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Old 05-18-04, 10:38 AM   #1
lilyskip
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Regressing to mice?

Hey guys-

Huxley has been refusing a lot of rats lately, and I'm wondering if I should switch him back to mice to get him eating and growing steadily. He's almost a year old, and he hardly looks any bigger than he did four months ago.

Would it be better to feed him rats for a few months to get him to a proper size, then try rats again? My concern used to be that he'd get stuck on mice, but now I'm just worried that he's not nearly as big as he should be for his age. Any advice would be great
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Old 05-18-04, 10:49 AM   #2
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Try a small live rat. Even one without it's eyes open. It may peak his interest again.
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Old 05-18-04, 11:19 AM   #3
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Hmmm, I'd like to try to avoid anything live, but that might be a last resort.
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Old 05-18-04, 11:22 AM   #4
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Stay strong!!!

It might not be the rats he's refusing... it could just be food in general.
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Old 05-18-04, 11:41 AM   #5
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Quote:
Originally posted by lilyskip
Hmmm, I'd like to try to avoid anything live, but that might be a last resort.
Hmmm.... I should have been more specific.

I only resorted to live prey when my little bp started getting littler. It was my last resort.

Tim has a good point. He could just be refusing anything. Gotta love bps!!
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Old 05-18-04, 11:46 AM   #6
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Quote:
He could just be refusing anything. Gotta love bps!!
sigh, i keep telling myself that!! i just hate to see him stay so small, ya know? especially as a little snake, he should be eating more.
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Old 05-18-04, 12:13 PM   #7
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I just got a live-eating BP to take a dead rat last week, by putting a live mouse in a margarine container (with air holes) and leaving it in the cage for an hour. The scampering and scent got it worked up, then a little wiggle of the rat corpse and BAM! Feeding reponse

If you have any live mice or rats to try it with, it's worth a shot.
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Old 05-18-04, 12:35 PM   #8
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Wow, that's a pretty cool method. I might try that.
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Old 05-18-04, 12:37 PM   #9
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Have you tried a freshkilled rat pup? That seems to work. Or freshkilled any thing, really (small rat, adult mouse). He could just be being picky about f/t (if that's what your feeding). I've noticed with mine, if they don't take f/t, they take f/k.

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Old 05-18-04, 12:48 PM   #10
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i haven't tried f/k recently, no. i might go with that, too.
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Old 05-18-04, 01:42 PM   #11
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We absolutely cannot get live rats in Alberta, and our female BP has been refusing meals for well over 6 months, so I finally broke down and gave her 2 live adult mice just to get SOMETHING in her belly.

Cruciform, you're a genius, man. I never would have thought of that technique, but I am most definitely going to try it!
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Old 05-18-04, 03:06 PM   #12
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my little bp just got to eating for us about 1 month ago.

She was ONLY about 2.5 ft and about a yearling, She had 2 live mice, and assuming that wasn't enough, took a f/t small rat (not all in one setting!)

Keep trying, you could always not give in. Keep a weight record and if he starts loosing weight offer f/t mouse, then f/k, stunned then if all else fails live, or live rat (around 12-14 days and they still have their eyes closed)

Good luck and hang in there!
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Old 05-18-04, 04:12 PM   #13
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Cruciform- That is a very good idea! I never even thought of doing that. My BPs will eat rats or mice it doesn't matter to them, but they want them live That might just work for them, I'm going to try it.
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Old 05-18-04, 09:35 PM   #14
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I'm new here, but have been reading and learning a lot from this forum. I was just wondering if anyone else has tried T-Rex mousemaker. I've been amazed at how just one drop will entice a reluctant BP to eat a F/T rat it just refused. I've also found that it eases the transitions from live to F/T or mouse to rat.
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Old 05-18-04, 10:37 PM   #15
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Quote:
Originally posted by Maki
I'm new here, but have been reading and learning a lot from this forum. I was just wondering if anyone else has tried T-Rex mousemaker. I've been amazed at how just one drop will entice a reluctant BP to eat a F/T rat it just refused. I've also found that it eases the transitions from live to F/T or mouse to rat.
I gotta try this stuff. Is it sold in Canada?

I guess I haven't tried everything after all.
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