sits next to food

[gunkle]

Ok so I've had my bp since 12/23 it has not eaten yet. it developed and infection under its head and im treating it with antibiotics per the vet visit yetsterday. The vet said that the antibiotics its on is supposed to increase its urge to feed. She also said that at 81 grams it is very thin and really need to eat. Well just like every other time i've tried i thaw a pinkie in a bowl of warm water untill its thawed, then hold its head under a heat lamp to make sure that its the warmest part (the best i can with a little pinkie and a big light). then i put the mouse in with my bp and it seems to shy away from it. I even put in near the entrance to it's favorite hide and the snake will sometimes rest its head on the mouse but not eat it. I've tried covering the tank and making it completely dark. My set up is 90 on the hot side about 84 on the other side, good humidity, 1 bowl of water big enough to not tip over and for my bp to soak if need be, and 2 hides one on each side of tank. this is all in a 10 gal tank. The hide on the cool side has some moss in it that i spray lightly with water every other day to keep moist and this is the one it prefers. The snake is semi active in that sometimes its in a hide sometimes its on top of them sometimes its just kinda exploring. I clean tank completely ervery sunday and check water daily and clean water bowl every other day since to maintain humidity i put water in middle temp zone. any ideas about feeding? i've tried everything i can think of except live and force feeding. not sure where to get live pinkies. Oh yeah the vet said i should be feeding pinkies and if i can get it eating to feed every 5 days to help increase health. I would also like to thanks all the members of this forum for all the knowledge that i've gained just reading through the past posts during the last few weeks. Its answered alot of my questions already.

[starmom]

Hi there! So, what is the humidity in the tank? Tanks are notoriously difficult to keep temps and humidity constant; do you have a hygrometer? It might be that the humidity is low and that's why the snake likes the cool hide. Also, it seems like the warm side is not warm enough. Maybe you could try bumping the heat up a little on the basking side (to around 94F) and put some wet moss in there. It could be that husbandry is the issue that is keeping him/her from eating~ they need belly heat to digest. Good luck!

[giaach]

Alright, Im gonna give you some advice that may turn out to be long winded, but bare with me.

Ok from the mentioned weight I think its safe to say that this little guy might not feel secure in his environment. While you might think to yourself "no no, the caresheets said 10g for babies" I have noticed that for some it's fine but for others a 10gal is much too big. I had the same problem with my little girl, she wouldn't eat and it was getting scary.
After posting a thread on this site I got the most helpful advice.

Go out and get a 15 quart plastic tub. Drill some holes along the sides and top (for air flow) and set up two hides and a water dish in there. Make sure the hides are small enough. You want hides that are tight and hug the snake on all sides, while you might not think a 16" snake can fit in a tiny space, it's what they feel most comfortable in.
Once you have all of that set up put him/her in the tub and leave them alone for a FULL WEEK. You want them to feel secure and safe ( a stressed bp won't eat) after that week go to a local pet store and get the SMALLEST LIVE feeder mouse you can find. Later that night get a small cardboard box, punch some holes in all the sides, put the mouse inside it and place that cardboard box on top of the hide the snake is in. Leave it there for about 30min to an hour. This is called Pre-Scenting. The snake will both hear the mouse scratching at the box and will immediately smell it. After that hour gently lift the lid of the tub, take the mouse out of the cardboard box and drop it in the tub, step back so that your not looming over the tub ( but be close enough to monitor the feeding) the snake should take the mouse almost right away, If he/she doesn't go for it within 15 minutes it's likely that it's not going to eat. If thats the case let us know.
Good Luck!

[addsdad]

Even considering force feeding in the same sentence as live is crazy. You have so many things to try before force feeding. As far as I am concerned, you should feed live a good four or five times (even more) before trying to feed frozen. I have the plan to get my guys well established and up over 200 grams before switching to frozen. It worked with my pastel and woma. Neither has refused a frozen thawed rat yet (let alone live). Your snake should be able to handle live rat puts easily. Any pet store that carries snakes should have live rat pups for sale.

[gunkle]

First off thank you giaach for your suggestion the only problem is that for the next week i have to clean the infection and administer antibiotic drops orally to treat the infection. I have checked the humidity with a gauge that does not stay in the tank till i can pick up one with a probe that i can leave inside. its generally between 40 and 60%. As far as the heat goes i'm having trouble in this small of a tank maintaining a temperature difference of 10 - 15 degrees from one side to another and maintain that high of heat, how would i manage to do it in a smaller one? I'm willing to try a smaller one.

Secondly to addsdad i understand your concern with force feeding and was just mentioning that i have not tried to do that or tried to feed live. I was in no way saying that i was considering force feeding a live mouse. Sorry if saying that in the same sentence confused you.

[addsdad]

No, I didn't think that you would force feed a live mouse. I was just trying to say that you shouldn't even think of force feeding yet. Just a lot of things to try first. Believe it or not, I am not easily confused. Sorry if my response confused you into thinking that I was confused.

[gunkle]

I guess i'll have to wait till the infection is clear before i can try to do anything else. Just getting worried. I'll look into getting a smaller tub to use for now and see if that helps. Right now my bp is laying with its head out of the moss hide on the cool side of the tank about 1/2 an inch away from the mouse i tried to feed it tonight.

[giaach]

Okay. You need to stop trying to feed him. If it's sick and has to have creams and crap rubbed on it, chances are it's stressed out and not in the mood to eat. Putting a pinky in the tank is not gonna make your snake decide to eat. You need to wait till the antibiotic treatment is finished then move him/her into a plastic tub, and do as I suggested. I'm giving you advice that should be used.
DO IT

[addsdad]

I just got my normal male to switch to frozen thawed the other night. I got him when he was about 500 grams and he just topped 1000. I tried to get him to eat frozen thawed around the time I first got him, but he refused 5 or 6 times. I fed him live ever since. Two days ago, I decided to try again. I tried the trick of rolling the rat in some used rat bedding. He hit the rat right away. You could try it and see. But yeah, he probably won't eat until he gets feeling better. Good luck.

[gunkle]

Thanks for the advice. I'll wait till the treatment is done then try the tub idea. That will give a few days to find a tub and supplies to heat it.