They wont eat?

[Kathy]

I bought 2 baby BP last sunday, and the guy said they were eating well when he had them. I've left them alone for 3 or 4 days and I'm trying to feed them now, but they dont seem interested at all.

Ive got frozed/thawed pinkies, and I put each snake into a shoebox with the mouse and put the lid on. The snakes only try to escape and wont even look at the mouse.

Is there anything else that I can try to get these guys to eat? I know BPs are picky, should I get a gerbil and scent the pinkies with the gerbil?

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

[corr]

Try to avoid giving them ANY taste of Gerbil or you could have a REALLY picky eater on your hands.

What was the other guy feeding them? Live? Fuzzies?

I'd try something a little bigger and freshly killed. And be patient.

[Linds]

Well, first off I would leave them alone for AT LEAST 7 days (I would leave for 2 weeks), in a low traffic area, nothing to disturb them. Then try a f/k fuzzy, if they dont take that then try live. I agree with Corr, scenting with gerbil is a bad idea at this stage, you don't usually resort to that so soon as it can be a hell of a time trying to get them off of it (if ever).

[albino]

i would not worry yet it took me almost a month to get mine to eat when i frist got them and they were captive bred just do as everyone says and leave them alone for awhile in a low trafic area and do not handle them in till you get them feeding i would wait about 10 to 14 days and then try feeding separate them and try dangle feeding them fresh killed prey or frozen thawed if that does not work wait a week and try live fuzzies if that still does not work you may have to force feed them a couple times to get them used to feeding they are probable captive hatched babies and some are real hard to get them started feeding good luck hope this helps

[Kathy]

Thanks for your help. I'll leave 'em alone for a while longer and see what happens. How long can these guys go without eating before I should worry? Just one more question, is there a good time of day to try and feed them? They are a lot more active at night, so would feeding them at night help in any way? Thanks again

[Grant vg]

That could be ur problem.....

BP's are nocturnal and will normally go out hunting for food at night...

Although i've had some aggressive feeders that would eat anytime...u have two new babies, so u should definately feed at night....
Shut the lights off....round 10 o clock....thaw ur pinky...and put it in there round 10:30
Leave the room and come back in an hour...

DONT BOTHER THEM....!

Who did u acquire them from at the expo?

[jason h]

hi kate i believe you probly got them from the same guy i got my two from and i too was having problems with them eating and like you was getting very worried cause they were starting to look really wrinkly LOL so i tried a mariot of different things night feeding, cup feeding putting the pinky in a palstic margerine dish with a hole in it etc. till it hit me will i was handling my other ball what is one thing almost EVERY ball hates.? answer his head touched! so what i did was to gently pick up the new ones just behind the head sure enough there first reaction was to try and bite me and when they went for it i put the pinky in there way and they bit the pinky instead then i placed them back down in there tank and they coiled it and did there thing it worked for both of them then i put a second pinky just in front of them and voila!!history!!!i dont really know if this would be considered force feeding or not as i didnt force it into them just placed it between them and my fingers and let them do the rest any how it worked and thats what i was worried about, use yer own judgement if ya want to give it a trybut watch yer fingers LOL cause they dont want ot let go when they get it LOL!!!

[Kathy]

I tried what you suggested Grant, put them each in a shoebox and left 'em alone. One baby (the female) ate, the male didnt. I guess I will try him in another couple days. Thanks for all your help everyone!

[Jotun]

i was told by a breeder that finicky balls will be more prone to eat mice if you take a dead fuzzie and cut it's head open so the brain is exposed. Apparently the scent the brain juices give off attract the snake. I attempted this once but i did get a very clean cut and the ball still seemed rather uninterested. Can anyone back this up?

[Yve]

My b.p. wouldn't eat pinkies at all....I don't think he identified them as a food item possibly because they have no hair....I tried a bunch of different tactics and finally got a live fuzzy...it worked like a charm....I did this a couple of times and then switched to f/t and he went for it. If you want to hold off on the live fuzzy try jiggling a pre killed one in front of him for a few minutes. I find my ball gets really excited & strikes when I jiggle the rat but won't show much interest if I leave it there.

[sSNAKESs.com]

Well i hate to say it but this is what happens when you buy WC or CH individuals its okay for jason since he knows what he's doing but for a novice keeper it can be dissasterous!