My burm hates rats...

[afsgr88]

Hey guys!

So, my burm doesn't accept rats... He had 3 feeding days with me:

On day one, I gave him a mouse because that's what he was being fed by the breeder. He took it, no hesitation. On the second feed, I tried a rat. He wasn't interested, so I opened the rat's head and tried again. No strike. I left it there, came back after 10min and he was eating the rat. Today he shed in one piece (very happy about that :D ) and as soon as it was night he was out to hunt. I took out a rat, offered...no interest. Opened the rat's head, nothing. Scented the rat with a mouse, he striked and constricted, but dropped it after 5 min. Tried again, no reaction, just smelling. As soon as I offered the mouse, bam! No hesitation.

Where do I go from here? He will outgrow mice in a blink of an eye... What tricks can I use to put him on rats permanently (until he is grown enough to eat rabbits)?

Thanks! I really want this rat thing to work out. It's extremely frustrating -.-'

[EL Ziggy]

It is frustrating when they don't eat what's offered but sometimes they just need a little tough love. I'll offer scented or live prey but beyond that it's up to them to eat imo. I keep offering food every 7-14 days until they start eating. I haven't had one snake starve itself yet. Some are more stubborn the others but the hunger always wins in the end. Best wishes with your burm.

[afsgr88]

So you mean that next time, if he refuses the rat, I shouldn't offer anything else? Makes sense, I guess. I am not very comfortable offering live prey, so I will keep that as a last resort.