# Please help me



## Nutty2345 (Aug 23, 2010)

I have a royal python who is a few months old now and I'm havin problems feeding him. He's my first snake so I'm a bit unsure of what I'm doin to be honest. I had someone living with me who was helping me out with him but was having to force feed him. It's been just over 2 weeks now since he's eaten and he's not showing any interest. I've tried wiggling the pinky in front of him and leaving it in his tank and still nothing. Any help would be amazing


----------



## Ophexis (Feb 19, 2010)

Have you tried braining the mouse?
i.e. exposing the brain of the mouse. This increased scent may encourage a feeding response.

Also, is the size of the mouse appropriate to the size of the snake? Not too big, not too small...


----------



## Nutty2345 (Aug 23, 2010)

I havent tried braining no. the only way he has been feeding so far is force feeding which i myself havent been doing obviously need to start now. 
the pinkies im giving him are just slightly bigger than the size of his head.


----------



## Ssthisto (Aug 31, 2006)

The first thing to do is check your setup and make sure it's absolutely spot-on.

Do you have warm-side floor *and *air temperatures of approximately 88-93 degrees Fahrenheit, AND a place to hide in the warm side?
Is the air in the cool side warm enough?

Does the royal have plenty of places to hide at either end of the vivarium?

Are you weighing it regularly to see if it is actually losing weight (if it's not, it could be a fairly normal "I'm not hungry right now" fast)?

Are you waiting for it to show "hungry behaviour" (mine often sit inside their hides with their heads poking out, waiting for a tasty prey item to wander past) before you offer food?


----------



## Nutty2345 (Aug 23, 2010)

If I take a pic of my set up would you guys mind tellin me if it looks ok? The guy that was living here has a reptile Shop so I hoped he set it up ok for me but now I'm panicking. I know I sound like a total noob but well I am. Just got him out his tank and discovered he's got mites could this have something to do with it?


----------



## TheMetaphysicalNinja (Aug 18, 2009)

Nutty2345 said:


> I have a royal python who is a few months old now and I'm havin problems feeding him. He's my first snake so I'm a bit unsure of what I'm doin to be honest. I had someone living with me who was helping me out with him but was having to force feed him. It's been just over 2 weeks now since he's eaten and he's not showing any interest. I've tried wiggling the pinky in front of him and leaving it in his tank and still nothing. Any help would be amazing





Nutty2345 said:


> I havent tried braining no. the only way he has been feeding so far is force feeding which i myself havent been doing obviously need to start now.
> the pinkies im giving him are just slightly bigger than the size of his head.





Nutty2345 said:


> If I take a pic of my set up would you guys mind tellin me if it looks ok? The guy that was living here has a reptile Shop so I hoped he set it up ok for me but now I'm panicking. I know I sound like a total noob but well I am. Just got him out his tank and discovered he's got mites could this have something to do with it?


I wouldn't have considered force feeding just yet, they can go for months without food and be ok. 
Pinkies are most likely too small too.
A photo might help, but if you've seen mites, a vet trip is a must, they will be able to help sort that out. Could explain the lack of eating too. Plus everything thats been said so far ^^


----------



## Ssthisto (Aug 31, 2006)

Nutty2345 said:


> If I take a pic of my set up would you guys mind tellin me if it looks ok? The guy that was living here has a reptile Shop so I hoped he set it up ok for me but now I'm panicking. I know I sound like a total noob but well I am. Just got him out his tank and discovered he's got mites could this have something to do with it?


Absolutely mites could be stopping him from eating.


----------



## LloydEvans (Aug 18, 2010)

Completly clean the tank out, disinfect it with mite-off or a similar spray and give your royal a warm bath for about 5-10minutes.
Youll want to replace the substrate and give all interior decor a good wash(couple of kettles of boilding water poured over) and some mite spray obviously.
make sure its a thorough clean, all nooks and crannies, after this your royal will probably need time to recover.. it's probably really stressed so give it its own space for a week or so and then attempt another feed.. It's best to feed snakes just before you go to bed, as they are more active in the night and more likely to feed.

