My burm is not eating!! :(

My burm is not eating!! :(

Postby Reynard » Mon Aug 20, 2012 4:20 pm

I have a little albino burm. He is about 6 months old. His feeding scedule is every two days for two weeks then a week of no food.

He was supposed to eat on friday after eating Monday and Wednesday. But friday he bit the prey, constricted and killed it but did not eat it. So I left him with the mouse in the feeding container in his cage overnight but he never ate it.

This morning i tried again but only to get the same result. :(

Had anybody else had this problem? What can i do to get him to eat and to prevent it from happening again? He is my little baby and if anything were to happen to him id be devestated! :(
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Re: My burm is not eating!! :(

Postby Urucone » Mon Aug 20, 2012 4:47 pm

Just make sure the humidity and heat is 100%, if that's fine don't worry too much, I have snakes that go months without eating. leave the baby burm for a week and try again.
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Re: My burm is not eating!! :(

Postby Serpent » Mon Aug 20, 2012 6:50 pm

Where did you get that feeding schedule from?
I may not be an expert on burmese pythons, but it sounds to me like you are feeding your snake too frequently. I used to feed mine a decent meal every week or two or even three. Pythons have a slow metobolism so if it goes off food for a week or two that is perfectly normal. Over feeding is also not good for them, it can cause obestity and kidney failure and liver failure and may result in a premature death.

As a rule of thumb the smallest interval I would allow between feeds would be a day or two after the snake defecates its previous meal.

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Re: My burm is not eating!! :(

Postby kfc223 » Mon Aug 20, 2012 7:42 pm

http://www.reptileforums.co.uk/forums/snake-care-sheets/19581-burmese-python-information-care.html
Feeding

Burmese pythons eat a variety of mammals, and birds, and can eat this in captivity. The best food is frozen, as this is easily obtainable, and safe for the snake. Freezing will kill any nasties on/in the prey item, and allows you to keep a stock of food rather than continual trips to the shop.
A hatchling Burmese python will eat a medium mouse, or a small rat. As the snake grows so does the food. Larger snakes can eat adult rats, then rabbits, and should it need to, piglets, lambs and goat kids are the next size up. Chickens and other birds can also be fed occasionally, but should not be the staple of the diet, because they lack the nutrition found in mammals.

Live food should never be fed. this is stressful on the prey item, and can lead to serious injury, or death of the snake, and is not necessary on this species, as 99% will readily take frozen, and the few that don’t can be tempted with a prekilled, and then weaned onto frozen. If the snake refuses rodents, then offer a bird. There are other techniques available also that eradicate the need for live food.

http://www.petsuppliesplus.com/AnimalCare/Reptiles/burmesepython.htm

Diet
Feeding Schedule

Young Burmese Pythons should be fed 1-2 appropriately-sized rodents once a week. Feed adults one large food item such as a rabbit, or 2-4 smaller animals such as rats every 2-3 weeks. Owners should exercise care not to overfeed pet Burmese Pythons.


A great care sheet: http://www.google.com/m?ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&sourceid=navclient&gfns=1&q=burmese+python+caresheet
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Re: My burm is not eating!! :(

Postby Bushviper » Mon Aug 20, 2012 8:47 pm

How long have you had this snake?

Your snake should be eating one meal ONCE A WEEK for three weeks then skip a week. A 6 month old burmese should be eating a mouse or small rat for a meal.
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Re: My burm is not eating!! :(

Postby Reynard » Mon Aug 20, 2012 8:49 pm

About 3-4 months. He does eat a large mouse
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Re: My burm is not eating!! :(

Postby Bushviper » Mon Aug 20, 2012 9:02 pm

Well then he is just bloated. Wait a week or two and then offer him food again.
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Re: My burm is not eating!! :(

Postby Sico » Mon Aug 20, 2012 9:09 pm

They really do not need a lot of food as the guys have already stated. To give you an example, my 30kg male burm eats a 1.8kg piglet every 10-14 days or so during summer, and I don't even offer him food over winter (late May until early September) as he just refuses to eat. He's 4 yrs old at the moment and very healthy.
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Re: My burm is not eating!! :(

Postby Burmbuddy » Wed Aug 22, 2012 10:29 pm

Hi man

Agree with the comments above, your burm is full and most likely just killed the prey animal out if defense. Leave him alone for a week or two and than offer him food once a week, no more often.

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Re: My burm is not eating!! :(

Postby sharkbait » Thu Aug 23, 2012 11:53 am

can i ask what the reason is behind skipping the 4th week of feeding? I've never heard of this before or is that strictly for pythons?
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Re: My burm is not eating!! :(

Postby boaboy » Thu Aug 23, 2012 12:56 pm

It is just to give their system a rest and can be used on all animals. Remember in the wild they will not eat every week on Q... They are opportunistic and can go months without a meal!
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Re: My burm is not eating!! :(

Postby sharkbait » Tue Sep 18, 2012 9:32 pm

ok, makes sense
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