I am going to re-home my BP! (No, not really...)

[Jessiefish]

BPs can be so frustrating. I am a relatively new BP mom; I've had mine for about two months. Things were awesome... until now. He switched to f/t with no problem; he's eaten twice for me (I fed a medium rat every two weeks) and now he's being a turdface and fasting. Last night was his third rejected meal, so I went into NEW MOM PANIC MODE and looked over every scale and even (very gently and carefully) opened his mouth. Nothing seems swollen or awry. I think he's just a butthead. He poops and such with no issues; and he isn't wasting away.

He's also wheezes/squeaks when he breathes hard, but his nostrils are dry and there's no excess mucus in his mouth.

Nothing in his enclosure has changed. Temps are good. Humidity is good (he recently shed; all of it, save for one weensy vent scale that my husband gently removed with tweezers, came off). He isn't handled to excess. In fact, I've left him alone all week in hopes that he would eat for me this weekend.

I need some reassurance that I'm not a horrible BP mom. I'm used to corn snakes that eat everything and don't have attitude problems.

[Inarikins]

Sounds like he's going okay. When he squeaks, is it when you first pick him up or otherwise startle him? If he's not wheezing while just laying around relaxed and there's no big bubbles in the spit in his mouth when you opened it up, he sounds just fine. Take a deep breath.

[Jessiefish]

Sounds like he's going okay. When he squeaks, is it when you first pick him up or otherwise startle him? If he's not wheezing while just laying around relaxed and there's no big bubbles in the spit in his mouth when you opened it up, he sounds just fine. Take a deep breath.

He sometimes hisses when I first pick him up. He wheezes/squeaks when he's out and it's usually him startling himself, like, oh, what's this? It's a pair of clean, folded fleece pajama pants that I will investigate! Oh, no, they are scary! *startles & wheezes/squeaks* He's quite hilarious.

[angllady2]

You are a terrible BP mom! How can you not read his little snakie mind and anticipate his every whim??

It sounds to me like you are both just fine. He's being a normal BP brat, and you are being a very normal panicky BP parent. And guess what? It doesn't get any better or easier! Doesn't that just make your day? I have 30 of the darling little monsters myself, and I still find myself having a BP parent heart attack on a regular basis from something one of them did or didn't do. I think it's one of the reasons we love them so much.

So, to my understanding, he gets a medium rat every two weeks, so it has been six since he last ate, correct? I am guessing if he's on medium rats he's a good size boy, and more likely than not, he's got what every guy has on his mind more often than not, girls. Try skipping his next scheduled feeding. Just pretend it doesn't exist. Then try offering smaller prey. My big pastel boy eats like a beast when he's not got girls on the brain. But when he gets to thinking about women, he quits eating for months. Unless I offer him mice. Yep, teeny tiny little mice, no bigger than a potato chip to this guy, and he'll eat two or three every week during the breeding season if I offer them. But if I offer his normal sized rat, he won't even look at it. I think it's because they like to maintain that "sixpack" look to impress the ladies. And it's easier to suck in your gut with a small meal than it is a big one.

Best wishes to you both.

Gale

[steve_r34]

it could be the switch .. a female of mine was on live i switched her to f/t she took a couple then she was refusing .. she didnt eat for 2 weeks then i said f it gave her live and it was on .. try dropping a live in there .. sometimes its just the snake being stubborn but shes been my only one that acts like that when i got her i feed her live .. now when i get new hatchs i go right to f/t and straight to rat pups and its been working

[bcr229]

I feel your pain! I have a normal male that typically takes a small f/t rat every week. Surprisingly enough he ate through the winter, then from May 11 until yesterday he didn't eat a thing. He's very private about eating, no "zombie rat dance" needed, just drop it into his tub and wait an hour or so to see if he decides he's hungry that day. I almost cried when I opened his tub later to check on him and the rat was gone.

[Archimedes]

You are a terrible BP mom! How can you not read his little snakie mind and anticipate his every whim??

It sounds to me like you are both just fine. He's being a normal BP brat, and you are being a very normal panicky BP parent. And guess what? It doesn't get any better or easier! Doesn't that just make your day? I have 30 of the darling little monsters myself, and I still find myself having a BP parent heart attack on a regular basis from something one of them did or didn't do. I think it's one of the reasons we love them so much.

So, to my understanding, he gets a medium rat every two weeks, so it has been six since he last ate, correct? I am guessing if he's on medium rats he's a good size boy, and more likely than not, he's got what every guy has on his mind more often than not, girls. Try skipping his next scheduled feeding. Just pretend it doesn't exist. Then try offering smaller prey. My big pastel boy eats like a beast when he's not got girls on the brain. But when he gets to thinking about women, he quits eating for months. Unless I offer him mice. Yep, teeny tiny little mice, no bigger than a potato chip to this guy, and he'll eat two or three every week during the breeding season if I offer them. But if I offer his normal sized rat, he won't even look at it. I think it's because they like to maintain that "sixpack" look to impress the ladies. And it's easier to suck in your gut with a small meal than it is a big one.

Best wishes to you both.

Gale

oh my gosh, we are literally parents to teenagers. Eating like birds to impress their potential girlfriends and boyfriends. This male me laugh a lot, thank you Gale!

[Jessiefish]

You are a terrible BP mom! How can you not read his little snakie mind and anticipate his every whim??

It sounds to me like you are both just fine. He's being a normal BP brat, and you are being a very normal panicky BP parent. And guess what? It doesn't get any better or easier! Doesn't that just make your day? I have 30 of the darling little monsters myself, and I still find myself having a BP parent heart attack on a regular basis from something one of them did or didn't do. I think it's one of the reasons we love them so much.

So, to my understanding, he gets a medium rat every two weeks, so it has been six since he last ate, correct? I am guessing if he's on medium rats he's a good size boy, and more likely than not, he's got what every guy has on his mind more often than not, girls. Try skipping his next scheduled feeding. Just pretend it doesn't exist. Then try offering smaller prey. My big pastel boy eats like a beast when he's not got girls on the brain. But when he gets to thinking about women, he quits eating for months. Unless I offer him mice. Yep, teeny tiny little mice, no bigger than a potato chip to this guy, and he'll eat two or three every week during the breeding season if I offer them. But if I offer his normal sized rat, he won't even look at it. I think it's because they like to maintain that "sixpack" look to impress the ladies. And it's easier to suck in your gut with a small meal than it is a big one.

Best wishes to you both.

Gale

This makes so much sense... I knew I should've gotten a girl BP!

Seriously, though, thank you for the reply. I definitely appreciate the insight from people more experienced than me.

[kitedemon]

Gale has it right on this one. OP just to be clear however there is one assumption made,

How large is your boy?

medium rats are typically to most of us in around the 125gm area give or take. Usually fed to snakes in the 1200+ gm range. However I have seen recently 'medium' rats that are what most would call weaned or pups in the 45 gm area. This is why I question the term 'medium rat' is variable.

I too have assumed an adult snake this maybe different advise if the snake is less than 900gm. Just to confirm.

[Jessiefish]

He is an adult... he just doesn't act like one. He's 1150 gm.