dumb snake?

[scottyy]

so my retic is having troubles eating lately and idk y because she used to eat fine for me. i feed frozen thawed rats and ofcourse i thaw them out and then put them in warm water about a half hour before i serve them and she has no problem striking and constricting but after that its like the rat isnt even there she will just slither away and look for it and she cant find it. is she just ridiculously stupid or am i doing something wrong?

[rmfsnakes32]

Is she still young if so maybe try feed live some snakes just like the hunt of the fresh food none of mine will eat frozen thawed even doing the dead rat dance with tongs they slither away to their hides

[scottyy]

well she is about a 1 and a half and i have been feeding her frozen thawed and live only about 2 or three times in her lifetime sense she was a baby. she may prefer them live because i definitely got a stronger reaction from her when i fed her live, but thats why i only did it a few times so that way she doesnt get addicted to it.

[millertime89]

Sounds like she just doesn't want it. You sure she's a she? Its that time of the year when males start refusing meals.

[rmfsnakes32]

Take to a reputable breeder and have her probed to confirm sex

[scottyy]

im pretty sure its a she the guy at the expo i bought her from said so but maybe not and she isnt refusing meals just taking longer to find the prey on the ground after she constricts it.

[Rogue628]

I'm exhausted and brain dead. Let me see if I read your post right. She's not refusing food, but having issues finding it?

I think everyone read that she's refusing now....

[scottyy]

no shes not refusing just cant find it. its weird

[mark24]

If she constricts it an then slithers away I'd say she doesn't want food.

[shaunyboy]

so my retic is having troubles eating lately and idk y because she used to eat fine for me. i feed frozen thawed rats and ofcourse i thaw them out and then put them in warm water about a half hour before i serve them and she has no problem striking and constricting but after that its like the rat isnt even there she will just slither away and look for it and she cant find it. is she just ridiculously stupid or am i doing something wrong?

my Black and White diamond jungle's like that.....

she will strike then constrict for up to 45 minutes...

then she just abandons it and slithers away...

i have to keep repeating the proccess until she eats it (offered it 3 to 5 times)

she is my only pain in the a** feeder

cheers shaun

[Lankyrob]

My SD retic sometimes does this, its almost like because he can smell food he is still looking for it in the viv and forgets he has it constricted, as long as yours is eating eventually i wouldnt worry about it too much :)

[scottyy]

well thanks shaun at least im not the only one lol. but yea she eventually eats it just takes a little longer than i like but i guess thats the way she is.

[shaunyboy]

well thanks shaun at least im not the only one lol. but yea she eventually eats it just takes a little longer than i like but i guess thats the way she is.

my B&W Diamond Jungle has been like that since a hatchling,she's now 4 year old and still the only snake i have,that does'nt eat first time

she strikes the second the prey enters the tank,but most times she constricts,then abandons it

cheers shaun

[DOBERMAN]

What do you do after abandonment Shaun? Leave it in and the snake comes back eventually? I'm stumped on this because I pull the prey after so many hours because I worry about the carcass being left for too long - spoiled/putrefication etc. and this is costing me quite a bit when it comes to replacing the failed attempts....

[shaunyboy]

What do you do after abandonment Shaun? Leave it in and the snake comes back eventually? I'm stumped on this because I pull the prey after so many hours because I worry about the carcass being left for too long - spoiled/putrefication etc. and this is costing me quite a bit when it comes to replacing the failed attempts....

i take the prey back out as soon as she leaves it,i then re heat it and offer on tongs again

re leaving prey in

as long as you don't leave prey directly under the heat source,or too far up the hot end,imo its ok to leave it overnight,with no smells etc

if your lay feeding,imo it's best to leave the prey,in the cool end of the tank

cheers shaun

[Xanafein]

When My retic does that usually i just reheat the food, ill just bllow dry the head for a minute or two and she tags it and eats it relatively fast

[DOBERMAN]

i take the prey back out as soon as she leaves it,i then re heat it and offer on tongs again

re leaving prey in

as long as you don't leave prey directly under the heat source,or too far up the hot end,imo its ok to leave it overnight,with no smells etc

if your lay feeding,imo it's best to leave the prey,in the cool end of the tank

cheers shaun

Good news. I placed the rat in front of the space heater which keeps the room warm and it heated up the rat a bit. She didn't hesitate to strike and didn't abandon.

[rmfsnakes32]

Good glad you got her to eat!

[SnakeyJay]

I was about to say maybe it's not warm enough.. :D

[DOBERMAN]

I thought that leaving the rat under the heat lamp and re-animating with tongs would work, but apparently not as good as heating the rat outside of the habitat and introducing into the domain. It makes sense now that I think about it though. The rat under the heat lamp would have the same temp as the surrounding nearby fixtures/tank that are heated by the lamp as well. Introducing a pre-heated rat into the cage would carry a different heat signature than the ambient temp of the habitat. Maybe this is the key.