New carpet, new advice

[Halfhand]

Warning, this is probably going to be an overly long post. Skip to the end for advice on feeding.:)

I have new albino carpet python. I was told it was a Darwin/Coastal mix about one year old and 16 inches long. Sounded a little short to me. When I got him he turned out to be 5 feet long. The previous owner told me he was eating one large adult mouse each week. The poor guy is super skinny. I have a 2 year old Colombian Rainbow and she is about 4' and twice his girth. She is amazing, never nipped or hissed, will eat anything, and a snake I let kids hold without hesitation. I could write a entire post on my love for her, but that's not the point. She eats small rats so I decided to give him a go on those since I had plenty. More about him: he was previously in a bin with what looks like a small lava rock as his water bowl. His scales are worn from the rock. As soon as I put him in his new home he rushed into the large water bowl to bath. Poor thing was probably dehydrated. Now I'm treating him as my rescue that I want nurse back to a good weight.

The pic his previous owner sent me.
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/YzSoOCHRSTppgjCY24OtSFxHZvZCgXHo2GSxCiC5skvLjMaYDR wn0YIT0JDqnYBL7aQsmc4PbJ0s1TufVryn-uX8zvE-1txEj3iFu1lf3JZRw7cXecHLOnS1yfO3Jtr-oQaXrsfU5y4td-079GzNzQFaJmECTopbMB_WTwf_9PBH1ouwnJ3Rd2dJIboulPhH ieudEeFHqcMopItPVoxX4Tpqgi1uHuN3-C_wUp29xW4j8kbcPeleMxyaXqAZR-2DNQQj153H33a2vEDnZYLb1ecpp_Q5W1e0BtQnBUNPDYjP-bcnq4lc7NNREK7qW2Pa47rwWvFvPM2YBgAOjayotADG0dKnpNx Z48aKxvmZixskMr90qJGEoFcICqYVf6gdj7Kcju0s4CKzoxkBO dw9ITBMh4hcppDwITY83Nx3B99R6gDH9FQCE1Hmw6jCPxIUpTh TqDdOgnPNDbHXBBsni6bTuQB1tXw2ODsEeGZbHC1U4rKepub6F pnTSvL0MjexNkCwarWxpfz0y7lj7mw9ABHMu0HjiY2v8PJhqoV Wv64Wfd7JMi7noJh-tUFFtEaM6rVeZegAEFK21DfMYSdxty6CUZHIreG279Ii5Dphtw =w1224-h918-no

I had him for two days and it was her normal feeding time. So I decided to see if he would eat a small rat. He was a little reluctant at first. He sniffed but didn't go in for the feed. I turned out all the lights and came back about 15 minutes later. He was eating the rat. GREAT or so I thought. I was worried about switching him over from mice. I wanted him to gain a little weight.

One week later I decided to try again. This time he wouldn't eat it. He just hissed at it. I left it in over night and nothing. I had handled him a couple times during that week. He seemed super docile and did well. So I thought maybe I had just gone too fast and he needed more time to settle. He moves around his setup. I have a tall terrarium. He mostly stays at the top near the light during the day, and at night he mostly stays in his warm hide. The warm spots are around 87 and the ambient is around 81. He has pooped and peed for me.

So I bought a bag of large mice to try on the third week. I hadn't handled him in two weeks except to clean out the poo/pee mess. This time I thawed a rat and mouse together. I offered the rat first and he took it greedily. I gave him the mouse after. I thought I had figured out his dilemma. Maybe he was just starving when I got him but he preferred mice.

So the week after that I tired thawing both together and just offering the rat. This time he hissed and tried to strike it like he was afraid of it. So I put both the rat and mouse in and left over night. He wouldn't eat either. Another week goes by and I try just a rat thinking maybe he is hungry enough now. Nope. He actually hissed and lunged at me wanting nothing to do with the rat.

What to do? Do I stop with the mice since I know he has taken rats twice from me? Do I just wait it out and only offer him food every 3 weeks since I know that's how long it has been between him accepting meals from me? I just worry because he seems so slim. I think he should be eating medium rats.

His new setup.
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/K325pu_cPIj5aDk6s3aPL2NMUOUj700V6qp_xrrArvWavBVpU2 eYCgxOC8QS9x0YX79cPcWiKHqZw6pPAEfMgrH68D0QCRSiLCPq YqzWZdE-T0CuV6DejKd1Q07J8f7bpvGgvG20IwrDtDLG04Yesi8PtKGHeo 3XxSkNT3JEVwiGJ1juAGbbcQpuT1WbNX6inNY7Oo9T8g0OY_QL B1Pv1u_jurZ79fQU1VXC6jj2tbHNckJPLdZyAPqJODGtIhFYqs HCed4JcVstwE_OWas6MujCCVgKKU6PeNqHNE2xDyvUErmbdKNj cSh5YPXx1YVnqkCdomUzhPIgaPsKut84cOAH58wsseqq-6rOiQ_taCN1IYErkprXrMPW9rLJSOsfTfZYQzd3n8PJ3KsvZ-ubm-V6a7AA-4YoX-kKf-964PiIxt7uob4y0_EBK0unn3we5v0xVTBiflxbTbvigETBGm3q m6n9wVEWNdukgs-yKNxeltBwYrtYDaBuOBikF6qyb9mlQ73xqjlrzdfxmjR2v_ivd y5kM-dDyCTg2hFf6Yhc-rNr_lIQlCGUnrGnigWN7aGCBAM6HJAUCuqhNmhWnOgNVfiNUHO R2igN_XnZuQ=w689-h918-no

