Afraid of Rats?

Has anyone else had this? I have had my BP for about a year He has always had no problem feeding I started him out on small mice and gradually moved up to small to medium sized rats. up until recently he was feeding fine and then one day he just wouldn't go after rats anymore he would go up to them like he was about to strike and if they get near him or bump him he backs off and balls up. I tried a couple mice the a week a go yesterday just to see if he would take them and he took them down easily and ate but I just tried a small rat and back to the same thing acting like he was afraid of them.

Feeding live or F/T? Any injuries from live? I have heard of some BPs getting prissy and only wanting mice so they just fed them what they would eat. I know rats are a tad more nutritious (there is some debate to this, but overall I have seen better growth and less irritability when feeding rats) so I started mine on mice when they were babies last year and switched them to rats a few months back and they have hit them every single time...even during winter.

Just might be your BP wants mice. Sometimes I just want to eat Captain Crunch but my wife buys our kids Fruity Pebbles so I wait and go by Captain Crunch. :P

Will only eat live will not eat F/T already found that out. I am always there when he eats and have seen no injuries. Only leave the feeder in with him for about 5 mins or so if he doesnt eat it in that time i take it out. I am just hoping he doesn't want just mice cause at his size he will have to eat like 3 to 4 at a time to even fill him up.

Well it sounds like the snake is just off feed for the off season (Cold) Try backing your rats down to a wiener or smaller small and see what that does as I have snakes that will not strike anything to Big. Good luck!

Have you tried offering the rats at night, in the dark? If the snake is obviously interested (lots of tongue flickering, staring at the feeder) but not striking, I'd turn off the lights and leave them alone for a few minutes. Usually 5 isn't enough for some so you might just be pulling the feeder before they get themselves worked up enough to take it. 20-30 minutes is pretty much the limit for how long I'd leave a live feeder in for, though. After that, it's obvious the snake isn't hungry.

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Originally Posted by PigZilla50317

Well it sounds like the snake is just off feed for the off season (Cold) Try backing your rats down to a wiener or smaller small and see what that does as I have snakes that will not strike anything to Big. Good luck!

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I agree. I feed F/T but maybe it will still apply... I got my BP in the summer and he ate like a champ until the winter came along. It was frustrating when he'd ignore food week after week. He was more concerned with getting out of his feed box than eating. Jacking up the heat in my room and feeding him in his enclosure fixed the problem.

i've experienced that when my BPs are about to shed. one time the rat was stomping on my BP and he'd just ball up looking scared. got me worried for a sec