Running out of options

knads06 · 06-23-04, 08:04 PM

Well as some of you know ive moved my baby bp into a small shoe box rubbermaid last week because he wasnt eating in his 20 gal tank. He hasnt eaten since i got him over 6-7 weeks ago. Ive listened to the majority on this board and moved him into his smaller home and the temps are exactly what the should be. 78 on the cool and 90 on the hot with a air temp of 80 and the humidity is stable at 60%. Well i attempted to feed him a small fuzzy rat yesterday and like usual he didnt take it. I attempted to feed him around 930pm last night and he didnt take it. A few times he crawled up next to it coiled up and didnt do a thing.
I dont need to hear any of the usual crap some people say like you should get rid of it and get a corn etc. This is my reptile and im doing everything i can do get him to eat. I even bought some Appetite Plus which is a B12 vitamin which is suppose to increase his hunger level and make him eat. Ive basically run out of options with this little guy and im just wondering if i should take him to the vet or a professional to have him force fed just to get something inside of him. Please only helpful responses and no wise *** remarks as they wont help me or anyone else here.

bighillreptiles · 06-23-04, 08:26 PM

have you tryed to put a small box in with a hole two and a half inches off of the floor of the sweaterbox and put the small fuzzy rat in it with a little dirty litter from the tank that the rat came from. this resembles a natural cave that the snake would come across in the wild , I have used this method in the past for hard to get feeding little ones. hope this helps you Paul Van Hooser

Artemis · 06-23-04, 08:38 PM

All you can do is keep trying at this point, and if you havent taken him to the vet yet I definitely would now. I still wish you and your snake luck.

Art

knads06 · 06-23-04, 09:36 PM

Has anyone used the Vitamin B12 with good results??

marisa · 06-23-04, 09:45 PM

I assume you are trying live? If not, try it. Buy a live mouse pink, or rat pink. If you have already tried live, then maybe the shoebox idea will help you but I have found it does nothing but disturb them more by the move to the box. Although it may work. Anything is worth a shot.

I'd try mice if you are trying rats only. Live.

Marisa

mykee · 06-24-04, 12:09 AM

I would try everything you've already tried, but with the lights out. Depending on his size, how old he is and whether or not he's ever eaten, you might wanna get him to someone experienced with assist-feeding, or to a vet.

elevation24 · 06-24-04, 02:19 PM

Was the fuzzy live or dead?

knads06 · 06-24-04, 03:02 PM

The fuzzy was live and he's still inside the rubbermaid. Ive left him in there for two days now. When i weighed my bp he was around 80 grams. He's gotten longer since ive owned him but not thicker. He still climbs the walls of the rubbermaid so he seems to still have a lot of strength. I was looking into bringing him to a vet to assist feed or the local reptile store owner said he'd be happy to assit feed it for me to get him started. The have a large number of snakes there and he's says he's been doing it for over 20 years. Thats probably my last option. I just wanna get something into his stomach so i wont feel like he's starving. He's urated plenty of times and even has some poo too, just dont know where it came from since he hasnt eaten. THe past two days ive been putting the vitamin B12 on his lips so hopefullly that will help as well. As the title says, Im running out of options

marisa · 06-24-04, 03:25 PM

O.k. was the live fuzzy a rat or mouse? If you are only trying rats, try a mouse, if you are only trying mice, try a rat.

And make sure you try late late at night with no lights on if you can help it.

Marisa

elevation24 · 06-24-04, 04:04 PM

The live fuzzy has been in his rubbermaid for 2 days??!! Isn't it dead by now?

knads06 · 06-24-04, 04:22 PM

Ive tried both live fuzzy rats and mice with no luck. Ive also tried f/t rats, hoppers, etc. I attempt to feed him around 10 pm or so and light lights are always off. THe rubbermaid container isnt much bigger then a shoe box so he obviously knows something foreign has entered his territory but he does nothing about it. I left it in there over night and still nothing. I just took the fuzzy out today because i just figured if he hasnt eaten it in two days he's not gonna eat it now.

nita · 06-24-04, 04:33 PM

Have you tried braining the food? basically take a FK or FT food item and with an exacto knife split the head open so that there is brain stuff on the head, the scent will sometimes get them going. This worked great when I had a corn that was picky.

justinO · 06-24-04, 09:05 PM

try a live mouse, at night, with little/no lights.

if no, try assist feeding. i'm sure someone can help explain exactly how to do it..... possibly with pics!