1st feed attempt last night... no success - Advice?

[jphealy]

I've had my bp now for 9 days. I could see from the feeding record that came with him that he was eating a fuzzy every 4/5 days or so. The last time he ate, before I bought him, was Oct 3rd.

I gave him just over a week to settle in and tried to feed him for the first time last night, almost 2 weeks since the last time he ate. Unfortunately he completely ignored the freeze thawed fuzzy I offered him. I first just placed it in front of my snake, with no reaction, then I jiggled it around a bit in front of him. Still no interest. I left him alone with it for an hour or so and when I came back, nothing had changed.

I tried feeding him in the evening when he tends to be most active. The mouse I had was definitely smaller than what my snake could have managed - it had a much smaller girth than the fattest part of my bp. Might he show more interest in a larger meal?

What should I do now? Wait a couple of days and try again? I presume the mice cannot be re-freezed? I'm pretty sure my temperatures and humidity are good, and there's a good hide at the warm and cool end. Any other ideas?

Also, should I really not handle him at all until he does eat? I have restrained myself so far. What if it's weeks or even months before he eats? Is it a bad idea to let him go a long time without being handled?

Sorry about the length of my post! I'd really appreciate some advice!

[tigerlily]

First off don't be pretty sure about your temps, be positive. Measure the temps with a temp gun or a digital thermometer. 82-84 cool side and 92-94 hot side. Make sure the temps are accurate and consistant.

Was your snake eating live or frozen/thawed fuzzies? And how did you go about defrosting and heating your fuzzy when you fed? Wait until next week and try again. Offering constantly will only stress the snake out.

You may want to ball up some newspaper and throw that in there for a week and see if that make your snake more secure. You can also try covering his enclosure with something, so it's nice and dark all the time. You will want to get him eating first, before handling. Handling will only stress him out more. You can work on the handling later. It's more important to get the feeding established. If he never eats, you may not have a snake to handle. Handling will come with time.

[jphealy]

I have a digital thermometer, and I know my temps are good. I'll make it a bit darker for him and add a third hide and try again in a week. I'm only assuming he was eating frozen thawed, but don't actually have that info.

What about the size of the mouse? As I said, they are smaller than he could manage. Should I get some that have a girth roughly equal to that of the largest part of the snake? Or is this likely to make him any more interested?

[tigerlily]

You can try a larger mouse, but I would be more concerned that they're just not used to f/t. Try using tongs or hemostats to very slowly dangle the fuzzie, that's the mouse zombie dance! Make sure the fuzzy is nice and warm, but not too warm. Good luck.