Mark K
Cave Dweller
Member since April 2012
Posts: 2,620
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Post by Mark K on Jul 20, 2016 17:54:51 GMT -5
The Great Plains will not eat. I offer him mice and he strikes at them but misses. Then he completely ignores them. Hr is completely healthy, but I don't know how long it will stay that way.
BTW, he shed again yesterday.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Jul 20, 2016 18:21:18 GMT -5
He ate up until the shed?
Sure it's a "he"?
Put up a pic of the underside of the tail.
Does it have "deep cover"? A secure place to hide? Sounds like stress, we gotta find the stressor.
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Post by captbob on Jul 20, 2016 18:23:35 GMT -5
If he shed, he's still growing. You sure his eyesight is okay? Maybe try a dead mouse - even move it around (dangle it) by the tail in front of the snake to simulate life. If he can't see well or if he got bitten by his prey recently while trying to catch something are just two reasons that he may not be eating.
When did it last eat? Most snakes can go months between meals if necessary.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Jul 20, 2016 18:35:01 GMT -5
If he shed, he's still growing. You sure his eyesight is okay? Maybe try a dead mouse - even move it around (dangle it) by the tail in front of the snake to simulate life. If he can't see well or if he got bitten by his prey recently while trying to catch something are just two reasons that he may not be eating. When did it last eat? Most snakes can go months between meals if necessary. Bob, it's a wild snake. This is feeding season. They usually are ravenous after a shed. Let's see the answers to my questions and see if this is easily sorted out. I have some suspicions.
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Post by rockpickerforever on Jul 20, 2016 18:50:33 GMT -5
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Post by captbob on Jul 20, 2016 19:01:47 GMT -5
Didn't know it was wild. Has it eaten at all in captivity?
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Mark K
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Member since April 2012
Posts: 2,620
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Post by Mark K on Jul 20, 2016 19:02:55 GMT -5
Anal scale is single, not double. It can climb on its stick, hide in the bedding, wrap around its log, it has it all. when I put a really good hiding thing in with them, they stuffed it full of bedding and ignored it. I can not prove that it has ever eaten. It and the gopher really like each other. They sleep in a ball together.
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Post by mohs on Jul 20, 2016 19:13:38 GMT -5
Great Scott!
Feed it Rat Poison
mostly
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Post by Garage Rocker on Jul 20, 2016 20:41:42 GMT -5
One of the most observant geniuses of our time. Miss his work.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Jul 20, 2016 21:40:40 GMT -5
Anal scale is single, not double. It can climb on its stick, hide in the bedding, wrap around its log, it has it all. when I put a really good hiding thing in with them, they stuffed it full of bedding and ignored it. I can not prove that it has ever eaten. It and the gopher really like each other. They sleep in a ball together. Need tail pic to see gender.
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Mark K
Cave Dweller
Member since April 2012
Posts: 2,620
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Post by Mark K on Jul 20, 2016 22:10:21 GMT -5
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Post by rockpickerforever on Jul 21, 2016 10:25:20 GMT -5
One of the most observant geniuses of our time. Miss his work. So do I! I did not know him personally, but did know some of the people he based his (reptile people) characters on.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Jul 21, 2016 12:28:52 GMT -5
Mark KYou have a female snake. Hold here in two hands and allow her back half to run thru loose fingers. I'll bet you feel 4-12 bumps in her back half. Those are eggs. Give her a plastic tub of damp soil (or shavings). She should lay 7-10 days after the shed day. She won't eat until eggs are laid.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Jul 21, 2016 12:33:00 GMT -5
One of the most observant geniuses of our time. Miss his work. So do I! I did not know him personally, but did know some of the people he based his (reptile people) characters on. Ernie Wagner is close friends with the reclusive Larsen. He got Gary to be keynote speaker at an IHS conference. Worst speaker ever. Gave us 6 minutes and bolted out the door. Very disappointed. Soon after that Larsen retired. Ernie said the career required too much public speaking and he hated being in large groups of people. So when he had enough money he quit.
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Post by rockpickerforever on Jul 21, 2016 12:43:37 GMT -5
You have a female snake. Hold here in two hands and allow her back half to run thru loose fingers. I'll bet you feel 4-12 bumps in her back half. Those are eggs. Give her a plastic tub of damp soil (or shavings). She should lay 7-10 days after the shed day. Based on the (sucky) photos, I was going to say the same! My educated eye (having seen many gravid snakes) can actually make out the shape of three eggs towards the tail. She has good reason not to be eating. Finding a gravid female Cal King is what got us started down the road to breeding reptiles.
Back in the day, we had a trio of large red tail boas,. Built a nice enclosure for them and fed them RABBITS for three or four years. When they never produced young, we decided to get rid of them. Hauled them (along with all the other stuff we had) to a reptile show in Mesa, AZ. At the very last minute before the show closed, a woman wanted to buy the male and one of the females. She was an exotic dancer, and wanted to add them to her stable of props. She called us a couple months later to say the female had stopped eating, then shortly after, called again to tell us that the snake had had babies. Urrgghhhh.... Pissed? Now why we would be pissed? Lol.
Mark, besides providing a place for her to lay, it wouldn't be a bad idea to remove the male from the cage. Can't say for certain if he would eat the eggs, but it has been known to happen.
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Post by Peruano on Jul 21, 2016 12:43:38 GMT -5
Give the snake a hide box. The reason the two snakes bunch together is they are seeking contact with something besides the floor of the cage. Strikes that don't result in a grab may be defensive and not inadequate feeding attempts. Offer dead food until you get feeding success. Cut a shoe box with a small hole, and I guarantee the snake (s) will disappear inside. I leave it to Scot to diagnose gravid conditions and sex from photos like those offered.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Jul 21, 2016 15:08:30 GMT -5
Give the snake a hide box. The reason the two snakes bunch together is they are seeking contact with something besides the floor of the cage. Strikes that don't result in a grab may be defensive and not inadequate feeding attempts. Offer dead food until you get feeding success. Cut a shoe box with a small hole, and I guarantee the snake (s) will disappear inside. I leave it to Scot to diagnose gravid conditions and sex from photos like those offered. Thanks Tom! I had knowledge she was field collected this season. Just needed to see tail for gender. Tail is obviously female, all this plus not eating during the short eating season is all I needed. Congrats Mark. The hide should be damp not wet. Like damp soil a shovels depth underground. Then put them on top of fridge for 2-3 months
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Mark K
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Member since April 2012
Posts: 2,620
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Post by Mark K on Jul 21, 2016 15:42:43 GMT -5
OK.
We will go with pregnant.
However, maybe I should point out that as far as I know, she has never eaten since I got her.
I have offered 6 mice since I got her and I know for sure that the gopher ate 5 of them. I assume she ate the 6th one too.
I think the gopher is a female too as she has a single anal scale too.
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Mark K
Cave Dweller
Member since April 2012
Posts: 2,620
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Post by Mark K on Jul 21, 2016 15:50:01 GMT -5
I just let he slide through my hands and I can feel nothing in her belly. It feels empty all of the way down.
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Post by captbob on Jul 21, 2016 15:53:16 GMT -5
I see nothing in those photos to assume that she is pregnant.
I would separate them for feeding - ALWAYS. And try a dead mouse if the live one doesn't work. If you can get a few pinkies, that may work too as they don't run or fight.
Don't like the substrate on the floor of the tank either, I'd go with newspaper or towels you aren't really fond of anymore. Teeth can get caught in a towel while going for prey, but they usually don't have a problem with that.
If you don't think she has ever eaten since you caught her, maybe it's time to release her while she can still stock up on food.
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