Lloyd. : victory:


----------



## jacquig11 (Jan 20, 2010)

Firstly, it's no doubt way too early to be worried about not eating. With regards to mites, wouldn't think you need to go to the vet, follow the threads on here for treatment. They've been written by very experienced snake keepers!!

When my little royal refuses a feed, I leave her for 2 weeks as opposed to 1 so that she should definitely be hungry. 

Good luck - and DON'T WORRY!!!

: victory:


----------



## Nutty2345 (Aug 23, 2010)

Thanks for all your help guys. I was told that hanging a flea collar in his tank should help so ive done that while im tryin to get hold of all the stuff i need.


----------



## Ssthisto (Aug 31, 2006)

Nutty2345 said:


> Thanks for all your help guys. I was told that hanging a flea collar in his tank should help so ive done that while im tryin to get hold of all the stuff i need.


Oh NO....

Please take that *out* of his tank. Flea collars may contain chemicals that will not only kill mites but ALSO kill your snake - there are certain insecticides that are safer for snakes, and some that are absolutely deadly.


----------



## wohic (Jun 19, 2006)

hi !

Right the first thing you need to do is get rid of the mites, take out the cat/dog collar, the products used may well make your snake very ill.
Go to staples /argos etc and buy a really useful box Really Useful Box 5 Litre

this will be your snakes home for a while as treating mites in a viv while the snake is in there is hard work.....also non feeders do better in tubs in my experience.

To set up the Tub Use newspaper as substrate, a few small card board boxes as hides and some balls of scrunched up newspaper to cover the rest of the floor.
Add a small water bowl and jobs a good un.
Next place a Heat mat attached to your thermostat under 1 third of the box.

Next snake....... wipe him or her over with damp kitchen roll a couple of times to remove as many mites as possible, this will give some relief until your sorted with the mite treatment, once the mite treatment arrives treat as stated on the instructions,and dont forget to totally stripe the RUB and re do it .

Now feeding.
Once the mites have been treated you need to adopt a totally hands off approach, so many non feeders are still handled, and once they are left to feel secure they will go on to feed happily.
Please dont force feed, it really can do more harm than good as it is extremely stressful too the snake, snakes dont want to starve themselves to death, and its our job as their owners to figure out why they are not eating, and rectify that problem.


get the Mites sorted, the RUB set up and then pop back and we can talk about getting your baby taking food .


----------



## Nutty2345 (Aug 23, 2010)

Ssthisto said:


> Oh NO....
> 
> Please take that *out* of his tank. Flea collars may contain chemicals that will not only kill mites but ALSO kill your snake - there are certain insecticides that are safer for snakes, and some that are absolutely deadly.


oh great! seeing as its a snake shop owner that has told me to do that all the other stuff he has told me is probably wrong as well. 
does a baby python need help to be fed or will it just eat when its hungry like an adult will?
as far as i know hes never fed on his own, hes alwasy been force fed i think


----------



## wohic (Jun 19, 2006)

Nutty2345 said:


> oh great! seeing as its a snake shop owner that has told me to do that all the other stuff he has told me is probably wrong as well.
> does a baby python need help to be fed or will it just eat when its hungry like an adult will?
> as far as i know hes never fed on his own, hes alwasy been force fed i think


And it was sold to you as your first snake, was the pet shop owner aware of this ?


----------



## Nutty2345 (Aug 23, 2010)

I got him from the guy that was living with me who is a shop owner, he was a hatchling from one of his snakes i think.
After hearing all this advice im a bit worried about everything he has been doing for ralph.
He is currently living in an exo terra tank which i was told was fine for him to be in and the guy did the set up for me


----------



## corny girl (Aug 30, 2009)

Can you post up some pics of the tank etc... Royals like to feel secure & if the Exo-Terra doesn't have any background in it then your snake could be feeling insecure as he can see out of the tank & this alone would stop him feeding. Also let us know what you are using to heat the tank & do you have a thermostat? What are your temps like? & what are you using to measure them?


----------



## Nutty2345 (Aug 23, 2010)

here are a couple of pics of his home. if i need to change it that wont be a problem, ill just get rid of that and start a fresh with him. the heat mat is on the back of the tank which i was told would be fine and the thermostat is on the fronot as you can see in the pic.




























hes not the happiest little snake at the moment as you can imagine


----------



## wohic (Jun 19, 2006)

sorry but exoterras are hopeless for royals, they loose too much heat and are too open  I would do the really useful box thing and put an add up to swap the exo for a wooden 2ft viv .


