Advanced feeding issues.

I was debating which forum to put this in. If it doesn't belong here after all please move it.

I have an '06 het pied male that is 'almost' 350 grams. Shocked? Small man yes? Yes he is. And he's incredibly infuriating. He is an ultimate picky eater. He will only eat rats, he will not eat weanling rats, f/t rats, fuzzy rats, rat pups, small small rats or lg small rats, they must simply be small rats but even then it's hit or miss.
I've had him over a year now, he's eaten a few times in my care, he was a picky eater prior to me purchasing him so it's nothing new.
His humidity and temps are spot on along with everyone else in the rack. He's in a 6qt, previously in a 12 qt and I'm seeing if smaller is better for him though if tonights failed feeding is anything to go by it didn't do a thing.
I have tried the newspaper ball trick, the cover the tub with a dark cloth and leave be tick, leaving f/t in there over night, the leave him alone for a few weeks and see if he gets hungry trick, the hold the rat in tongs, the release rat and let him hunt. He's been without a hide, with a hide... I have fantasies of shoving rat pups down his throat (don't worry, just a day dream). There really hasn't been anything consistent in the times he did eat.
He hasn't lost weight but he most assuredly isn't gaining weight. I'd say he's put on maybe 100 grams since I've got him.

suggestions?

have you tried mice?

He will not eat mice. As I said, only rats.

I can relay 2 stories of something similar. First, is the story of the Father to my Albino. The guy that I bought my Albino from has an Albino (duh) that only eats about 4 times a year. He doesn't gain weight at all. Now he is adult at somewhere around 1000 grams, so a bit different. Sometimes they just don't want alot to eat. The second story involves a Het Albino female many years ago (when it was a very valuable animal in a collection) that would not eat unless you put her in a bag and drove her around in the car for about 30 minutes to an hour. Then put her back in her tub, and she would eat. I know this sounds strange, but it is a true story.

With all of that said, I can relay a couple of stories from my collection.
1. My original Het Pied male got to 1200 grams in his first year, but didn't breed until his third winter at 1500 grams.
2. I have some 04 Normal girls that are about 900-1000 grams, and barely ever eat (they will get bred in the upcoming season).
3. I have a 04 Pied girl that weighed 1100 grams earlier this year, until I found out that she liked African Soft Furs.

All that was meant to show that theses are individual animals, and they can be very different from each other or the norm. You may want to look into getting him an ASF if at all possible, or (I know this is not always seen as a good thing) leave a small live rat in overnight. I have used the live overnight trick before to get stubborn eaters to eat again. In summary, I would say that if your guy is not sick or losing weight, he may not want to eat alot, or the husbandry needs a slight tweak somewhere. The last thing that just came to mind, is to try and move his enclosure somewhere else (i.e. higher or lower in the room, which will change his ambient temp, or closer or further from a window, which may change his lighting. Sometimes a move can be good to spur a stubborn eater.

I hope some of that helps or gives a better understanding of the uniqueness of these animals.

Good words, Tim. I hope you can find a solution Mel!

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Originally Posted by Entropy

I was debating which forum to put this in. If it doesn't belong here after all please move it.

I have an '06 het pied male that is 'almost' 350 grams. Shocked? Small man yes? Yes he is. And he's incredibly infuriating. He is an ultimate picky eater. He will only eat rats, he will not eat weanling rats, f/t rats, fuzzy rats, rat pups, small small rats or lg small rats, they must simply be small rats but even then it's hit or miss.
I've had him over a year now, he's eaten a few times in my care, he was a picky eater prior to me purchasing him so it's nothing new.
His humidity and temps are spot on along with everyone else in the rack. He's in a 6qt, previously in a 12 qt and I'm seeing if smaller is better for him though if tonights failed feeding is anything to go by it didn't do a thing.
I have tried the newspaper ball trick, the cover the tub with a dark cloth and leave be tick, leaving f/t in there over night, the leave him alone for a few weeks and see if he gets hungry trick, the hold the rat in tongs, the release rat and let him hunt. He's been without a hide, with a hide... I have fantasies of shoving rat pups down his throat (don't worry, just a day dream). There really hasn't been anything consistent in the times he did eat.
He hasn't lost weight but he most assuredly isn't gaining weight. I'd say he's put on maybe 100 grams since I've got him.

suggestions?

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"PATIENCE"

i have a 06' female that is not even pushing 600 grams untill last week she had not eat on a regular basis since i wanna say nov. from then till 2 weeks ago she ate maybe twice. 2 weeks ago i was able to get her to take a med mouse i figure hey long as she eats something. came home yesterday from the expo threw a rat in for her went back 30 min later and it was still there cleaning it self she had not moved a inch. so i fed it off to my pastel. last nite i looked in her cage and saw her sticking out of her hide so i threw a rat in and went back to check and its gone, threw in a 2nd rat for her and she tagged it soon as it was in range. i think she might be back eating again ill let you know next week.

i dont know how long you have had him but this is what mine does every winter from now (crosses fingers) till nov she eats like a champ nov/dec rolls around and she becomes a super model and wont touch a thing

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Originally Posted by muddoc

The second story involves a Het Albino female many years ago (when it was a very valuable animal in a collection) that would not eat unless you put her in a bag and drove her around in the car for about 30 minutes to an hour. Then put her back in her tub, and she would eat. I know this sounds strange, but it is a true story.

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I HAVE GOT TO KNOW how in the world did you think to do that one??

[QUOTE=771subliminal;762034I HAVE GOT TO KNOW how in the world did you think to do that one??[/QUOTE]

That was actually a buddy of mine that did that, and I don't know where he came up with the idea, but it worked.

My local breeder told me I could try that. Put her in a bag and take her with me on my next drive to where evere I gotta go.

Then bring her home and try to feed. He said that when he gets a stubborn feeder, this method works.

I've not tried it. But I'm just saying that its a method more than 1 person uses/knows of.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by muddoc

That was actually a buddy of mine that did that, and I don't know where he came up with the idea, but it worked.

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Lol I've never heart that one! I wonder WHY it works?!!

Justin

I've heard of the car method too. I have no clue how, but apparently it works. worth a try.