GREAT NEWS and a few questions

[jrosen123]

Hey everyone, I have had this baby bp which has been causing me so much trouble. I have posted a bunch of threads just for advice on how to get this "hunger striker" to eat.

Well for the first time since we got him (august 08) he finally accepted a f/t mouse.

I am extremely excited about this but I am very cautious about what to do now.

Should I leave him for a week and then try and feed again? or should i just wait a few day then is it safe to handle him? or should I feed him before a week because this is the first time he has eaten anything for a couple of months now, and he looks a little underweight.

I would try and get pictures so I can get some second opinions about his weight, but I don't want to disturb him now.

thanks in advance for any responses, any responses will be greatly appreciated

[dr del]

Hi,

If he is still a baby then feeding every 5 days shouldn't be a problem.

I would wait until he is eating on a good regular pattern before going overboard with the handling though.

Personally I would wait till he has had three meals in a row plus the regular two day no handling after feeding rule before trying it.

And if he stops eating again then stop the handling to see if that was the problem.


dr del

[mainbutter]

I don't have a ton of experience with poor feeders, but I'm fairly certain that you don't want to overfeed, feeding too much at once is certainly no good for any living creature so it certainly doesn't seem to be like something you'd want to do. I'd say just continue to offer food once a week, hopefully he'll eat again next week. I wouldn't handle a snake that isn't eating well, just to make sure to minimize stress.

Hopefully someone more experienced with poor eating younglings will chime in soon

[jrosen123]

alright, thanks, what you guys are saying is pretty much what I was thinking I was just looking for second opinions

Thanks for the help

[Bruce Whitehead]

To third opinion that... if he has not been eating then I would not consider any handling till he gets 4 feeds in.

That is the timeline I use. You want him comfortable and eating first.

It builds on itself, once he gets a few meals in, he'll feel hunger, his metabolism will kick start.. just hands off and let that happen without interuption.

Congrats on the feed.

[jrosen123]

alright, At this point I am willing to wait as long as it takes for the little guy to be healthy, but I am very excited to see a change in him soon (after a couple feedings). Hopefully he will start to be more active, and will become more comfortable with everything around him.

Thanks for the info, advice and opinions

[XGetSome]

Congrats and good luck! Keep us posted!