----------



## Nix (Jan 23, 2008)

If you are treating for mites I would be keeping your royal in a rub with a kitchen towel substrate (easy to spot mites on) big water dish changed daily that your snake can soak in and a hide that you can either throw away or one you can completely scrub like the exo terra ones. 

Ardap is good for treating the viv with but make sure all the fumes are completely gone before your snake goes back near it.


----------



## Ssthisto (Aug 31, 2006)

Ok, if the heat mat is on the back of the tank, the styrofoam background will basically be blocking all the heat from the heat mat - it will be nicely heating the wall behind the tank and that's about it. Your snake appears to be basking as close to the *lights* as it can get. I do not see a thermostat probe, though - I see a stick-on aquarium thermometer that is measuring the temperature in the room outside the tank....?

I would agree with Wohic - trade in the Exo-terra pretty tank and set your snake up in a Really Useful Box for now.


----------



## corny girl (Aug 30, 2009)

This is a very basic set up using a RUB (Really Useful Box) for a Royal.....










I usually use 2 hides but this little madam didn't like it.


----------



## Nutty2345 (Aug 23, 2010)

Thanks for your help guys. I get paid tomorrow so I'll see if I can get a starter kit from somewhere till I can get a proper viv. Just hope he gets better soon now cos I feel really bad about all the stress that's been caused to him


----------



## RedDragon619 (Jan 1, 2010)

Nutty2345 said:


> Thanks for your help guys. I get paid tomorrow so I'll see if I can get a starter kit from somewhere till I can get a proper viv. Just hope he gets better soon now cos I feel really bad about all the stress that's been caused to him


starter kits don't come with much really, you have water bowl, you have kitchen towel and you have a heat matt, you now need a stat and a RUB, which would be around £35/£38 ish depending on where you go.
here is a set up for my older royals










and that is a very basic setup but all mine are feeding well etc

hope this helps :2thumb:


----------



## Nutty2345 (Aug 23, 2010)

ok i shall get a RUB today, havent been able to sooner due to work. Only think i need to get is a decent thermostat and then hopefully the miserable baby will cheer up. after double checking the tank today it appears the heat mat is on the floor after all but on the outside of the tank, so having to get through the thick glass and then all the substrate hes got in with him. 
how long should i leave him before i try and feed again? till there are no traces of mites left at all im guessing?


----------



## Nutty2345 (Aug 23, 2010)

ive got my RUB and wanted to post a pic on here so you could tell me if everything is ok or if i need anything else in there. i have a feeling its slightly too big but i wanted to get something so i could get him sorted asap and it was the smallest i could find. Gloucester isnt the best place for finding things. if its too big could i just put a divide in it so hes not using the rest of it??

boyfriend broke the lid while putting holes in it lol


















as you can see he looks dwarfed by the size of the rub

ive got a new water bowl on order as well as his other one is much too small for him


----------



## wohic (Jun 19, 2006)

scrunch up little balls of newspaper and pop in the bottom, he will be able to move about freely and feel safe then


----------



## Nutty2345 (Aug 23, 2010)

wohic said:


> scrunch up little balls of newspaper and pop in the bottom, he will be able to move about freely and feel safe then


By small balls do you mean just scrunch up a sheet or do you mean smaller than that? Is that to give the effect that the tank is fuller?


----------



## wohic (Jun 19, 2006)

yup sheets, basically it gives the snake the opportunity to move about from one side to the other whil totally hidden, so giving it the sense of being safe, its a successful tip that has been used with non feeders and nervous snakes to great effect


----------



## Nutty2345 (Aug 23, 2010)

Brilliant I'll try that then thanks. Next step is just gettin the little bugger to eat


----------



## Nutty2345 (Aug 23, 2010)

Ralphy is seeming a lot more happy in his RUB thank god. How long should I leave him before trying to feed him. I've not tried to get him out yet. I have bathed him and then left him to it. Mite treatment still hasn't arrived yet


----------

