'Nother feeding fail

Tried to feed Bradley again this morning at 2:30 am (thats when I leave for work.). I've had him for a week, so this would be his first feeding with me. It was freshly killed, so I know it was a nice temp. Thought it might be better to try it late into the darkness... I did the zombie dance technique- night before last I tried the "leave dead one in tank under heat lamp" technique.
The thing that was really frustrating was that he kept looking really interested, getting right up on the rat, sniffing over every part of it- then snubbing it. Did this a couple of times. Oh well... my next step is to wait a few days and then try a late live one. I have a 2am shift on wednesday, would that be too soon to try again?

I would wait a full week, and just leave him be. I would even go as far as to cover all of the transparent sides of his enclosure with paper so he feels safe. After a solid week of seclusion and perfect husbandry you will have about the best chance that you could possibly have at a successful feeding.

I know it's tempting to try to feed, and interact with your new pickup but if he's not eating I'd really suggest giving him as much room as possible. If you've only had him a week there is no need to panic, we are dealing with ball pythons here. This is just par for the course.

I would not try live just yet. If he at least showed interest in a pre-killed, try it AT LEAST once more before you give up, preferably more. Unless you are breeding your own rodents, feeding live is just a pain. If they refuse the meal, you have a rat to take care of for a week, plus you have to go buy one every week. Pre-killed is a good step toward frozen-thawed, which is by far the most convenient. Again, unless you have the convenience of breeding your own rodents, live prey should be a last resort, used only for a snake that absolutely refuses anything else. If you have only had the snake a week, you are not in "last resort" territory quite yet. :)

Do you happen to know what the snake was eating before you got him? He may have been on f/t and the pre-killed is confusing him.

Before I got him, he was eating fully lively live medium rats. I want to switch him to pre killed. You're right, if he's showing interest that might be a good sign... I have had all four sides and part of his lid covered in black paper. And it's been tough to let him be, but I have been really good... :P
I have another boy, and he will eat anything I put in his tank, so if the live ones aren't eaten I just kill them and freeze them for him. He doesn't even coil if they're not moving, just start munching on their heads...

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Originally Posted by blueberrypancakes

I have another boy, and he will eat anything I put in his tank, so if the live ones aren't eaten I just kill them and freeze them for him. He doesn't even coil if they're not moving, just start munching on their heads...

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Is the snake with the feeding problems still in QT? If so I'd suggest NOT giving his snubbed food to your existing snake. Set up a little rat habitat because if the new one continues to only eat live you'll be happy to have a place to put the ones he refuses.

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Originally Posted by babyknees

Is the snake with the feeding problems still in QT? If so I'd suggest NOT giving his snubbed food to your existing snake. Set up a little rat habitat because if the new one continues to only eat live you'll be happy to have a place to put the ones he refuses.

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X2 1 sick snake is bad, two or more just sucks.. not to mention how much a vet bill can go up... and as hard as it Is, you just got to let him be and get use yo his new hone. A little tine of eating isn't going to kill them. Our went for anywhere front 12-18 months maybe even a little longer without food. (It was on a hunger strike for 7 recorded No That's before we got her BUT... they didn't record records the entire time. -.-;)

The little one will be fine, just keep your husbandry on track And you'll have no problems.

I think that if the person you got the snake from was feeding live, you should also start by feeding live. Once the snake has become familiar and comfortable in the new environment, you can then try to transition to PK or F/T. The new home is going to be a big enough adjustment for the snake without trying to change prey types at the same time. Baby steps, one change at a time and you'll have more success and a LOT less frustration...

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Originally Posted by inknsteel

i think that if the person you got the snake from was feeding live, you should also start by feeding live. Once the snake has become familiar and comfortable in the new environment, you can then try to transition to pk or f/t. The new home is going to be a big enough adjustment for the snake without trying to change prey types at the same time. Baby steps, one change at a time and you'll have more success and a lot less frustration...

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I agree. The key to an easy acclimation is keeping things as easy/low stress as possible for the snake. The environment has changed, you would find it easier to not confuse him with the food as well. Get him eating on a good schedule and then try to convert him to first pk then later ft.


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Yep, he's in quarantine. I hadn't thought about the rats being bad to give Jacks, so thanks for the (duh!) reminder there...! I always just freeze the ones that Jackson doesn't eat- sometimes I'll offer two if they're smaller than his usual size and he'll refuse seconds.
I'll give him another week and try to feed live on Monday- before going to work at 2am.
I'm not concerned about his feeding response so far, I know he's in a new place and moving around stresses me out, too!