retic problem

[jjpython]

i have a young retic that has been eating live since she was born, now everytime i try to feed her fresh kill she wont take it. i can understand for a couple of times but im starting to waste my time and money on a live rat then kill it , then she wont eat it, now are there any tricks that you guys have came across that worked for your retics.the reason i dont want to feed live is that she getting to bigger rats and i dont want her to make a mistake and get bit. it has happened to my baby burm and i dont feel like going through that again.

[JimmyDavid]

Bigger rats? A retic won't keep on eating rats for that long. When she's bigger you have 2 reasonable choices: bunnies or chicken. I have a retic that will eat live or dead, no problem. But i have another that will take only live chicken. No problem with me, she want's it, she gets it...

[jjpython]

but would you feed your retic live bunnies
dude if that took a bite of your snke it would be bad

[h_and_jreptiles]

no dont feed live what you do is get some tongs and wiggle it around in the cage
until he grabs it and each time you do that wiggle it less and less and eventually you can just toss it in ....

[jjpython]

no but my snake doesn't like when i wiggle the prey in front of her , i belive that she is very scared of it because she iis always in defensive mode when i feed dead prey but when i toss in a live rat she chases it. im just wondering if feeding live for the time being will be fine and is there a chace in the future for her to take f/k even if i feed her live for a while.

[jjpython]

this is my baby girl, with my other girl holding her


http://www.ssnakess.com/photopost/data/500/medium/Picture_003.jpg

[oliver]

Nice retic thats a really nice loooking one....


Oliver

[sc00t]

one way I got my bp to eat prekilled was that I fed him a small live mouse then right after that a dead one and the was the frist time he took it after trying for months and now he eats them everytime

[jjpython]

yeah but she wont do it as soon as she sees me comming to the cage after eating the live rat, she goes strike crazy anything that moves, makes a shadow its insane but the good thing is she wont bite me when i handle her, she is a wierd little one but yeah i agree with oliver she is very nice looking

[kevyn]

Trying to get a retic off live can be tricky. I know most of the big breeders in the U.S. feed live rabbits to their retics. It doesn't really cause alot of problems. The retics that I've picked up from Mike Wilbanks posed no problem switching to f/t. One of the things you can do is just place a f/k in the enclosure and leave it there. Try this at night when the room is dark and everything is quiet. Sometimes using a chicken to scent the prey item works really well too. You could also just let her get good and hungry. This can take awhile, but once it's hungry, it'll eat anything. Best of luck.

[jjpython]

yeah ive tried leaving food in the cage over night and she wont take it, i dont know if i can find chickens around here.

[daiyoukaii]

You could also just let her get good and hungry. This can take awhile, but once it's hungry, it'll eat anything. Best of luck.
/\this works

dont feed her next feed day and wait about 4 days and handle her as you would normaly, then on the forth day after her missed feed show her a live rat and see if she gets interested and leave the room after that still with the rat dont handle her for two days and offer her a pre killed, if it doesnt work just wait another day and so on. try it and see if it works if it doesnt then you also have a burm right? you can feed that the rats the retic refuses till she finally eats..

[JimmyDavid]

Rats can bite and don't make good live items. But, please, tell me you are not serious about the "danger" of feeding live chicken or bunnies. Some of my snakes have grown to big beautiful animals eating nothing but live chicken and rabbits. I have yet to see a "dangerous" bunny.
I have a complete different vision of the nature cicle, from most forum members here. I keep snakes and i love them. I don't really see "pets" in my cages. Not in the sense that it's a big lump of meat, growing on easy food, that i can look upon just for the sake of it. I have snakes so that i can be as much in touch with nature as possible. I like to see them climb big rocks and logs (that's why i have monster enclosures, wouldn't keep them any other way), i like to see them slither around and of course, i like to see them hunt. That's what brought me to this hobby. You see, i believe you should earn what you eat. that's nature's way of completing itself, and i think it's beautiful. Don't get me wrong, i don't value the life of my snakes more than the lives of those bunnies that serve the purpose of those necessary meals, they all have their place in nature. If one of my snakes should get a bite i would congratulate such brave bunny. lol. In the end, all creatures will die, it's not about playing it safe, it's about playing it natural. That's my vision, that's why i keep snakes and that's what still makes me feel like an amazed little kid after all these years of herping. I'm sorry i'm so little alike you all, but again...i'm entitled to that!

[jjpython]

yeah i agree with you and as to each his own, but if your snake died because a prey item bit him you would be mad/upset about at all you would congradulate the prey......
i dont agree with that.

thanx daiyoukaii i will try that also to see if it will work and if it does believe you me i will be posting pics. lol

[JimmyDavid]

You are correct. I wouldn't be happy at all if such thing happened. But i'm sure that bunnies can't do anything like that. On the other hand Rats, hamsters and other rat-like rodents are out of my live-feeding list. those are a real danger.

[kevyn]

There's nothing wrong with feeding live rabbits to a retic. Like I said most of the big breeders in the U.S. feed live. Are any of us prepared to argue the finer points of keeping with Mike Wilbanks or Bob Clark? I don't feed live because a) it's not convinient, and b) my wife would kill me. If someone what's to feed live that's totally cool with me. I do agree that I would be nervous with live rats, but that's just me.

[ReptiZone]

The first thing ppl need to learn about this hobby is that once you take and animal out of the wild and placed it in a box like structure no matter how big. You have to take all natural elements out because you control the environment now and that is not natural.

You control the heat, the humidity, the space the animals does or does not have.
You see once these things happen it is no longer natural.
Think for a minute if you are controling everything how can that be natures way and if you control everything including the food type, the time it is introduced and temperature the snake is when it sees the food.

