A silly, picky snake

[OmNomNom]

Hi all,

I'm a long-time "lurker" of the BP forums, you guys have been great at offering advice and information about ball pythons that has helped me considerably with my first BP, "Shenanigans". When I first met Shen, while his fellow hatchlings were busy balling up and snapping at people, he promptly crawled up my arm and sat on my head. I figured this was a good sign. I've had him for a few months now, and while he still prefers his cranial perch (oh dear god the sensation of a BP crawling through your hair tickles like nothing you've ever experienced), he's started taking a preference to sprawling over my laptop while I'm typing. Pro tip: why yes, trackpads ARE sensitive to snakes scooting over them.

Aptly fitting his name, he causes more trouble and appears to be actively gunning for the title of "World's Pickiest Eater" and if not for this forum would have driven me mad. I thought I'd share since it's 1) hilarious and 2) maybe someone else could benefit from my experiences like I have from so many of yours.

So, while the breeder insisted Shen had been fed frozen/thawed hoppers before his first reaction to my carefully prepared and pre-warmed offering was to turn up his nose and slither away in evident reptilian disdain. Having given him a week to settle in before disturbing him and wiring every inch of his cage with $500 humidity/temperature monitors (why thank you work for letting me borrow those... >_>) to ensure my thermostats were set properly I knew his environment was okay (and has since gone through three flawless sheds), and he often came out to bask at night and roam around his cage.

I tried again a week later. Nothing.

Left it in the cage over night. Newp.

Me (starting to get worried): Okay, here, try this nice fresh-killed mouse I got for you.
Shen: NOOMMM!!!!!! *nom nom nom*
Me: o.O

Thus began his stubborn predilection for fresh-killed food.

I thought I'd be clever and keep several mice in cages in the basement to fatten them up and feed them once a week to him. Unthinkingly, I selected several white mice. All of his previous offerings had been brown/black.

Me: Here ya go! Nice tasty fresh-killed white mouse!
Shen: *sniff sniff*....*eyeball*..........No.
Me: What? Look, it wiggles, see? *wiggle wiggle wiggle*
Shen: ...............No.
Me: Er, 'kay we'll try again in a few days.

----few days later----

Me: How 'bout now?
Shen: How 'bout no?
Me: :\ *reads forum*

----few days later---

Me: Alright, how about this nice, tasty fresh killed BROWN mouse?
Shen: NOOOOMMM!!!!!!! *nom nom nom*
Me: o.O *buys longer hemostats*

Since he's now getting a little too big for one medium-large sized mouse, I feed him one fresh-killed mouse in his paper-bag, then put him back in his tank with a second fresh-killed mouse dangling tantalizingly over the entrance to his hide. This second mouse is usually gone within a couple of hours.

I thought it would be awfully nice to get him to eat frozen-thawed, and wanted to move him to rats besides, and a kindly dealer brought a bag of small, dark-furred rats for me to a local show. Emboldened then by my small army of dusky rodent popsicles, I felt sure to over-come this small frozen-thawed stumbling block. I mean, rats are ever so much more tasty than mice, right?

Thus began my education.

Me: Here you go Shen! A nice, tasty, dark frozen-thawed rat at precisely 99'F! (Please, don't ask me how I measured that)
Shen: Vat is dis? You are trying to feed me second rate left-overs? *Ptoi* This is what I say to you and your "offering".
Me: Awww, come on! Fine, I'll leave it over-night for you and you can make up your mind...
Shen: *aside* Muahahaha, this is what this silly hooman thinks, I will show who is master!

Next morning: Rat is gone.

Me: Hooray! You ate it! *leaves for work*
Shen: Muahahahahahhahahaha
Me: *returning from work*
Shen: Yeeeesssssss.....I did not eat your pathetic morsel! I have merely hidden it away from sight! Bwahaahahahahhaha!

Did I mention I live in the south where it's been ~100'F? (And no, he didn't throw it up, he literally just drug it into his hide out of sight.)

After that we've been sticking to fresh-killed, and on the rare attempt I still try to tempt him with a frozen-thawed rat, it goes straight into the back garden when the inevitable refusal comes.

The whole "cute", perching on my head thing is clearly just a demonstration of who's really in charge here...

