Magenta won't eat?

sweatshirt · 05-25-13, 01:53 PM

Hey guys.

The breeder I got Magenta from a week ago at a reptile expo said she had eaten on Wednesday. I stupidly tried feeding her on Monday even though she was new and probably unprepared. Of course, she didn't eat and I threw away the thawed rat because I heard that re-freezing is unhealthy... I decided to give her a week to settle in a tried to feed her again today. She didn't eat. She's only two days shy of a month old and know that babies not eating for over a week and a half is not healthy.

Why isn't she eating? What can I do?

Here's how I thaw:
Put rat pup in zip lock bag, submerge in cup of warm/room temp. water for 1 hour or more. Then, move rat to cup of warm/kinda hot water until warm.

KORBIN5895 · 05-25-13, 02:23 PM

Well under a month is really young. I doubt he is an established feeder.

I thaw all my rodents by leaving them out and just letting them thaw. Then I fire them in hot water but too hot may cook it.

How did you offer the food?

As a final note refreezing a prey item once is totally fine.

sweatshirt · 05-25-13, 03:47 PM

Well, first I tried to feed her in a separate 10 gallon tank with paper towels on the bottom. Then I re-warmed it and put it in her personal 30 gallon tank. Then I put her in a smaller container (big enough so she could move) to no avail.

We don't have a humidifier yet, but we're getting one next week. Could this be the problem? Not enough humidity? Should I spray her tank?

KORBIN5895 · 05-25-13, 04:57 PM

First off I would recommend always feeding her in her tank. The fact that you handled to move her just before a feeding could've been the problem. Secondly do you measure the humidity? What is she housed in? If it has a screen top you will have to mist often.

sweatshirt · 05-25-13, 05:41 PM

Oh okay. She's housed in a screen-top 30 gallon long reptile tank.

When should I attempt to feed her next? On Wednesday? Is two weeks not eating too long?

KORBIN5895 · 05-25-13, 06:52 PM

When was the last attempt?

sweatshirt · 05-25-13, 08:00 PM

Well, she just ate. Finally. I left it in her cage around 4pm and we went out to the dock to watch the boats come in and watch people fish. She hadn't eaten when we came back but I left it in. Then, I made a campfire in the back about an hour ago and just came in and the rat is gone and there's a lump in her tummy.

Thanks for all the advice! I'll definitely start feeding her in her tank from now on.