What is natural about feeding a retic a live rabbit in a box like enviroment in a temperature of 86*F in the midle of the day? You tell me.
(That was just an Example btw.)

The ReptiZone
Marc Doiron

[steelnink]

You are correct. I wouldn't be happy at all if such thing happened. But i'm sure that bunnies can't do anything like that. On the other hand Rats, hamsters and other rat-like rodents are out of my live-feeding list. those are a real danger.

Are you serious?You wouldn't feed live rodents, but you feed live chickens/rabbits.
Everyone is entititled to their own opinions, and like Kevyn stated, i wouldn't get into a debate with Clark or Wilbanks[ SNAKE GODS], over feeding live rabbits, but i sure as hell wouldn't be saying rats/hamsters are more of a danger then chickens and rabbits.

[lostwithin]

Rabbits are rodents and big ones, they have the teeth to do lots of damage, to a snake, chickens on the other hand I would consider safe, not much a chicken can do to peck its way through a snakes scales. rabbits get board and chew like any other rodent as well.

As for switching, let he go hungry, after a good week or so put the rat in a cage near hers so she can smell it over night, (just to really make her hungry) and then wack it and feed) if she doesn’t take it, let her wait another week.

Devon

[JimmyDavid]

Steelnink, what do you keep? For how long?
I have had BIG constrictors for 7 years now and have tried it all (made my share of mistakes too, like everybody). I think i can tell the difference between bunnies, rats, chickens and so on. And believe me when i say that rats are much more of a danger than bunnies. I don't even believe you are questioning such a basic known thing.

Reptizone, You are right. In fact, i say the same thing all the time. But i don't want to make it natural when it is obviously no longer natural. I was talking about what carries my boat. I like to see them do the things they do, as close to reallity as possible (knowing, of course that it's not the same). As long as it works for me that way, i'll be happy about it. I would also like to take a trip to an african safari, but since that's out of the question for now, watching the animals on tv is the next best thing.

[steelnink]

Steelnink, what do you keep? For how long?
I have had BIG constrictors for 7 years now and have tried it all (made my share of mistakes too, like everybody). I think i can tell the difference between bunnies, rats, chickens and so on. And believe me when i say that rats are much more of a danger than bunnies. I don't even believe you are questioning such a basic known thing.

I have kept burms, rocks, retic, countless boa locales,olive pythons, water monitors, colubrids and so on.
I got my first EXOTIC snake when i was 12, i'm 29 now.You do the math.
I know what a enraged rodent can do, i've been bit more times than i'd care to remember, but i also know what a struggling rabbit and chicken is capable of, my arms have been shredded to pieces numerous times killing the bastards.
I am in no way saying, i am as half as effiecent as killing these animals as a burm,rock, retic, etc, but if they could do that much damage to me in the time it takes to break their necks, how is it not possible for them to injure a snake?

My girlfriend has a pet rat, along with 3 ferrets,[much more powerfull bites], that all seem to despise me, and i can honestly say i'd rather take a bite from any of those furballs than deal with the talons of a chicken.

[steelnink]

Another method you might want to try if your pateince is getting thin.
Dip the rat's head in warm chicken stock, then offer, slightly warmed, to your retic.
Used this trick before and had fairly good sucess.

[kevyn]

Rabbits are rodents and big ones

Not to be picky but rabbits aren't rodents, they're lagomorphs. They are more closely related to deer and other hoofed animals than rodents.

[ReptiZone]

Well I just finishesd My Vet Assistance Diploma and we classified Rabbits as rodents.

[daiyoukaii]

Well I just finishesd My Vet Assistance Diploma and we classified Rabbits as rodents.
Fact: Rabbits are not rodents. They are lagomorphs. Other lagamorphs include hares and pikas.

http://www.rabbit.org/care/facts.html

[ReptiZone]

I stand corrected I never realy took the time to study the indepth of my snake food i am to busy killing them. lol jk.. but i did learn something today thank you.

*But no no realy Lagamorphs. It sounds more like somthing you would use to insult someone with.*<--- Peter Grifin..LOL JK

*Lagamorphs eh?...Mmm sound Sexy* <--- Mayor West..LMAO hehe
I need to stop it's bed time lol.

[jjpython]

ok so i tried to feed her the usual live rat, but now she is acting like she did when i offered the f/k very defensive, she bit the rat like 4-5 times but never coiled. then took interest in me, she struck the glass alot. luckly i got the rat out without any trouble, killed it and tried to feed it to my burmese(who is in shed) but he wouldn't take it so off to the freezer it went until my burm needs a snack(a really small snack like a chip to us) j/k
any other ideas i will still continue to try every week but i would really enjoy it if she ate soon its been 3-4 weeks.

[steelnink]

Sorry about the hi-jacking earlier, your retic looks to be in great shape, so 3-4 weeks is nothing to worry about,[easier said than done, i realize].
I'll point out, i have no experience with rats/retics.My retic eats rabbits and chickens[frozen thawed], and can't get enough.
I would try to resist the urge of feeding him for a week or so, then warm a F/T rat, dip the rat in some warmer chicken stock, and give that a shot, and hopefully, that famous feeding response, will shine through.
Good luck

[jjpython]

well i tried today to feed her again, it has been 2 or so weeks since ive tried last,
now she showed no interest in live so i killed the rat and tossed it in front of her, left her for an hour or so alone in the cage with it (lights off) and she ATE...FINALLY

im soo happy , i hope its not just a one time thing.........i will keep you guys updated on the next feeding and lots more pics to come...

[kevyn]

Most of my retic prefer that I just lay the food in the enclosure so that's no surprise. Best of luck.

[jjpython]

i had no idea that retics like to eat that way but sound god to me