I have a royal python that's been off his food, he's on

Hello there,

Welcome to Just Answer. We are an online advice service. You are through to Dr Coles. I am a UK based vet. I am sorry to hear you are having problems with your snake.

Also, please note that we experts are not employees of Just Answer, but independent here. As such, we are not aware of when you posted your question and I apologize if there has been a delay. I will get back to you as soon as I can, there can be a delay (especially with time difference) however I will respond to you. Can you tell me a little more about what is going on?

I would say its pretty unlikely that losing a penile spur would cause innapetance. It can be normal for snakes not to eat for a duration of time, but sometimes it can be a sign of underlying illness. Does he seem lethargic or unwell at all? Has he got any symptoms such as respiratory effort, nasal discharge etc?

There are lots of different things which can be causing inappetance. It can be quite normal for royal pythons not to eat for a while. They are quite fussy. I would recommend bathing him once every two days in shallow luke warm water, with the addition of an electrolyte like reptoboost. this will help keep him hydrated. You can also try a smaller prey size, e.g pinkies/fuzzies, as sometimes this helps.

Other things that you can try include 'braining' the food items (mushing them up) as this increases the scent that is produced. You can also heat up the food item if you don't do this already, to body temperature. I would recommend trying to give him the prey item overnight in a pillow case and closing him in with it, that can help.