will utilize a basking area of 88-95F, which should cover 1/4-1/3 of the enclosure"

I gather from this the basking area is left on at all times, and ambient temperatures are allowed to drop, but only to a tolerable level.

BUT if you want to breed... then there's another section, but i won't get into that, but it's pretty much what i've said all along.