Oh frustration......

[daver676]

My bp (which has been fasting for about 2 1/2 months) is frustrating the hell out of me! I decided to try something different today. Usually she is fairly active in the evening, but in the last week, she hasn't been out much. I warmed up the food under the heat lamp as usual, then took it out of the bag and placed it on top of the screen under the heat lamp, in order to warm it up further. Well within about 5-10 seconds, she was bolting out of her hide and flicking like crazy! I grabbed the tongs and dangled the mouse. Immediatly she took the "S" pose, then.....NOTHING! She stopped flicking, and just froze. I spent about 15 minutes wiggling and dragging this mouse in front of her. The only thing that would get a reaction (besides ignorace) was moving the mouse quickly across in front of her. She would flick once towards the mouse and move a little bit in the direction it was going, but thats it.

So I was thinking that since she came out of her hide so quickly, the smell must be there. She moved a bit with the prey, so I think the movement is there. (when the prey was moved quickly). I'm still debating this point in my head because I'm wondering now if it wasn't the fast movement that may have just startled her into moving. So maybe the item wasn't warm enough? It was , I'd say, high warm, but not hot to the touch. Does anyone have any ideas on any of this? Suggestions? Thanks!

[marisa]

Personally, I doubt she will eat at all until she is good and ready. Is she a baby?

If she is not a baby, then why not just let her have her winter fast and save yourself the worry? My girl hasn't eaten good since late november and I expect her to keep this picky trend up until the daylight hours get longer and spring comes along.

Marisa

[mykee]

My suggestion is leave her alone. If she's not losing crazy weight, (I doubt any real weight loss in only a month and a half) then she'll eat when she wants. I've had a few off feed since October, I offer, they refuse, I move on. They'll eat when they're ready. Don't stress it.

[TheRedDragon]

I'm with Marisa and Mykee there. Until your BP starts drastically losing weight, I wouldn't push the issue too much, because you may end up stressing her more than is needed; which could result in more feeding problems. Have you tried leaving her and the prey in a feeding container, putting her in a dark closet/room and leaving her undisturbed? That really helps my shy little girl with her eating habits. :)

[Corey Woods]

Feed her live.

Corey

[elevation24]

I had the same problem with one of mine, but she was a baby and was beginning to lose weight, and so I fed her live. No problems anymore, she eats live everytime and goes for it damn near immediately. Never misses, either.

One other thing that has worked for me is tossing the prey directly into the hot water for a minute after it's finished thawing. It'll be wet and dripping and yucky but some of them seem to like it.

But I'm willing to bet she'll jump right at that live prey. It's worth a shot, and if I remember correctly and if you are talking about the same little female she is really underweight, right? Sometimes it's all you can do.

[sapphire_moon]

My little female (about 2.5 feet long) hasn't ate since november 2003. I even tried a live rat pup last night....no go, she did the whoe "S" strike postion flick of her tongue, then crawled right over it....

so I gave it back to it's mother. The mother rat went crazy, (I gave it back to her in tongs, she would have ripped the crap outta me otherwise) and she took it and shoved it back under her belly like saying "it's mine, go away!"

[daver676]

Originally posted by elevation24


But I'm willing to bet she'll jump right at that live prey. It's worth a shot, and if I remember correctly and if you are talking about the same little female she is really underweight, right? Sometimes it's all you can do.

Yes, she is really underweight. 7-8 months old. 160 grams. I think I'll try live this weekend. I've tried everthing else. Lol.

What really kills me is that she has taken f/t before, which is why I've been shying away from live. I have yet to try chicken broth. If that doesn't work, I'll try live.

[sapphire_moon]

chicken broth that is water based is supposed to be better, braining, have you tried frozen, thawed, frozen then thawed and offer? some snakes like that really dead smell.......(although it may not be best for the snake?)

[AshleyL]

my yearling did the same thing! She would prowl around and go into the 's' and just sorta hold it, without striking, i rewarmed the rat under the heat lamp and left it in front of her hide (mainly because I was tired of dangling it in front of here time and time again) lo and behold, she ate it! that might be worth a shot!

[Linds]

Originally posted by sapphire_moon
chicken broth that is water based is supposed to be better

All broth is waterbased...

[elevation24]

Originally posted by daver676
Yes, she is really underweight. 7-8 months old. 160 grams. I think I'll try live this weekend. I've tried everthing else. Lol.

What really kills me is that she has taken f/t before, which is why I've been shying away from live. I have yet to try chicken broth. If that doesn't work, I'll try live.

Mine ate one thawed mouse the first time I offered and then refused everytime after that for about 8 weeks, so I gave her live after noticing weight loss and now she is doing fine, gaining weight well. Last feeding she took 2 mice - 27g and 30g :) She was hiding away for a good 4 days after that.

[tHeGiNo]

Wow! That snake is definitely underweight! I would definitely try live prey. It won't kill the snake, and you can always work your way back to f/t. The most important thing is that the snake is eating and healthy. Just remember to take the necessary precautions when feeding live and you will not have any problems.

[tHeGiNo]

Also, remember to give your snake time inbetween feeding attempts. Do not go back to back or you will not get anywhere.

[dave68]

my never fail bp feeding trick is an appropriate sized pre killed gerbil my male won't eat a thing all winter and in the spring he always starts on gerbils then back to rats the next week

[mykee]

Gerbils are not a good idea. Many balls, if fed gerbils, will not switch to any other food item and you may be stuck finding gerbils for the rest of that snakes natural life.

[dave68]

i still say better a pre killed gerbil than force feed

[daver676]

Well she took a live mouse tonight, within about 2 seconds of it coming near her. I'll keep her on these until she fattens up a bit. Thanks for the advice everyone.

[jathoma]

get her on rats quick and you'll see how she really fattens up...

[sapphire_moon]

ya, rat pups are about the same size. You can always try alot of things before you feed gerbils, and the only time you resort to force feeding is if the snake is massively underweight.

[daver676]

Yes, rats are good, but I'm going to stick with what she'll eat for a while before I try switching her again.

[elevation24]

Glad to hear she is eating! Plump her up and get her healthy, then work on the rest :)

[daver676]

Originally posted by elevation24
Glad to hear she is eating! Plump her up and get her healthy, then work on the rest :)

Yes. I have learned my lesson. o>

[marisa]

Since she is now taking live, I honestly don't think it will take you long to "reswitch" her over to FT.
:D

Glad she is eating again!
Marisa