elevatethis;804774; said:
Wrong. Consistency in your husbandry routine (for snakes at least) is by far one of the most important aspects of keeping them successfully. Snakes are programmed by nature to occupy a very specific niche...what you are doing is "anthromorphising" them, or, apply human characteristics and emotions to an animal that is physiologically incapable of experiencing those characteristics and emotions.
Thus why people do it ONCE a month. Many of the forum members choose to anthromorphize her pets, so why not address it as so? I could become all technical like you.
Beside a change in diet should only happen ONCE. Period. At the beginning of the thread, she continued to feed chicks to the snake -- she didn't know about it. If it expect a constant supply of "better-tasting" food, then it will not eat what it used to eat. If it was me, I would offer one different kind of rodent, and only one of them, every two or three months then it is back to the mice.
Sometimes when a herp stop eating, it is an indication of a suppliment is missing OR its instinct is telling it to look for something else.
Again, that's anthromorphising your animals. The #1 reason why snakes refuse food is because of some error on the part of the keeper...wrong temps, humidity, too much handling, placement of the cage, etc etc etc.
She tried several things, I am just throwing up some more ideas. Everyone else pretty much listed the things you listed, so why should I repeat them?
The problem with snakes is that if there is a problem -- there is a billion things that can go wrong. Let look at the potiental problems, and it is nto all of them, from most likely to least:
- Too much handling/improper handling
- Improper equipments
- Fasting for breeding season
- Feeding schedule is not consistant enough
- Hides are too big/too small (snakes like to be able to squeeze in with almsot no air space)
- Not enough hides are placed
- Overall temperature is too high/too low
- Overall humidity too high/too low
- A larger pool or waterbowl may be needed
- Need a temperature gradient throughout the vivarium -- both vertically and horizontally
- Need a humidity gradient throughout the vivarium
- Being handled too often
- It is fed too often (this is the weirdest thing about herps, some will just keep eating; others will fast if it is fed too much)
- Diet is too fatty
- It need a change in diet once in awhile (only as a treat ONCE, then it is back to the usual diet)
- Brain simulation is needed, so new environment is needed
Also studies in zoos show that stimulation of the mind in ANY animals bring about actually help their health. All you have to do is move a couple plants around -- that is enough for keeping a snake active or in anthromorphising term: "busy and curious." So it is the keeper's fault for not keeping the animal active.
Snakes don't do well in large enclosures not because of security...yes, you are right, it is about the hides being right that is important, but you are missing something- large enclosures are extremely difficult to heat and humidify properly...basically leaving vast areas in the cage that are either too cold, too warm, not humid enough, etc etc that causes ill effects to the snake therein.
Any professional snake keepers will tell you that the best way with keeping snakes is producing micro-environment. You let the snake choose the environment it want. Most of the sizes that snakes are being kept in are too small to do micro-environments. Thus you have to set it up right the first time. Yes they feel more secure in a smaller enclosure, but majority of the keepers out there don't even provide proper hides so they have to downsize their enclosures. Observe them in the wild, most hides are about the same size as the snake itself -- there is no room for air in those hides. The key is keeping minimum and maximum requirements in one or the other end of the vivarium. Let it choose what it is most comfortable with.