I guess I can't complain, he eats ravenously once a week...just so long as it is freshly-killed, dark-furred mice. I feel like we're headed for a show-down though, the pet store is 40 min away and there's really only so many mice I want to keep in my basement at any given time. Eventually, ONE of us is going to break!


.......it's going to be me, isn't it?

[mackynz]

Eventually, ONE of us is going to break!


.......it's going to be me, isn't it?

Yes, yes it is.


I am so thankful mine will scarf down whatever I throw at him.

[The Serpent Merchant]

Great read lol

Some BP's won't ever make the switch, but most will. Give it time it may not be easy.

[OmNomNom]

The thing that really kills me about the whole white/dark thing is: aren't they supposed to be color-blind?!?!


....he knows!

[mackynz]

Color blind doesn't mean they see no color haha.

[KatStoverReptiles]

You could try tossing your ft mouse in some soiled mouse bedding. That might heighten the smell for him. Also, I think I'd try to switch him to ft before switching to rats. Just a one-step-at-a-time kinda thing. Good luck.

[angllady2]

Boy, I could have written that. In fact, I'd be willing to bet at least 85% of us could have written the same thing!

A few secrets. { none of which will fool him, but you will feel oh so clever for trying } Start with f/t mouse. Same size, same color.

If by some miracle he takes a few of those, try a p/k rat in the correct color that you have rolled around in some nasty mouse bedding for a minute before offering.

{Remind yourself it isn't nice to swear in front of the children, even the ones with scales }

If by some cosmic accident he takes a few of those in a row, then try the same thing with an f/t rat.

Chances are this will be an exercise in futility, but every now and then your snake doesn't mind letting you think you are just sooo smart.

Gale

[OmNomNom]

Color blind doesn't mean they see no color haha.

I suppose they could still see contrast, that's true! Cones are only for RGB.

You could try tossing your ft mouse in some soiled mouse bedding. That might heighten the smell for him.

Start with f/t mouse. Same size, same color.

If by some miracle he takes a few of those, try a p/k rat in the correct color that you have rolled around in some nasty mouse bedding for a minute before offering.

Yup! I've tried those, left a rat pup to thaw in nice stinky mouse bedding, or put some in the freezer bag with the rat while thawing it in hot water, slicing it's nose, hitting it with a hair-dryer, dangling a live mouse first and then "switching" it quickly with the thawed rat pup, f/t mouse, f/t mouse pup, f/t rat pup. Nadda, nyet, nine, newp, no way, and nu-uh. If I didn't think it might go down funny, I'd try skinning a fresh-killed mouse and wrapping the f/t rat pup in it. (That sounds very disturbing seeing that in print....)

Thus begins the battle of wits! Score: Me: 0, Shen: 3


Edit: Actually, the one thing I haven't tried is p/k rat pup. Not for lack of trying, I can't find any in my area!

[AdamF]

Given the number of snakes we here at BP net care for, I think the rep our scaly friends have is kinda not fair. We must have between us over 1000 animals (only 5 for me), so I think the rare picky one makes us think more of it.

IMHO (previously posted) a "slightly hungry" one, will do better taking FT. If your goal is "eat one meal every week", then your pet may win the battle, as he can easily outlast you. If your goal is, "get him/her to eat FT", then you may have a chance to convert.

I successfully converted a very stubborn female, but have yet to do same with the male, who used to eat FT no problem till one breeding season! I guess we know how males think when choice between food and.....


2 new additions of mine raised on live mice, easily took FT rat pups at first feeding. 1 Right away, the other waited until night time.

When I converted my female, at first I used to dangle for her. Soon she realized dead is dead, and now she just takes them.

Patience

[OmNomNom]

IMHO (previously posted) a "slightly hungry" one, will do better taking FT. If your goal is "eat one meal every week", then your pet may win the battle, as he can easily outlast you. If your goal is, "get him/her to eat FT", then you may have a chance to convert.

Hah! You're probably right there....but I'm a total "Jewish mother" when it comes to food.

"You seem hungry/full/sad/tired/ill/happy/alive....here, have some food."

I usually try to sneak up on him with a f/t after he's come out of a shed, since he won't eat during, but that's only a whopping total of two weeks without food...soooooooooo. Why drink water when you can just wait and have champagne?

I like the idea of a p/k rat pup though.....maybe he just doesn't know the taste.....I shall search for live rat pups then even if I have to set up a breeding pair myself!