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Recently Gravid Crotalus Horridus Horridus
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by tenneseejed on November 22, 2004
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I have a female timber who in late august had babies and hasnt eaten since, Now her eyes are foggin over so now she is going into a shed,its been since late july early august since she has eaten and im startin to get worried.Any suggestions or tips to how i should handle this?Thanks for the help jed
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RE: Recently Gravid Crotalus Horridus Horridus
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by timberrattlesnake89 on November 22, 2004
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How is the tempeture in the cage? Is it wild caught or captive bred? If it is wild caught it just might be senseing the drop in tempature and mabye want to go in hibernation. I have this same problem with a lot of my snakes because my basement has gone from 80-90 to 65-70 in the last month. I have seen this problem with gravid copperheads too. They would just stop eating for a very long time. If it is about to shed it shows that it is still growing. And as long as that is happening there is not much too worrie about. I have seen a pine snake eat one mouse every six months and live for years. One thing about snakes is that even if you have tempatures high cages they still can sense that it is cooling outside. I would not worry yet.
Phillip
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RE: Recently Gravid Crotalus Horridus Horridus
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Anonymous post on November 23, 2004
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I wouldn't worry about the snake too much. You have a couple of options. If you wish to brumate the specimen, I would do so after she sheds. Many temperate climate species observe their biological calendar without regard for their captive settings, ceasing feeding perhaps entirely during the winter months. In order to safely brumate your reptile, you will need to be sure that her intestines are emptied of all contents before the sleep. As their metabolisms slow, any contents left in the intestine begin to putrify. This is toxic to the animal. Make sure she has clean fresh water, put the entire enclosure in a dark cool area and begin to lower your temps gradually 50-55F. Don't brumate her if she doesn't have sufficient bodyweight. If her weight appears to decrease drastically, bring her up. During brumation she will live off excess nutrients stored in fat.
If you do not intend to brumate her, make sure her husbandry needs are met, and offer something after she sheds. You may wish to offer the item at night. Sometimes when I have a specimen reluctant to feed, I cover the front of the viewing window. It's also important to remember that some sort of hide box should be considered a required element of husbandry.
Just a few thoughts of my own. This isn't uncommon. She may still not eat in spite of your efforts during the winter, so try not to worry.
-The Phantom
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RE: Recently Gravid Crotalus Horridus Horridus
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by bush_viper17 on November 23, 2004
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What are you feeding her? Try feeding different things. I would try warm blooded prey. Ive had alot of timbers that wouldnt eat but I usually let them go if they dont eat after a week. And I only keep one or two at a time if I take them from the wild, but sooner or later it should start eating. I would keep the ambient tempuature at least 70, and the basking temp about 80-85F.
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