Ups and downs

So for the past month, five out of six snakes just aren't in the mood for food. No biggie, except for the fact that two of those six are rescues and really need to gain weight. One will only eat live mice, I've only gotten her to take f/t rats once, the other was eating rats just fine before she decided she didn't want anything to do with them, and then, a female who's not a rescue, who switched over to f/t rats without second thought, suddenly decided she wasn't in the mood for rats either.
It doesn't really bother me that no one wants to eat, what bothers me is the only way i can find out is by thawing the rats then offering, but I can only do that so many times before the rats start to go bad. Ugh. Snakes. Is there any way to find out before I feed my rats if my snakes aren't hungry? Maybe I should train them to do something ridiculous to tell me if they're hungry or not.. :rofl:

On the bright side of all things, I'm getting a 2011 male pastel het caramel tomorrow, and next week I'm getting a male hog island boa from Chad Duggin. I'm a little excited. ;)

If it's been going on for a month, and it's occurring for 5 of 6, maybe triple-check the temps/humidity/security of each snake. The less stressful and secure, the more likely they'll be comfortable enough to eat!

Roaming around is a good indicator that they're hungry. If they move around during the day and night (not just regular night time exploration) then that's a good indicator that they're hungry. If they tongue flick the rodent, and follow it around, they're definitely interested. Make sure they don't have stuck eye caps (the rescues).

How much do these snakes weigh? They can go off feed for a really long time with no side-effects other than weight-loss.

Continue to offer on whatever schedule you had them, and try different things. Live or f/t rats or mice. Try different combinations. That's how I figured out who the live eaters were... I tried live rats first since in the long run, rats will be better than mice!

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Originally Posted by h00blah

If it's been going on for a month, and it's occurring for 5 of 6, maybe triple-check the temps/humidity/security of each snake. The less stressful and secure, the more likely they'll be comfortable enough to eat!

Roaming around is a good indicator that they're hungry. If they move around during the day and night (not just regular night time exploration) then that's a good indicator that they're hungry. If they tongue flick the rodent, and follow it around, they're definitely interested. Make sure they don't have stuck eye caps (the rescues).

How much do these snakes weigh? They can go off feed for a really long time with no side-effects other than weight-loss.

Continue to offer on whatever schedule you had them, and try different things. Live or f/t rats or mice. Try different combinations. That's how I figured out who the live eaters were... I tried live rats first since in the long run, rats will be better than mice!

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I'm thinking it might be a humidity problem, due to the fact that my rack is made of wood, it absorbs most of the humidity.

One of my rescues has been moving around quite a bit recently, and she did seem interested in the rat at first. After she turned it down the first time, I rubbed the rat in soiled mouse bedding to see if maybe she was just in the mood for something else, and it was still a no-go. All of my snakes, rescues included, have clear eyes and shed perfectly every time.

I don't have everyone's weight memorized, but there are really only two snakes who's weight needs to increase. The rescue who had to be taken to the vet now weights roughly 1500g (1600 when the vet weighed her a few months ago) and the most recent rescue weighs only 1200 (not to mention she's at least 4.5ft long. She's so skinny, I can wrap my fingers perfectly around her.) It's mainly those two who I want to eat, everyone else is at a healthy enough weight to fast for a bit (not that it makes me feel any better, hahah.)

I think I'll try live rats, although I'd really rather not... But hey, if that's what it takes to get them to eat, it has to be done.

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Originally Posted by ShamelessAardvark

I think I'll try live rats, although I'd really rather not... But hey, if that's what it takes to get them to eat, it has to be done.

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I can't stand feeding live... but that's how some BPs are.. picky lol. 2 of my BPs prefer live... My spider male will strike and coil a f/t rat, but he'll spend a long time looking for it, then give up... Then he won't eat it or strike at it afterwords... My pastel het clown ate ONE f/t rat fuzzy but now she won't even strike at them.. She'll just hide from them.. I tried live, and it really entices her to hunt, strike, kill, then eat. Whatever it takes to get her to eat! I'll try again once she's a bit bigger and I can try to experiment s'more, possibly skipping a feeding or 2.. I just don't want to try it with a baby