feeding

[diehlmalikie21]

a couple of weeks ago i tried feeding my bp a small rat. he had no problem with the one prior so i saw no reason to not give him another. unfortunately he wont eat f/t so this rat gave him a bit of a flesh wound. its not infected and he is not mortaly wounded. i killed the rat and froze him. tried feeding him the rat later and to no surprise he was not even remotely interested. the next week i tried a weener and have been trying him every night since. I DONT WANT A PET RAT!!! lol. should i go down to a mouse till he gets his confidence back or is he just not hungry. its depressing watching him hang out with a rat and not killing it. hes not in dire need of food i dont think but how long do i got before this weener is too big for my bp not to be able to eat the rat?

[AK907]

Did you leave the rat in there with him unsupervised? I've been feeding live for years, averaging between 75-100 live rats a month and have never had an injury from feeding.

One obvious problem I see is that you are attempting to feed him too often. I would only attempt feeding him every 5-7 days. As long as he is healthy a couple missed meals won't hurt him. If you feed them everyday it will only reinforce his bad habit.

You say you do not want a pet rat. C'mon... Give them a chance. Most people on here who have had to keep a rat because of a refusal end up loving the little buggers!

And please don't downgrade to mice unless you absolutely have to. He is already established on rats, so that is a good sign and will save you a lot of trouble down the road.

[diehlmalikie21]

Did you leave the rat in there with him unsupervised? I've been feeding live for years, averaging between 75-100 live rats a month and have never had an injury from feeding.

One obvious problem I see is that you are attempting to feed him too often. I would only attempt feeding him every 5-7 days. As long as he is healthy a couple missed meals won't hurt him. If you feed them everyday it will only reinforce his bad habit.

You say you do not want a pet rat. C'mon... Give them a chance. Most people on here who have had to keep a rat because of a refusal end up loving the little buggers!

And please don't downgrade to mice unless you absolutely have to. He is already established on rats, so that is a good sign and will save you a lot of trouble down the road.

first off he is VERY supervised. his feeding is a family spectical. i watched when he was bitten. there was nothing i could do. i would have knocked the little guy out if i could have. he didnt wrap around him enough times to take him out. and i do feed him every 7 days. he is going on week 3 without food. 1 week with the weener. i just put him in the feeding tank with the rat at night. and yes i know i dont need a seperate tank to feed. i do it so i can watch it go down on my coffee table and so that if :cens0r::cens0r::cens0r::cens0r: goes bad i can access him quickly. i dont believe he would snap at me thinking i was food. that is silly.

[Ezekiel285]

No matter how long it has been you can't offer everyday, this will stress him/her out more. If you are that worried then you can try maybe every 3-4 days but i wouldn't do it any more often than that.

[diehlmalikie21]

No matter how long it has been you can't offer everyday, this will stress him/her out more. If you are that worried then you can try maybe every 3-4 days but i wouldn't do it any more often than that.

that would make sense... ok. now how long do i got before the rat is too big? and how much do you feed a rat? i've been giving it dog food.

[Ezekiel285]

that would make sense... ok. now how long do i got before the rat is too big? and how much do you feed a rat? i've been giving it dog food.

Dog food should be fine I think since its only gonna be there a short while (hopefully). As far as growth i don't know, i've never kept rats sorry. Somebody that is experienced with rats will hopefully see this.

[AK907]

first off he is VERY supervised. his feeding is a family spectical. i watched when he was bitten. there was nothing i could do. i would have knocked the little guy out if i could have. he didnt wrap around him enough times to take him out. and i do feed him every 7 days. he is going on week 3 without food. 1 week with the weener. i just put him in the feeding tank with the rat at night. and yes i know i dont need a seperate tank to feed. i do it so i can watch it go down on my coffee table and so that if :cens0r::cens0r::cens0r::cens0r: goes bad i can access him quickly. i dont believe he would snap at me thinking i was food. that is silly.

Settle down, man! I think you misinterpreted my post.

I was basically saying what Ezekiel said. Don't offer every day while he is off feed. Only offer every 4 days to once a week because feeding is a very stressful time. Another I would recommend trying is feeding him in his cage until he is established eating again. Putting him in a separate tub causes unneeded stress. Once he is eating again for a while, you can try a separate tub again. Also, handling should be kept to an absolute minimum. These will help minimize stress and better your chances.

Also, when feeding live, I keep a pair of tongs in hand to put in the rats mouths if they try biting. You can also help them readjust their coils. I have to do this sometimes when they make a bad strike.

Rats grow pretty quick, but an extra week or two isn't going to be a big deal. Dog food is fine for now. You can also throw in some table scraps. Rats aren't picky. They will eat just about anything.

[diehlmalikie21]

Settle down, man! I think you misinterpreted my post.

I was basically saying what Ezekiel said. Don't offer every day while he is off feed. Only offer every 4 days to once a week because feeding is a very stressful time. Another I would recommend trying is feeding him in his cage until he is established eating again. Putting him in a separate tub causes unneeded stress. Once he is eating again for a while, you can try a separate tub again. Also, handling should be kept to an absolute minimum. These will help minimize stress and better your chances.

Also, when feeding live, I keep a pair of tongs in hand to put in the rats mouths if they try biting. You can also help them readjust their coils. I have to do this sometimes when they make a bad strike.

Rats grow pretty quick, but an extra week or two isn't going to be a big deal. Dog food is fine for now. You can also throw in some table scraps. Rats aren't picky. They will eat just about anything.

no misinterpretation, just clarifying to get better advise. thanks a bunch man. no bad ju ju here my friend.

[diehlmalikie21]

No matter how long it has been you can't offer everyday, this will stress him/her out more. If you are that worried then you can try maybe every 3-4 days but i wouldn't do it any more often than that.

this may seem like a stupid question... but what does a stressed out snake look like? or act like?

[Ezekiel285]

this may seem like a stupid question... but what does a stressed out snake look like? or act like?

Extreme signs are usually a very restless snake that appears to be trying to escape the enclosure. Other than that i would say you just have to get to know your snake before you will notice, they are all different and will show different signs of stress.