122 days of anorexia-- any pro keepers in here?
We've had a rescued adult male normal corn of unknown lineage for 18 months, that was supposedly eating f/t hopper mice steadily in his last home. In that time, he's eaten 9 times, mostly adult mice and small rats, which are appropriate for his size if he was eating twice a month. In the last 122 days, he's refused everything we've offered, which wouldn't be so worrying except that he's actively *hiding* from it. The only options left to try are live mice and lizards, and good luck finding anoles in the Great Lakes in the middle of winter! But, we hesitate to try live because of the fear response when offered a feeder, again regardless of type. There's no way we can put a live feeder in with him and trust it not to injure him if we're not there to supervise, but he won't even attempt to feed with us present, whether he's in his own enclosure or a feeding bin (which we generally don't use because it distresses the animal so much of the time).
The implications when we were given this animal are that the former owner would take the snake out and frighten his fiancee with it, and considering he'd be under the influence of unnamed "substances" at the time, I've no doubt this animal has been flung into walls or shaken. He's moved from a 20 gal tank to a 29 gal. tank, and from that to a 28 qt sweater bin (about 18" x 12" x 4"). He's had a hot side as high as 90*F and a cold side as low as 75*. We even let him brumate at 60*F last winter hoping to "reset the system". We've treated for parasites and fecaes look normal. His sheds are all normal. Puzzlingly, his weight is steady through all this.
How does one rehab an animal that does nothing but cower in fear from food?
When is it time to euthanize due to suffering?
The implications when we were given this animal are that the former owner would take the snake out and frighten his fiancee with it, and considering he'd be under the influence of unnamed "substances" at the time, I've no doubt this animal has been flung into walls or shaken. He's moved from a 20 gal tank to a 29 gal. tank, and from that to a 28 qt sweater bin (about 18" x 12" x 4"). He's had a hot side as high as 90*F and a cold side as low as 75*. We even let him brumate at 60*F last winter hoping to "reset the system". We've treated for parasites and fecaes look normal. His sheds are all normal. Puzzlingly, his weight is steady through all this.
How does one rehab an animal that does nothing but cower in fear from food?
When is it time to euthanize due to suffering?