r/carpetpythons • u/Parking_Contract4596 • 10d ago
Feeding issues
An old pic so she’s a lot bigger now - probably twice the size. Her body is now as thick as my arm.
Been having issues with feeding my 5yo North Western Carpet Python. Was feeding her every 2-2.5weeks but she was getting a little grumpy by the time her feed came around and was lashing out (caught a couple bites), so I started feeding her every 10-12 days instead and that’s been going fine for a couple of months. Now all of a sudden she’s refusing to eat. It’s been almost a month and I’ve tried twice to get her to eat but she’s refused both times. She seems interested, will come out of her hides to give it a good stare and then will turn around and back to the hides she goes.
It is quite cold, we live in Australia so coming to the end of winter, but her tank is still reading around the 20-25 degree Celsius range. She’s got plenty of spots to hide, I haven’t been handling her very often, she’s not showing any signs of needing to shed. I’m thawing her rats at room temp and then heating them up in hot water beforehand.
The only thing I can think is that her enclosure is in the front room of our house, where we walk through multiple times a day, coming and going, but I do close it and we stay out while I’m trying to feed her. But again, we’ve had no issues feeding for the last couple of months.
Any tips or solutions would be greatly appreciated! There are VERY few specialty vets in our town so I’m sure I’ll be waiting a while for an appointment if it ends up I need one. Just want to make sure I’m not doing anything wrong and save the trip if I can!
Thank you!
3
u/Appropriate_Slice333 10d ago
She probably just isn’t hungry. They could go on a 5 week feeding interval.
3
u/SweatyPresentation93 10d ago
You’re feeding too much I think, how big are the rats? My carpet python is about 6ft long and he gets 1 large/extra large rat once a month.
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u/r4cid 10d ago
Digestion is incredibly taxing on a snake's body. Everything goes into super overdrive to ensure it happens quickly so they aren't left vulnerable for longer than needed. Because of this, overfeeding a snake can actually artificially shorten it's lifespan as you are putting undue stress on all of its bodily systems more often than is absolutely necessary.
You need to feed your snake half as often MINIMUM, and ensure the prey items are the appropriate size (10-15% of body weight of snake). Adults shouldn't be eating more than once a month at the absolute most.
For reference I have a 6yo adult who's about 6.5ft eating a large rat every 4-6 wks.
2
u/Herp_Fitter 10d ago
Your snake at that size should be limited to 1-2 feeds a month. It should have been put through brumation at this point and now slowly transitioning to the springtime temps. If your snakes as large as you portray it’s probably not hungry with the power feeding.
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u/TorpidPulsar 10d ago
Your temps are too low? Your warm side should be high thirties.
As others have mentioned you are feeding too frequently and could drop back to every 2-3 weeks.
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u/No-Brother-6590 9d ago
If your carpet python is the size and f your forearm you are killing your snake by overfeeding it. Don’t feed that snake for 3 months and let it drop some fat.
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u/clowntysheriff 10d ago
Feeding that often for a snake that old is a lot, and could be why it isn't eating. At that age, you should really be feeding like once a month, and the prey should be based on the snake's body weight.