Finally!

**EL Ziggy** · 12-02-13, 12:00 AM

After 9 long weeks of not eating I offered my Cal King, Hannibal Caesar, a live hopper. He rebuffed it at first so I put him and the mouse in a covered shoebox inside his viv. I heard a ruffle and a slight squeal a short while later. I came back to check on things about 15 minutes after that and Caesar was roaming his viv. I thought I noticed a small bulge but checked the shoebox and tank just to be sure and there was no sign of the hopper anywhere. Needless to say I was very relieved that my guy finally ate. Sasha Fierce, my MBK, wrapped up her shed last night so I figured she'd be hungry too. She quickly disposed of a f/t hopper. I had taken out 2 hoppers for her since she last ate 2 weeks ago. I tried the 2nd hopper with Caesar first which he refused but Sasha made quick work of that too. All in all, they both ate well and that made me very happy.

revent · 12-02-13, 12:09 AM

Sweet congratulations! My zippy ate his one live fuzzy but the next week refused a f/t he might be eating live for a while, I'm not really pleased with that but we will see. Keep us updated on Caesar hope he continues to eat well!

**EL Ziggy** · 12-02-13, 12:21 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by revent

Sweet congratulations! My zippy ate his one live fuzzy but the next week refused a f/t he might be eating live for a while, I'm not really pleased with that but we will see. Keep us updated on Caesar hope he continues to eat well!

I was actually concerned about this revent. I tried offering a f/t a short while after he finished the live hopper but he refused the f/t. Im going to try f/t again next week. If he refuses I may have to go with live prey for a while too. Im seriously hoping it doesn't come to that. Best wishes with zippy.

Lankyrob · 12-02-13, 04:40 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by EL-Ziggy

After 9 long weeks of not eating I offered my Cal King, Hannibal Caesar, a live hopper. He rebuffed it at first so I put him and the mouse in a covered shoebox inside his viv. I heard a ruffle and a slight squeal a short while later. I came back to check on things about 15 minutes after that and Caesar was roaming his viv. I thought I noticed a small bulge but checked the shoebox and tank just to be sure and there was no sign of the hopper anywhere. Needless to say I was very relieved that my guy finally ate. Sasha Fierce, my MBK, wrapped up her shed last night so I figured she'd be hungry too. She quickly disposed of a f/t hopper. I had taken out 2 hoppers for her since she last ate 2 weeks ago. I tried the 2nd hopper with Caesar first which he refused but Sasha made quick work of that too. All in all, they both ate well and that made me very happy.

You really shouldnt leave live prey with a snake where you are unable to intervene if something goes wrong

drumcrush · 12-02-13, 05:06 AM

Really cool! Congrats! Glad to hear you got him feeding again

)

sharthun · 12-02-13, 05:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by EL-Ziggy

After 9 long weeks of not eating I offered my Cal King, Hannibal Caesar, a live hopper. He rebuffed it at first so I put him and the mouse in a covered shoebox inside his viv. I heard a ruffle and a slight squeal a short while later. I came back to check on things about 15 minutes after that and Caesar was roaming his viv. I thought I noticed a small bulge but checked the shoebox and tank just to be sure and there was no sign of the hopper anywhere. Needless to say I was very relieved that my guy finally ate. Sasha Fierce, my MBK, wrapped up her shed last night so I figured she'd be hungry too. She quickly disposed of a f/t hopper. I had taken out 2 hoppers for her since she last ate 2 weeks ago. I tried the 2nd hopper with Caesar first which he refused but Sasha made quick work of that too. All in all, they both ate well and that made me very happy.

Awesome news Ziggy!!!!

Concept9 · 12-02-13, 08:41 AM

Woooot . . .

**EL Ziggy** · 12-02-13, 09:49 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lankyrob

You really shouldnt leave live prey with a snake where you are unable to intervene if something goes wrong

You're right Rob. I totally agree with you and I thought about this too. After I heard the struggle and squeal I was pretty confident that he had at least struck and most likely killed his prey. I only left the room because it was a pretty small hopper and I didn't think it could have caused much damage to the snake but I guess any animal that's in mortal danger can be a threat when defending itself. The shoebox also had a hole that Caesar could have easily gotten out of if he wanted to escape. I'm also of the mindset that predators should dominate prey and if a yearling kingsnake allows itself to be hurt or killed by a small hopper than it's survival of the fittest and that's one win for team mouse. Only the strong survive.

thinkbig317 · 12-02-13, 11:27 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lankyrob

You really shouldnt leave live prey with a snake where you are unable to intervene if something goes wrong

^^I agree with this^^ But in same token, CONGRATS on the successful feed!

Valvaren · 12-02-13, 11:50 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by EL-Ziggy

I'm also of the mindset that predators should dominate prey and if a yearling kingsnake allows itself to be hurt or killed by a small hopper than it's survival of the fittest and that's one win for team mouse. Only the strong survive.

This isn't the wild, jeez, what a horrible mindset to have with what you would call a pet. Honestly I just can't even....

**EL Ziggy** · 12-02-13, 12:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Valvaren

This isn't the wild, jeez, what a horrible mindset to have with what you would call a pet. Honestly I just can't even....

I respect your point of view Valvaren and I do love my pets very much. However, I'm also a realist and respect the laws of nature. Pet or not, if it's eat or be eaten than nature will decide the winner. If a bigger, stronger snake can't defend itself or flee from a small hopper mouse than so be it. Like I said, score one for team mouse. I feel MUCH worse about putting a pretty defenseless mouse in an inescapable situation with a fierce predator that's trying to suffocate and eat it which is why I've ALWAYS fed f/t and only resorted to a live feeding after 9 weeks of the snake not eating. I appreciate your concern.

revent · 12-05-13, 08:12 PM

Dang can't even get zippy to take a live one again now. He must have just decided to take a break from his fast to eat that one little hopper and now he's back to stressing me out.

sharthun · 12-05-13, 08:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by revent

Dang can't even get zippy to take a live one again now. He must have just decided to take a break from his fast to eat that one little hopper and now he's back to stressing me out.

Is zippy about to go into shed?

revent · 12-05-13, 10:54 PM

He certainly doesn't look like it. He's only eaten one lil fuzzy since his last shed.

**EL Ziggy** · 12-06-13, 08:08 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by revent

Dang can't even get zippy to take a live one again now. He must have just decided to take a break from his fast to eat that one little hopper and now he's back to stressing me out.

Don't stress Revent... now that he's eaten something he should be alright for a while. We just have to keep trying until they get back on their regular schedule. I'm hoping Caesar will go for a f/t this weekend after taking the live hopper last week. I might even wait another week before trying again. Best wishes with zippy. Keep us posted.