Female Aru not eating... help?

I have an adult female Aru GTP that I bought at the beginning of August, and she just will not eat. I've tried f/t, and live mice and rat pups. I tried dipping f/t in chicken broth, and all she does is hide her head in her coils when I present it to her. She's still very robust and healthy looking. She has been dewormed and seems happy in her enclosure. I was told she is a LTC, but can't say for sure. She's in excellent condition! She even shed once without issues. Age is unknown. She's about 4.5' long. I don't have anything to weigh her with at the moment. Any ideas here?

---Dan

What kind of cage do you have her in?Have you handled her lately?What are her temps?Whats the humidity % in her cage.When was the last time she was checked for bugs?You may want to get her checked again.Those bugs are so pesky they come back.Did you make sure the f/t rodent was completely dry when you offered it to her?How often do you try to feed her? If you try to often it would cause a quite a bit of stress.At 4 1/2 feet long you may want to try bigger meals.I have a 3' biak thats eating small rats and they hardly leave a lump.Well let me know and I can try to help you a little more.

"Long Term Captive" can mean different things to different people. For importers/brokers it can mean two months, for hobbyists it can mean two years. Was she alleged to have been feeding before you got her? If so, on what?

Without more details, I would check temps and make sure that she has a proper gradient. Also, move her to a very quiet place where there is no traffic to stress her out. Do not handle her and only open the cage for maintenance. Let her acclimate to that location for at least a week before offering her a thawed prey item. Nothing too huge, but big enough that it looks like food to her. Tease her with it on the end of the tongs. If she does not take it, leave it on the bottom of the cage, turn the lights out, and leave her alone. It may well be gone by morning. If not, wait a week between offerings.

In terms of de-worming, what did you use? I know that it's hard to get a fecal if she isn't eating, but there is sometimes small amounts of feces in shed skins so you might try that next time she sheds.

DanRC30 said:

and all she does is hide her head in her coils when I present it to her. ---Dan

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Are you right there to watch her eat? Have you tried just leaving it in the enclosure over night to see if maybe she will eat when all is quiet and dark? Have you tried a chick? I know some will preach against it, but even a chick as food is better than no food at all. Most arboreal boids that I have encountered will take chicks quick. Like icing on the cake.

Also agree with Cody, a larger meal would go farther, and sounds like it may be more appropriate for the snakes size.

Ciao,
Rick

Ok, I'm going to try to answer all of these questions...

I have her in a cage I built that has a timed fluorescent light, and radiant heat panel off to one side that's controlled by a helix thermostat with night temp drop. Temp is 87 at daytime and 83 at night. I don't have a humidity gauge in there yet, but I will have that in about a week. I tried misting the cage every few days but that didn't seem to spark her interest either. I've left a live mouse in there overnight, and last night I did the same with a rat pup. The pup is still there this morning and so was the mouse last time. I've left her alone for weeks at a time and tried to feed her, and I've handled her to wake her and and tried to feed her; neither worked. I've offered the f/t mouse and or rat pup wet and dry. I've tried leaving it for her and even bopping her in the nose with it. There is no aggression out of her whatsoever. The only time she was aggressive was when she was shedding. I stuck my hand in to touch her and she nailed me. That was the only time she did that, so I tried to feed her then and still nothing! I forgot to ask the seller what she was eating and on what schedule because she was in such awesome condition, I didn't even consider there would be a problem. There was not a scratch on her. No mites, or bugs either. She's as clean as a whistle. I gave her the correct doseages of panacure and flagil in case of any worms or parasites.

I have 3 other gtp's in the same exact cage setup with the same temp and humidity settings and all they want to do is eat!

So, what could this be? She's still not getting skinny and she looks very healthy. If she starts looking too skinny, I'll have to force feed her a mouse, but I really don't want to do that.

Any ideas???

How long has she gone since her last meal?

Is it possible that she is gravid? How long ago was that shed? It may have been a pre-lay shed. Just a thought.

She has not eaten since I've had her. She is not showing signs of being gravid as it's been 9 weeks since I bought her and she's not any fatter. She shed about 3 weeks ago.

Have you had a vet or someone experienced in probing probe her themselves in front of you,just to make sure its a female.Maybe your aru is a male?

I probed her myself when I bought her. Definitely a female.

Have you tried to upset her with the rodent to get her to eat. With babies it can take 15 minutes worth of bumping their nose and running them all over their cage to get them to eat. Just a thought.

Yes, I was bopping her in the nose with the food for over 10 minutes and all she did was try to flee. I chased her all around the tank with the f/t mouse but she wouldn't even hiss at me. No aggression whatsoever.

I tried taking her outside in the sun and feeding her.

I tried feeding her in the dark.

All she does is turn away and not want to eat.

It makes no sense... My avatar is a pic of her. She's gorgeous and I don't want to lose her. I need to do something, but what?!?!? Anyone have any other ideas?

Junkyard said:

Have you tried to upset her with the rodent to get her to eat. With babies it can take 15 minutes worth of bumping their nose and running them all over their cage to get them to eat. Just a thought.

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This doesnt sound like a good idea.That can cause ALOT of stress on the animal.Stress of an arboreal snakes usually makes them not want to eat.

I dont know what it could be.It maybe be something internal.Maybe there is that slight chance she is gravid??

I highly doubt she's gravid. I would think that she would start showing signs by now if she was...

I think the next thing I'm going to do is put her in a container on a branch and then try to feed her in a week. I'll keep the container in her cage. Maybe the smaller space will make her feel more secure. Any thoughts?

Yeah it might work if she is in a smaller cage by herself.I say keep her in a dark place in the bathroom maybe.I suggest bathroom because of the humidity that is given off when you shower.

I've known WC animals that eat well from the get go and others that well it's not unusual for them to go months without eating. I've seen them go as long as 6 months before deciding to eat. If the set up is right just give her time, offer food every week or so. Good luck with her. Randy