Frustrating feeding female advice needed
I have a pastel female that is getting frustrating in getting her to eat. I've had her for a bout a year and a half now and she has gone from 800-1100g. So only about 300g in 18 months. She is shy and I've only been able to get her to eat by leaving the thawed rat in her tub overnight. Which had probably been about 8-10 meals total in that time. She's currently kept in a 41qt tub with aspen bedding two hides. With a hotspot of 90*, the middle of the tub holds at about 80* with the cold side in the mid to upper 70s with humidity around 60-70%. I'm thinking about switching to a smaller tub to see if that helps. She ate a 3 meals when I first got her before she went off food for about 5 months, ar ate twice then off again for a other 5-6 months before eating a couple more rats, now she's going on 6 months again. I'm thinking about moving her on if I can't get her to eat. I'm offering a ~100g rat every 2 weeks.
She has shed multiple times, I've been hoping that would get her started, but it hasn't.
Any ideas?
Thanks,
Kyle
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Re: Frustrating feeding female advice needed
I havnt tried live yet since she's eaten FT before. Though I might give it a shot if a smaller tub doesn't work.
Kyle
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Frustrating feeding female advice needed
Have you tried the 'warming by hairdryer trick' ??
This method WORKS if done properly ...
I wait until evening as they're nocturnal of course . I let the rodent thaw out in the reptile room so they get the smell ..
Then I warm up the mouse / rat with a hairdryer and offer with tongs IMMEDIATELY whilst still warm . If refused simply repeat the heating and offering as many times as needed. .
A couple of mine will only strike feed from within their hides so I dangle the warm rodent in front of the hide's entrance - usually works but if it fails simply reheat the rodent with a hairdryer and immediately offer again whilst it's still warm continue until it's grabbed ...
Incidentally , if it shows no interest at all not even a tongue flicker maybe it's best to leave for a week or so. .
PS
If that fails you can move it to a smaller rub , leave it a week to settle in and then try the 'hairdryer trick' again before turning to feeding LIVE .
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