New Rock...Feeding

[Rodan]

Picked up a young female Rock Python about 2 weeks ago, and having a slight issue with her. so far, since I've gotten her, she's failed to eat, and I know P. sebae are normally strong feeders, but, it hasnt been long yet, so I'm not actually worried, but, trying to make sure I have as many ideas in order just in case it turns into a prolonged thing. I tried live once, and she did show some interest in it, striking 4 times, landing the strike twice, but failed to pull the mouse in and constrict it. I think she completely lost interest that time, when the mouse decide to fight back, and took a couple bites at her, taking off a small piece of skin near her tail. Any suggestions, for if I do end up having prolonged problems?

[chas*e]

First off, I would switch right to F/T and stay away from the live stuff. Secondly...If its only been two weeks she most likely still acclimatizing to her new enclosure, Make sure you have adequate hides and proper temps and i have no doubt she'll start eating, Sometimes you can entice them into a F/T meal by "Dancing" the prey around like its alive with a pair of hemostats.

Good luck!

[CHRISANDBOIDS14]

That live mouse probably scared the shiz outa her by bitting her. Never use a live adult mouse. Just stick with a F/T and wait it out. Try a F/K too.

Chris

[Rodan]

The reason I tried live is because she completely ignored both F/T and fresh killed. When I've tried either of those, she's turned and gone the other direction. The live was the only thing she showed any interest in. The snake was picked up at a show, so it's possibly WC, in which case, getting her to take pre killed food right off, will be a chore to say the least. I like to feed everything on F/T, but have dealt with WC snakes dozens of times, and getting them to except dead food is far from easy.

[Smulkin]

I have a young Rock who will not take still prey at all - if there is no dance Neph is not interested. We just recently made the transition from live, to pre-killed to f/t. In each instance the target MUST be moving or there's simply no interest. Jiggling won't cut it with Neph - for some reason she demands that lateral movement she can track before she will take it.

[Rodan]

I'm waiting for one of the rats here to give birth, so I can use the pups to try and get this snake started. Hopefully I can get her to make the switch over before she gets big enough to need pray that can do damage. Rat pups may be a bit small for her, but, I can give her 2-3 at a time if need be. After that incident with the mouse, I really hope she can get the hang of pre killed food before long. Really hoping that she isnt WC as well, because if so, gonna be a good amount of time before I can get her switched, if the pervious experiences with WC that I've had are any indication.