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/kfFqtfahyQ2L1ypfYq1hG8xuAMtiSpVksI2-fZLSfVUS-AI_C3-vUkIraUoWZ5gY-BL3t0woPKUyAJdPulBw99luUNjk6MF5vEx5S7An-CAaTs9ZcEG3pFKCzk6xEaZb6oqy2fvYVW8HocSHpChgNBzwLry WZYTY3UQygqB_J5W866fRfZ4gloTTOrWE92q48Jm_w4nSp3Icr FCtB4p-ZOols0Uojo91pW9zh-WC2ARM3LYa79YDZ5BFrSAW88_kqGpZzJNxpP8OfekxFDC_HjFn z6RIhq8m5i-xB7vjnEK4xd3jbyJcPUouoNVzQFGNkQVWRalDSxxXH35Fv4oz1 OvDxU-z_myDlLvwKC6N8GmjU0TuOcSjDzppt4K4Bodg1dW2c_qrvPdWW xgx42C-RDSW6_yKdxRIJc8Ez4SuZu4F0qTHbcues2xCaYTIWoymC0RJc1 Vg5MbxgJwuGi1UWPtN-bcpBYisxzLJjtl8z7K-rmBkjWE2a3Y4duKi-LhTjqRgds7bcWG7Bz7VJ9Dk664Slr0BaE6iD1q9QOMZyUmB5Qv sTNCLoMHUx4XfcsXxTad78nLD2f4mIi0JnsZkMoXvDvYPPLFdk uoY1jXwUA=w689-h918-no

If you look close in this pic you can see the lava rock damage to his scales. They were so dry.
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/GUDZmIqgaf8NdpROkv1TeATegdB23qTq7eYubW6FssDLLPNQMU Wkri4OTrUrwzceAh3pYM6suC9SWRZSCp74myH9nrs-oS3WDbFcr3RRo4F-MZ2iXM7FZeDSsYss5YTDfTbj9dsQ4MGZA20dPu7n_DQC6sz4Rq 3PWKf6KrHGDlC3x-NfYehO_38GuaGt4xt9XcXyWVI-QgqekfSm_g9IiiBpN4gAse_PcBbJ-fqTqDEVAk7iEJcD1l491jHdqFxxGYx6eT9li0U2kUt_RuxAClt uo_X0dqWDPsgiAup0NTTQkgxABT4hzYJFFrnpydcSU3D92nQSg mSGNUomRSBjxrroyLPDAbwkvbF8ZLmIWu7GuRvhT1namqvwXsj tOGyNlB2dXMZqUf4LE-huK_uhHAhKCXuVltRGfYQtkwphfQgZEX4M3oLPosnVifwZVV8G WF9Ra7-i7H-8f2dA2r1ug2hbTrQiWRVSTYTHXuAIbY4VgnRQXWAdTjEpI7gBW EVqprgdi6UgHukSH2HNYi1aKzuVSjwCjx9C6BtqUiT3UUHS18D 6VAt_f6ivbT5xpp09F9PT2RIvTyWBycGel-AVZFnQjr4rSbGX2vmhxMFntg=w698-h918-no

[EL Ziggy]

You'll need 5 posts before you can post pics. I'd love to see your carpet and setup. Your temps sound good. I think you answered your own questions too :). I agree with sticking with rats until your snake has a strong imprint on them. After that I have no issues with offering different prey items. I also agree with scaling back the feeding frequency to every 2-3 weeks until he's more consistent. I have an albino carpet that's kinda finicky too. She's hit or miss with rats and mice but destroys chicks every time. Now she only gets a chick if she eats a rat 2-3 times consecutively.

[Halfhand]

That was my thought process. Just stick to rats since I know he will eat them if he is hungry enough. I know he's a little thin but I don't see ribs so he's not starving to death. I'll probably just try to offer a rat every 3 weeks.

He's my first carpet and so far I like him except the finicky eating. My CRB is such a hunger monster it's different having one refuse food. She'll eat everything and anything that comes her way. I think she is starting to get a little chunky so I need to cut back her feeding schedule. I was used to feeding her mice every week. When I switched to rats I keep the every week schedule.

I had read that most carpets will readily eat chicks but I wasn't ready to go that route yet. I know many people have said to rub chick fuzz on rats. I ordered the mice special to just try to get him to eat. Now I'm kinda wishing I hadn't. It will be months before I need food again. I might try a chick pack with that order. At least I know my girl will eat the mice.

He is so inquisitive. He likes to watch me while I'm on the computer. His setup is right next time to my desk. He'll come over and just stare as I'm typing.