Bad Feeding Experience -- Need Advice to Salvage Situation

We got our first BP 2 weeks ago. She's a 2000g female normal that was being used as a breeder. Her breeder described her as having an "aggressive feeding response". She had been fed live 5wk rats once every 5 days but had readily taken a warm FT rat before she was shipped to us. We waited 8 days to attempt feeding her. For two days before we tried she came out of her hide at lights-out and was actively cruising her tank, smelling, not skittish. We held her 24 before we attempted a feed and then left her alone. Here's what I think we did right:
* Fully thawed the rat near the tank
* Warmed the head
* Offered with tongs

She came out of her hide as we first offered the bounding rat and followed it for a few minutes, then retreated. She then refused to engage with the rat.

Here's where I know we screwed up:
*My BF removed the hide and continued to try to offer it to her. She struck at it but it was clearly defensive, not feeding response.
* We attempted to feed right after lights out but before she came out on her own.

Problem: Since her warm side hide had been moved she retreated to her cold side hide. She's stayed in her cold hide for 48hrs. We live in a cold climate and the cold side is only 78F.

Questions:
*Should we be concerned that she isn't moving to a warmed location?
*What can we do differently next time (feel free to state the obvious, even :)
*Should we go back to live feed for a while?

Just out of curiosity, what are the temps in the tank? What's the general tank/tub layout?

Going back to live is always an option. It hasn't been that long, though, so you may want to continue to try FT.

You don't necessarily need to offer with tongs and a dance. My one less than champion eater likes to eat in the middle of the night with the lights out. Doesn't seem to be interesetd in warm heads or if it's doing some weird zombie dance. It could be wearing a top hat and singing a jaunty tune for all she cares.

She seems to want it to be laying there on the ground at 2AM so she can pick it up in the dead of night without any commotion and dine in peace. That's it.

Next time, offer it to her with the tongs. If she doesn't get it quickly and seems less than enthused, lay it on the ground and close up for the night. It may very well be gone the next day.

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Originally Posted by Pr0veIt

We got our first BP 2 weeks ago. She's a 2000g female normal that was being used as a breeder. Her breeder described her as having an "aggressive feeding response". She had been fed live 5wk rats once every 5 days but had readily taken a warm FT rat before she was shipped to us. We waited 8 days to attempt feeding her. For two days before we tried she came out of her hide at lights-out and was actively cruising her tank, smelling, not skittish. We held her 24 before we attempted a feed and then left her alone. Here's what I think we did right:
* Fully thawed the rat near the tank
* Warmed the head
* Offered with tongs

She came out of her hide as we first offered the bounding rat and followed it for a few minutes, then retreated. She then refused to engage with the rat.

Here's where I know we screwed up:
*My BF removed the hide and continued to try to offer it to her. She struck at it but it was clearly defensive, not feeding response.
* We attempted to feed right after lights out but before she came out on her own.

Problem: Since her warm side hide had been moved she retreated to her cold side hide. She's stayed in her cold hide for 48hrs. We live in a cold climate and the cold side is only 78F.

Questions:
*Should we be concerned that she isn't moving to a warmed location?
*What can we do differently next time (feel free to state the obvious, even :)
*Should we go back to live feed for a while?

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make sure that 3 of the 4 sides of her enclosure are blacked out so she feels secure. Also once she strangles you should leave her alone to feed. Also some BPs are picky and you may need to feed live for a few weeks so look into how to carefully feed live

You said she's in a tank. Did the breeder keep her in a rack/tub system? A friend had one that had been a "tub girl" all her life, he got her and put her in a tank and even with hides she wouldn't eat for several weeks and her prior owner said that she rarely skipped meals. My friend eventually moved her into a 41 qt sterilite tub, observed "hunting" behavior from her that same evening, offered a f/t rat, and she hit it immediately.

I agree with what has been said, re-try frozen thawed before attempting live. She may not feel ready to eat, offer on her usual feeding schedule but basically leave her be until she has eaten for you :) I found out that lifting the hide is a big no, no too! I think a lot of people make little mistakes throughout ownership!

If she doesn't come out of her hide to strike and constrict try leaving it in there with her. I thought my little one wasn't going to eat last night as she didn't even come out of her hide (hadn't seen her in a few days so I was a little naughty and lifted the hide to make sure she was still alive) I was fully expecting to be removing a rat this morning but it was gone. I left it in the door to the hide she was in, turned off the lights and went into a different room for the night. (this is the only time this has worked for me so it's not guaranteed but it's another option available to you)

Good luck on getting your new girl to feed! :)

You said you thawed near the tank and then warmed the head. The entire rat needs to be warm. A rats body temp is around 100. I would suggest placing the rat in a zip bag and submerging in hot water for about 15 minutes and then attempt to feed. The others made some good suggestions but I honestly think you just did not have it warm enough.

I have two snakes that will only take a rat piping hot. I feed them first. If it is two cold, which is still very warm, they will not show interest. As soon as I give them another 5 minutes in hot water they take them without issue.

If she is used to live the heat signature of the f/t needs to be similar. That means the whole rat needs to be warm.

Here is what works for me with my four BP's. Place the frozen rat in a ziplock bag and let it thaw out for at least two hours in another room. About 10 - 15 minutes before feeding place the baggie in a large bowl with the hottest tap water that will come out. about halfway through run more hot water in the bowl. Remove the rat from the baggie and roll into a paper towel to absorb any moisture that might have gotten in. If they have gotten really wet I hit them with the hair dryer for a minute until the fur is dry.

I rarely have any of them miss a meal this way, even in shed. One comes out of his hide searching for the rat even before the enclosure is opened and hits it within seconds. Another stays in her hide. I dangle the rat just outside of her hide entrance and within a couple seconds she comes blasting out of the hide and coils around it. The power of her attack is quite impressive. Hard to believe she is one of my mellowest to handle.

Don't sweat it too much. It may take some time before yours feels comfortable enough to take a meal. Good luck!

I'll use a paper towel if they get real wet but I don't make them dry. I well serve them damp even to those on cypress mulch. No issues.

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Originally Posted by KMG

You said you thawed near the tank and then warmed the head. The entire rat needs to be warm. A rats body temp is around 100. I would suggest placing the rat in a zip bag and submerging in hot water for about 15 minutes and then attempt to feed. The others made some good suggestions but I honestly think you just did not have it warm enough.

I have two snakes that will only take a rat piping hot. I feed them first. If it is two cold, which is still very warm, they will not show interest. As soon as I give them another 5 minutes in hot water they take them without issue.

If she is used to live the heat signature of the f/t needs to be similar. That means the whole rat needs to be warm.

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We did warm the whole rat although it may not have been 100F. I'll try warming more next time. Thanks!

Thanks for all the advice. We're going to try FT again but get it really warm. Then we'll just be patient, leaving it near the hide entrance and leaving the room for a while. We'll also try feeding later at night.

Thanks again. I'll report back when we get some results :)

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Thanks for all the advice. We're going to try FT again but get it really warm. Then we'll just be patient, leaving it near the hide entrance and leaving the room for a while. We'll also try feeding later at night.

Thanks again. I'll report back when we get some results :)