trouble feeding

My male that we have had for 4 weeks now is pounding f/t rat pups but my females that we got 12/15/12 are not eating as well. They ate great a few days after coming home and just shed on friday and Sat. Tonight one of them struck their rat but I spooked her when her tail got stuck in the door and dropped the fuzzy :-( I tried again but she didn't take it. My other female showed no interest in her rat pup. Should I try again tomorrow sinfe it has been 2 weeks since they last ate?

Offering them food every day will only stress them out. I would just feed them on their regular feeding day. If you feed weekly, feed next week. I would also avoid handling them until they have eaten at least 3-5 times consistently for you. It could be they are a little stressed from being new arrivals. Make sure your husbandry is spot on and give them some alone time. I'm sure they'll eat for you in no time.

So we havent held or really messed with our females for the past week and again they refused to eat. I soaked the rat fuzzies in chicken broth as well. I guess the next step would be live.....im just not sure of what type of live to get, should I get rat fuzzies or mice? My females weigh 97g and 135g.

I would get live fuzzy rats for the girls. It may be that they just need live food. I have a spider female who wouldn't eat frozen for me. I bought her live and she's never refused a meal since then. Once they've eaten several live meals from you, you can try feeding them frozen again. If they don't eat the rats for you, you may want to try feeding mice. However, I caution you in feeding mice because they can be a pain to switch. Some are easy, some aren't. What were they eating when you purchased them?

They were eating rat fuzzies, we believe and I think they were live. The weird thing is they both ate a day after we brought them home but havent eaten since.

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Originally Posted by jesst

They were eating rat fuzzies, we believe and I think they were live. The weird thing is they both ate a day after we brought them home but havent eaten since.

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My spider was the same way. She took a frozen a couple of days after we brought her home and then wouldn't touch frozen after that. Try to offer them live rat fuzzies and see how they do on their next feeding.

I went and got live rat pinkies (that was all they had) and thankfully they both ate them. Thanks for all the help. Do I try a f/t the next feeding or just another live?

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Originally Posted by jesst

I went and got live rat pinkies (that was all they had) and thankfully they both ate them. Thanks for all the help. Do I try a f/t the next feeding or just another live?

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I would feed them live for a few more weeks to help them regain any weight they may have lost. After 2-3 live feedings, you can go ahead and try to switch them back.

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Originally Posted by jesst

I went and got live rat pinkies (that was all they had) and thankfully they both ate them. Thanks for all the help. Do I try a f/t the next feeding or just another live?

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It's up to you. Rat pinks are on the small side, so they should be a little extra hungry, which might help with trying F/T. Just make sure you are thawing and then warming the prey fully, and then offer with tongs so your fingers are out of the way. I just hover the fuzzy a few inches from their heads - no major movements, but not leaving it motionless on the cage floor, either.