Eating Again! Part 1 of 3

Chu'Wuti · 01-15-09, 03:43 PM

For the past couple of months, I've been trying to persuade my BP to switch to rats. I've tried all the suggestions (prescenting by thawing mice & rats together, thawing in enclosure, not moving him to feeding enclosure, trying pinky rats, etc.) Nothing was working. He'd either reject everything or take the mouse but not the rat, and if I offered bigger prey it was even worse. He was losing weight, so I decided to go back to the acceptable prey temporarily and try switching to rats again in the spring. I also decided to increase in prey size gradually rather than radically even though this guy should be eating larger prey.

Success! I'm posting photos, but first let me tell you a bit about the first mouse. I made it act as if it was on the branch the BP was on and backing away from the BP. Great interest! BP grabs & wraps mouse and promptly falls off the branch! I was laughing so hard I forgot to take any photos. After he got that one down, he went back up on the branch--after all, where there was one, there might be more, right?

Here's the next mouse wrap (using the same technique of twitching the mouse along the branch away from the BP):

He felt himself falling and wrapped his tail tightly around the branch. Then the biggest part of his body, on the back side of the branch, began to slip, so he tightened his neck up against the branch:

Chu'Wuti · 01-15-09, 03:43 PM

Part 2 of 3:

Finally it's "dead" enough to eat and he's got his balance/wrap figured out so he won't fall:

Start swallowing:

Use gravity to help:

Chu'Wuti · 01-15-09, 03:46 PM

Part 3 of 3:

Carefully creep back up over the branch:

Are there more?

Next time we'll go for three prey items (this totaled 25 gr of prey) and move up in size again after that. By March I'm thinking the BP's weight will be back up (and then some, I hope!) and he'll be ready to try rats again.

citysnakes · 01-15-09, 06:24 PM

im glad you finally got him to eat.

what size tank are you keeping that little guy in??

st3v3n · 01-15-09, 09:08 PM

i bought a blood python a week n a half ago n i try feeding it n wont even look at the stupid mouse. think anything is worng with it?¿. thx.

Chu'Wuti · 01-15-09, 09:26 PM

It's a 55-gallon. He loves it--lots of places to hang out & explore, including a loop where I accidentally melted a plastic bracket! He loves to go up into the loop and hang out over the water bowl.

siz · 01-16-09, 08:39 AM

st3v3n, if you just got your blood you might need to give him some time to adjust. Also the cold weather kind of turns them off food. Snakes can go a long time without eating, he should be fine.

Oh, and YAY Chu! "Are..are there more?" Hahaha.

Chu'Wuti · 01-16-09, 11:19 AM

st3ven, just let your blood hang out without handling him for at least a week. He's probably pretty stressed about his new environment and about you. Keep in mind that to your snake, you're Godzilla--a giant predator. Let him get used to the environment first. As siz said, it's also possible that cold weather and short days/long nights (winter) has him thinking he shouldn't eat much.

Oh, and how big is the enclosure you're using? Is he a hatchling or quite young? If so, the enclosure should be fairly small so he doesn't feel lost in a big area.

Double-check all your humidity, light, & heat settings to ensure he's warm enough, has the appropriate moisture levels, etc.

Here are links to care sheets & info:

Blood Pythons, Information and Care | Vida Preciosa International, Inc.

and
New England Reptile Distributors, designer Ball Pythons, Reticulated Pythons, and much more!

When you try to feed him again, only offer food at night after the sun has set, as blood pythons are nocturnal. Thaw the food item in or on top of or near your enclosure so that the scent of the thawing prey stimulates his appetite. When you offer the prey, make sure it's all warm and the head is quite warm, then offer it so that it appears to twitch (show signs of life).

I'm sure others will have more ideas to share, too--the members of this forum are great for helping out with tricky situations!

And siz, Thanks!

citysnakes · 01-16-09, 12:45 PM

Chu, i asked because the tank does look pretty huge for such a small ball python and i was going to suggest that if you continue to have feeding issues with him then you may want to consier swapping to a smaller enclosure until he gets a little bigger.

Kmef07 · 01-16-09, 01:37 PM

St3v3n--
Chu's advice was awesome let him sit for a week or so undisturbed and then try again. if it doesn't work then take a brown paper bag and thaw the mouse out and get the mouse really warm. if you have a under the tank heater (uth) put the bag with the mouse in it over the uth and let it sit over night on it's side so your blood can crawl inside as if it were a burrow that should give it some satisfaction of being hidden.

**Aaron_S** · 01-16-09, 03:33 PM

Hey Steven, I have a borneo short tail python and she's been nothing but great for me thus far.

Let us know what your temperatures are and how you're currently keeping the snake. The curtus genus of snakes tend to be fairly picky with eating. Moreso than any ball python.

Chu'Wuti · 01-16-09, 04:10 PM

Quote:

i was going to suggest that if you continue to have feeding issues with him then you may want to consider swapping to a smaller enclosure until he gets a little bigger.

Yeah, I kinda figured you were wondering about that, Julian!

The thing is, if I feed him mice, he'll eat, and if I offer rats he won't eat. In addition, he really does seem to be very comfortable in the tank. He's explored it all. At night he comes out (every night) and arranges himself in a position that we can only describe as predator watching for prey. He'll hang out on the branch above the water bowl for awhile, then in the loop above the water bowl for awhile, then he'll go to the other end and hang out there for awhile. He has two hides and we're considering putting in a third. He doesn't appear to be at all stressed and will eat mice just fine. So I really don't think the tank size is an issue, just the rats. *sigh*

At this point, if he will eat mice & gain weight, that's what we're going to do. In March we'll try rats again. However, if I run into difficulties feeding mice, you can be sure I'll reconsider the enclosure! I have an empty 20-gallon upstairs that we could use . . .

citysnakes · 01-16-09, 07:21 PM

im sure he'll come around sooner or later. good luck getting him on rats!

st3v3n · 01-17-09, 09:22 AM

thanks 4 the advice guys. i got him from all pets clud she was the biggest one so figured she must b eating. shes about 1.5 to 2 ft long i tried mice n a small rat . she smelled the rat with her toung thats about it. oh i buy the live roadents then per kill them? good or no good. she is beautifull. n how do i post a thread? its a 30 gallon wide tank w a humitity box n a normal hide w a water bowle. red heat light n a basking light. humitiy is 60 percent but in the hide is 70 . to 80 percrnt. i got keepers choice tropical red cypress . n a preety good size under tank heater. thanks every one 4 helping.

st3v3n · 01-17-09, 12:10 PM

gust got one bout 2 ft long not eating been bout A week.? hoW do i make a post.