My little (though he should be like 6'+ by now) albino Burm has now refused food for 3 1/2 months straight. He's loosing weight by the day it seems.. he's not doing well. His spine is showing.. his skin is loose.
I've had issues with this guy since I bought him. He's always been a picky eater, and he's never eaten very often. Sometimes I would offer him a rat, and he would refuse to eat it. Or he'd constrict it, then leave it sit forever until I'd take it away. But then I'd offer him a mouse or two, and those he would eat. Next time it would be the opposite.. he'd refuse mice and only eat rats. Sometimes he'll go 3, 4, 5 weeks between meals. For no reason, that I can see anyway.
He's been to the vet a few times. He's had a blood test and an x-ray. I've had his fecals tested a few times as well. He's always been deemed healthy.. his stools always parasite free.
I've tried everything in the book... fresh killed rodents, different rodents (newborn bunnies, gerbils, hampsters) different rodent sources, feeding at night, feeding during the day, any time in between. Feeding outside of the cage, feeding in a hide box inside of the cage. I've changed his cage around, I've changed his temps. His humidity. I've tried glass tanks and rubbermaids. I always have changed things slightly and gradually, so as not to cause any stress.
He's always been friendly. Never aggressive, never shows any signs of stress. He's always had a feeding response (comes flying out of his hide as soon as he sees or feels something move in or around his cage), but he rarely acts on it. He all too often loses interest right away... or he constricts but does not eat. I've left the rat/mouse in with him overnight... I've taken it away right away and tried again the next day... everything. Everything I can think of.
And now he hasn't eaten for a LOOOONG time, and I'm afraid he's going to die. He's not looking good. He's too small (3' maybe, and 2 months shy of 1 yr old!!!) to go this long without food.
I'm going to have a friend of mine force-feed him a pinky rat tomorrow. This guy knows what he's doing.. he's had to force-feed many difficult snakes. The force-feeding will continue until he eats on his own. If he doesn't eat on his own, he may have to be put down before starvation starts to cause him a lot of pain and suffering. :(
A local Burm and boa breeder has an opinion on this. He believes it's something neurological. Like his instincts are not wired properly.. he's not eating, he's not surviving. He doesn't feel hunger. This guy has seen this before with 4 or 5 of his offspring over the years.. at least 3 of them were albinos that he can remember.
So I contacted the Baldogos (big retic breeders.. they were big into burms in the past).. and they said the same thing. It happens, though it's rare.. the pythons just don't eat. It happened to an ALBINO retic they recently sold.. it slowly stopped eating, the owner tried everything.. but it ended up dying.
This sucks. Sorry for the loooong post - I don't think anyone can really help.. except maybe God.. and he knows I've tried everything - but I just had to vent.
:crying:
