My New Pueblan!

[Deva]

This is CiCi, my new Pueblan Apricot Milk Snake:

http://i.imgur.com/TLXu9.jpg%22%20alt=%22%22%20title=%22Hosted%20by%2 0imgur.com%22%20/%3E

I bought her two weeks ago. Unfortunately, the pet store had only been feeding live pinkies and I am having a problem getting her to eat F/T.
Maybe if she gets hungry enough..

[Jay]

Just give her a few weeks, try a fresh kill.

[infernalis]

nice......

[jessy]

i got two yellow anacondas i need some info

[stephanbakir]

Try fresh killed for sure, also grabbing the pinkey and playing with it in front of the snake helps.

[marvelfreak]

Deva Beautiful Milk Snake. When it gets hungry enough it will eat f/t for you just give it time.

Jessy start our own thread. You can call it "Need help with Yellow Anaconda " or something like that and i will answer any question you have about them. That way we're not hi jacking Deva thread.

[Deva]

Thank you, everyone, for the responses. I am brand new to snake owning and I don't like the idea of killing the pinkie myself, so if there are other alternatives I would rather try them first.

If I put CiCi down in her cage, she immediately starts to burrow under the substrate (reptibark). I am not sure if I can get her attention with the F/T pinkie by waving it around or not. I will sure try that though.

She did eat a rather large pinkie a week ago (live). Its possible she isn't hungry enough yet?

[candyraver69]

She's beautiful :) Make sure the pink is nice and warm so she can sense the heat, and try different wiggling techniques. Rodents have a pretty high body temp.

[Lankyrob]

To get her to come to the "surface" to feed - i use 12 inch long tweezers to feed my guys, if one is buried or hiding i have found that by vibrating the tweezers and gently resting them on top of the substrate the snakes respond pretty quickly and come out in hunting mode, i then hold the f/t prey by the scruff of the neck and make it "dance" on the plate that i use to avoid substrate ingestion. I make sure the preys feet are touching the plate to continue the vibration theme.

[Deva]

I am going to try soaking in warm water, and then try Lankyrob's trick with the tweezers (mine aren't quite so long, but will have to do). This snake never comes out - I never see it on top of the substrata unless I physically remove it. Very shy and must be nocturnal. I will see what happens but if she doesn't eat by the weekend I will probably have to get her another live one.

[stephanbakir]

"have to get her another live one"
Don't give in, just give her time to swap to F/T. Or F/K.

[Deva]

Still not able to get my snake to eat a thawed out pinkie. Will wait a few days and try again. There is one in there in the cage with her now and I will leave it in all night. She never wants to do anything but burrow under the substrate.

I got her out today and she bit me. First time, although I have held her a number of times. She seemed particularly hyper today.

I don't know, how long should I let her go without eating? I don't really want to put another live one in there. I am a new snake owner and this sort of freaks me out a little.

[Lankyrob]

THey can go months without eating, as long as she looks healthy then dont worry. I wouldnt handle her at all until she has eaten tho.

[Deva]

I guess I will just leave her alone for a few days, keep offering the F/T pinkies and hope..

[Lankyrob]

Also only offer food once a week or the stress will put her off eating. :)

[Deva]

I have been trying to offer food once a week. After I first got CiCi I fed her a live pinkie, which was pretty much immediately eaten. Then I posted the first entry on this thread. Since then, I have offered the F/T pinkies with absolutely no success. It has been certainly a week or a week and a half since she ate.

I can't have rotting dead mice in there all the time. I am going to leave her completely alone for a week and try again. Surely they eventually get hungry enough?

[Freebody]

you have to remove uneaten food after a couple hours if you leaving it in their. try feeding her at night in the dark, also you should gently dangle the rat infront of your snakes face, dont move it around alot, this will scare your snake, unless they have a strong feeding responce. which isnt the case. maybe try to heat them up hotter than you are, i heat mine up good and warm, if it does not take it, gently put it down intront, throw a hide over them and then leave it, remember to remove this rat a couple hours later maximum. GL

[Lankyrob]

With a reluctant eater i would heat it very hot and then try strike feeding for a few minutes at dusk - if it doesnt take it then you can leave it overnight in the viv but if its still there in the morning you need to throw it away. Dont try to feed too often, once a week is more than enough. ~And yes it will get hungry and feed at some point - keep an eye on its condition tho and if it starts looking skinny then come back for further advice.

The story we use on here regularly is Shauny having a hatchling go from the egg for TEN MONTHS without eating - it is now perfectly healthy, eating properly and has no ill effects form its fast.

[Deva]

How would you suggest heating it - hot water?

I have put it in at night and next morning threw it out. The snake is never visible on the surface so if I want to "dangle it in front of the snake's face" I have to uncover the snake out of the bark and handle it. It has rejected any such feeding attempts so far.

The one time it ate was when a live pinkie was in there and it was dark. I just put the pinkie on the surface of the bark, I went upstairs, came back down and it had disappeared. I never saw anything. I will wait a week before I try again.

[Lankyrob]

I put mine in a glass bowl on a radiator and then when i am about to feed i press the skull against the radiator to giv ethat the hottest signature.

[Freebody]

i just put mine in a bucket of hot water from the tap.

[Deva]

Yesterday, for the very first time since I got the snake, I have seen her on the surface of the bark. I take that as a good sign. I do another feeding attempt Friday or Saturday.

[Deva]

Still no luck, its been over two weeks and absolutely no interest in F/T food. This is not good.

[Lankyrob]

Two weeks is NOTHING - keep the faith and be patient - only attempting feeding once a week and no interaction in between times.

[Deva]

Trying again tonight - this will be at least three weeks. I wonder if I will ever succeed in getting this snake to eat a F/T pinkie.

[stephanbakir]

3 weeks is nothing, don't give in!
If you want to try something, brain the pinky, and play with it on the end of tongs, if that fails leave it in the hide overnight.

[Deva]

3 weeks is nothing, don't give in!
If you want to try something, brain the pinky, and play with it on the end of tongs, if that fails leave it in the hide overnight.


I have this small snake in a plastic container with bark. The snake is always underneath the bark and in a month's time I have only seen it on the surface once. It is in a corner of the room where it is undisturbed.

My question is: if the snake is always under the bark, does it need something else like a hide? Something like a small box with a hole in it? I question if it would ever go in there.

Thanks for your reply.

[Lankyrob]

It needs a hide at each end (one "hot" hide and one "cool" hide) so that it can thermoregulate and also hide away at the same time.

[TeaNinja]

my adult dumerils used to eat live, then he put off food for 4 or 5 MONTHS during breeding season lol. when he started eating again he took f/t with no problem. now all 3 of my snakes eat f/t without issue. (in fact, all 3 ate last night)
although younger snakes definetly need to eat more often then sub-adults.

[Deva]

I just saw my beautiful snake again on top of the bark. She went under a minute later. What a wonderful sight! I just wish she would eat.

[SSSSnakes]

i got two yellow anacondas i need some info

What info do you need?

[Deva]

Wow, success at last! F/T pinkie disappeared! Snake must have eaten it, either that or hidden it under the bark. First success in over a month.

[Deva]

I think that one reason it worked is that I was home in the afternoons (being laid off work) and could notice that CiCi liked to come out in the afternoons - so I put the pinkie in there in the afternoon instead of the evening, as I had been doing.