Quote:
Originally Posted by Gorgon
MDT -- thank you immensely for being so quick and thorough in your replies: definitely much appreciated! Understood about leaving the mouse out overnight being ok -- and yeah I'm pretty confident in my ability to tell if she's losing weight. Still, I might buy the scale just to be sure. I do currently attempt feedings weekly so I'm already on the 7-8 day schedule.
Four days after I first got her -- and this is the strange thing -- she ate 3 F/T mouse pinks right off the bat. So that's the frustrating thing: I *know* she can do it! (Apparently, she just has to get hungry enough.) But yes, true about the rat issue: the latest word from the breeder (just last night) was that I should be starting her on rat pinks, so good call on that. Thank you also for the compliment for her: she's a looker, right? 
Also, very true on the level of the prey thing: I find she strikes far more often if the mouse is close to the ground as opposed to dangling in the air. A bit more on what my breeder recommended last night: he suggested I get a 24oz deli cup, put the snake in there, close the perforated lid, and lay the prey on top of the lid. He said this is because he'd like to see the feeding space minimized and she'll also be smelling the rat this whole time, hopefully making her all the more hungry.
Do you have any thoughts on this? |
You're welcome.
I have never used a trick like that before. However, it's not a bad idea to thaw the rat near the enclosure. I leave my frozen items out in the snake area and they are all hungry and hunting by the time it's thawed out.
Threaded Mode