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Screensize: 640 x 480 800 x 600 1024 x 768 1280 x 1024 UserName: Password: Format Mode: Basic  Help  Prompt  Format: Font Andale Mono Arial Arial Black Book Antiqua Century Gothic Comic Sans MS Courier New Georgia Impact Lucida Console Script MT Bold Stencil Tahoma Times New Roman Trebuchet MS Verdana   Size 1 2 3 4 5 6   Color Black Red Yellow Pink Green Orange Purple Blue Beige Brown Teal Navy Maroon LimeGreen Message: * HTML is OFF * Forum Code is ON Smilies [quote][i]Originally posted by MissCat[/i] [br]I bought a royal python in september, he was born in july 2008, he wasnt in the best of conditions when i recieved him, but he wasnt too bad, he was feeding on pinkies then, so that is what i kept him on, but he would not feed at all! i decided this was "settling in" nerves so left him to it, did not handle him and left him for a week, still did not eat. so over the course of a month i tried EVERYTHING and i mean EVERYTHINg to get him to feed, all to no avail! i ended up replacing his viv to see if that was the problem, and he did seem far more relaxed in the slightly larger one, but still did not eat, so went through it all again! to cut a long story short i have over the course of 6 months replaced his viv 4 times, and have finally found one he is comfortable in, he moves around and explores (even going up on the 3 separate levels the tank has) he decides the temperature, humidity and lighting gradients as it is big enough to vary it really well so he can decide, i also had (up until last week-more on that in a mo) a small hide in each area. AND he began to feed, however, even though i offered him various sized/species/temperature/maimed(!) food, still would only eat pinkies. the down side is that the viv is quite big. and he is having shedding problems also, he has not shed in one whole peice at all, only in little bits, almost constantly over the course of the last 3 months, to the point where his eye looked like it was crumpling up. i know i probably should have worried more a lot sooner, but this is my first snake, but this was the point where i really DID get very concerned, so i asked the reptiles expert at our local pet center for advice, he said nothing about the size viv i have, nor about his feeding habits so dont know if im going wrong there or not, but he did say to do the following: give him a bath in warm water and help wipe off the shedding skin (not peel or pick, just wipe) and to make certain that the skin was done around his eyes as he could lose his eye if any skin was retained.so this i did and he looked marginally better. the man also said to get a pot (margerine tub or similar) and fill it with sphagnum moss (previously well soaked in warm water then squeezed out) which i also did. Ra (my royal) refused to go in it until i removed ALL his other hides, at which point he caved in and went in it and there he has stayed- to the best of my knowledge he hasnt left it- for a week and his skin is looking MUCH MUCH better, though now he is looking "muted" in colour and his eyes are milky! :s bear in mind that aside from bathing him 9 days ago, i have not yet handled him at all due to his feeding and shedding problems, and the fact that he strike feeds IN his viv (so i am a little nervous LOL) i am still feeding him on furry pinkies which are slightly bigger, two at a time (the first he stikes at, the second i slip in while he's swallowing the first, i thought this would cause him to regurgitate at first, but he hasnt, and he is defecating fine- or in my opinion he is at least), 3 times a week. I may going to attempt to try a bigger food substance later this week (depending on any advice i may recieve here) another point is that the final viv i rested upon is an all glass one, with 3 shelves (that he does go on) and a top opening lid. the man from the reptile section was surprised that Ra seemed to prefer this to the beech front opening one i also tried Ra in (as the whole birds coming from above predator thing) i will post before and after the visit to the reptile man pictures just as soon as i can figure out how to so it LOL anyway, i know he is in a bad way and that is why i am posting this, for your advice, I recieved an email from a man today who was really angry with me, he had seen a picture of Ra, and also that he was still on pinkies/not being handled/ fed in viv/ shedding REALLY badly and he had quite a go at me, which didnt help. I have had A LOT, and i do mean A LOT of conflicting advice from the net, books, vets, forums and other people i know who keep royals and need some unanimous confimation that what i am doing is either right or wrong and what i can do to help Ra. the only advice the angry man today could give me was to feed Ra on bigger things (rats) and to give Ra to him. obviously what i need is constructive advice, not to be put down or insulted. thanks for reading this, please help me to help Ra. [/quote]   Check here to include your profile signature.