Hi everyone. My adult male rhino rat snake doesn’t seem to want to eat after brumation. I have read reports that they will not eat until late June or July (after breeding season), but there doesn’t seem to be a lot of information on this compared to other species. The enclosure is 4x2x2 and PVC. I keep it bioactive with temps running from 70-82, and humidity is 50-80% depending on the time of day. I have tried feeding the guy his normal sized mouse, pinky mice, and extra small quail. He shows zero interest in items that I present using tongs. If I leave an item in the cage he will smell them, but, again, he doesn’t eat anything. I was going to try scenting with tuna juice, as I saw that as a recommendation, but I would sincerely love any other advice from keepers.
I have no experience with rhino rats but I am going if your guy has been eating live or ft?
he has exclusively fed on f/t mice.
You might try live to get the feeding response going again……
I don’t have any experience with this species, but there are many species in which males (and some females) commonly go on feeding strike during the breeding season. It’s stressful for keepers, but it’s normal for them.
How is his body condition? What is happening with his weight? Has his behavior changed?
With most species on normal breeding season feeding strike, they maintain body condition and weight stays pretty stable.
If your husbandry is on point (again, I don’t work with these), his condition is good, and this is just about breeding season, there’s no reason to worry. If there are no females around for him to scent, he may resume feeding sooner. Feeding tricks have no effect because his “hunger switch” is flipped completely off physiologically. It’s not that he wants something different, he wants nothing. And that’s normal. Unless an animal is losing condition, there’s no cause for worry. It’s fine to offer his regular food or a somewhat smaller meal weekly but more often is simply going to stress him out and possibly prolong his time off food.
Gonna tag my favorite keeper of so many exotic species, @t_h_wyman.
he has lost a small amount of weight (>5%), but his personality and activity seem normal; he is always on the move and interested in what i am doing. i see no decline aside from the slight weight loss. this is why i am hoping that it is normal for his species during mating season, but the in-depth care guides for his kind are few and far between. he is almost 3 years old, so this is his first of-age breeding season and i have not experienced this issue in the last 2 years.
Ahhh, the wonders of puberty! Three years old seems to be an age when most male rat snakes are first compelled to seek love rather than sustenance.
It sounds to me like you have a normal adult male colubrid. I do remember how alarming it felt to me when the first male I raised did this. We’re so accustomed to feeding other kinds of animals according to their very different needs. For most creatures, going off food indicates problems so it feels worrisome. For so many snakes, it’s how they’re designed.
As long as his behavior is normal, unless he loses over 10% off his weight, try not to worry. The earth keeps moving around the sun, and your snake will discover his hunger again. Meanwhile, if you want to offer his favorite thing weekly that’s all right. I hope you can get specific advice from someone who keeps rhino rat snakes, but this is typical for most colubrids.
Actually @brianlovessloths Brian, this is typical for most snakes. In the wild a lot of times it’s feast or famine. When my Central American male boa became of age and went on his first food strike I became a stressed out parent. My reptile vet suggested that if I could not stand watching by boy refuse his food I could try to entice him by offering him something yummy and semi hairless like a live (he was eating ft) rat fuzzy to maybe peek his interest. Same advice for my ball python males. That’s why I suggested trying a live something in my previous post.
At the end of the day and in general, if you know the snake is healthy, being kept in the right environment/husbandry, and has reached the age of puberty, it’s normal for said snake to refuse food. If I were you I would offer your rowdy rhino a smaller meal every few weeks unless you decide to go the live route.
I firmly believe he will be fine and eventually start eating again, on his own terms. I have 33? snakes I think? now and I have never lost a snake due to it refusing to eat during my many years of keeping.
thank you, everyone, for the input. i sincerely appreciate the advice. it definitely gives a bit of reassurance, so i will keep offering food and monitoring him.
Keep us updated and you are welcome Brian! And I love sloths too btw! 
Me too. They’ve got such absurdly ridiculous faces. The babies look fake.