Nervous about assisted feeding but might have too.

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Originally Posted by dr del

Hi,

Definately move the size up to a hopper mouse.

Don't think about assist feeding just yet.

When the guy said she had eaten what did he say she had eaten?

And your right not to try and hold her till you get her to have eaten a few times just to make sure you are off to a good start.

Can you talk us through all the steps you take in the feeding process - how do you thaw , do you pre-scent, do you really heat the head just before offering?

All of which might have been tricky with only a mouse pink mind you.

And the old double check questions - what are you measuring the temps with and where in the tank are you measuring them?


dr del

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Dr. Del

1. i heat the pinky in the bag that it comes in with hot water but the bag is still sealed then when i feel the pinky is nice an squishy i will then take my hemostats and wiggle it around her face NOT right in her face but close enough to wear she gets the scent....

2. the temps are about 92 on her warm side 80 83 in the middle and about 78 75 on the coolside prolly a little cooler

3. the humidity is at 50 to 60 percent that really all the steps i do o and i also lay a napkin down if that matters

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Originally Posted by seeya205

I got mine when he was 3 weeks old and it took him just over 3 weeks to eat. He wouldn't even look at the pinkie for 3 weeks but he grabbed the mouse hopper right away! I feed him 3 feedings of mice then switched to a rat fuzzy and he took it no problem! Also, did you cover 3 sides? I would leave him alone completely for 5 days then try again! He will eat eventually. I now how stressful it can be with a new snake. Just be patient!

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when you say put a live hopper in do i just let the hopper roam around or do i get f/t still OR do i take my hemostats and take the live mouse that way. thanks

You can use a F/T hopper as well, hopper doesn't mean live it's a size designation. After you thaw it's a good idea to heat the prey up some more. Run it under hot water, put it under a heat lamp or blast it with a hair dryer. Try not to dangle the prey too close to her, some snakes are more shy than others and she's likely still very skittish from the move.

You don't really need to worry until the snake's spine and ribs become prominent. If her shape is triangular instead of round then that's the time for concern. Good luck!

This is the procedure I go through when getting a new ball (and I will be getting a Lesser probably on Thursday who will meet the same treatment). It may work for you, it may not, but I kind of picked it up from reading around on this forum. Hope it helps.

1. Upon getting the snake use a mite killer on it, the bag/box it was in, etc. Kinda like a de-lousing procedure to reduce the possibility of an infestation.
2. Put the snake in a tub that is already regulated to have the right humidity and temps at all times, but still monitor the temp/humidity to make adjustments if need be (I use Acu-Rites for this).
3. Ignore that the snake exists for 2 weeks. Well not exactly.. keep a close eye on it's habitat, make sure you don't see signs of RI or a mite infestation and always change its water, but other than that, leave it be.
4. After two weeks try feeding it an appropriate sized prey item (10-15% of it's mass) to see if it will take it. Prescent the area for it, come back shortly later and do the zombie rodent dance, then hope it strikes. If not, wait a week.

After about a month of this if it still hasn't eaten then I'd go to the store and buy lives for it to eat. In the end something always works.

The crutial thing is that the snake needs to get settled in before it will eat. Make sure your husbandry is all okay and then you shouldn't have a problem.

Hi,

Try pre-scenting a little more so she knows food is in the area.

I would try letting the hopper defrost sitting out near her cage - I put mine on a bit of kitchen towel and let it defrost slowly.

Then give the head of the F/T a quick blast with a hairdrier to get it nice and hot just before you offer it to her. You will probably have to hold the hopper with tongs during this or the hairdrier will blast it across the tank top. :giggle:

Mine now shoot their heads out of their hides whenever I start the hairdrier. :rolleyes:

You might want to look into boosting your cool end temps a little as well.


dr del

If you go for live prey, you can just let it roam in her tank. As long as you keep an eye on the feeding, there is very little that can go wrong. If you leave the hide in, you want to make sure the prey doesn't go into the hide with the snake...that tends to spook them.

I have a little bitty girl that I am feeding rat fuzzies... they don't actually move a whole lot, so you can leave them in the tub/tank without a ton of supervision (once the rodent has opened it's eyes and is old enough to move around the enclosure, I always supervise the whole feeding) The fuzzies move enough to snag the snakes attention, and they can't cause any harm since they really aren't very mobile yet.

Ball pythons sometimes don't recognized pinkys as food because theyre too small, feed a fuzzy, and for your boa feed a adult mice a fuzzy is too little

To the OP: I noticed on your avatar you have a sticky thermometer on the boas tank. I dont know what boa temps need to be but these sticky thermometers are very inaccurate so if thats what you are using for the BP you may not be getting the right temps.

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Originally Posted by MsPrada

To the OP: I noticed on your avatar you have a sticky thermometer on the boas tank. I dont know what boa temps need to be but these sticky thermometers are very inaccurate so if thats what you are using for the BP you may not be getting the right temps.

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no i have a digital and also one of those house temp things as well

**This is a canned reply**

Read through this and see if some of it works for you :)

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OK, so i notice a ton of threads on here about "omg my snake wont eat." Ive compiled some info on fixing this issue. (Please excuse my run on sentences). Oh, and all this stuff has to do with F/T feeders unless otherwise noted.

The following information can be used after ruling out the other causes for refusals : PLEASE check the sticky care sheet for that info. ( your enclosure is appropriately sized for the snake, the temperatures and humidity are in the proper range and being measured with proper probes and temp units, hides are tight fitting and opaque etc).

- stress due to enclosure size
- stress due to frequent handling
- having the enclosure in a high traffic area
- etc.

Feeder Quality
The quality of your feeders matters. I had some older feeders who were not in the best shape, I got new much better looking, smelling and appearing feeders from a few vendors at a local show and it REALLY showed when i went to feed my snakes with these new feeders. Personally, if i have a refusal i don\'t re-freeze the rodent. I use quite a bit of time to defrost so i dont trust them. Luckily, i have a garbage disposal of a spider female and just give her the left overs.

When picking out feeders, look for clean whole animals (the occasional rodent missing a tail tip or foot is completely acceptable, as is the occasional urine stain especially on a white mouse or rat. Or a few poops). Rodents, even frozen ones do SMELL rodent-y. Its like an earthy musty smell. When the rodents smell FOUL you want to discard them.

Anyway, onto the more useful info:

PRE SCENT PRE SCENT PRE SCENT.
Pre scenting, i have noticed, will trigger most snakes to go into feeding mode. What I do personally, is stick the mice and rats im going to feed my snakes into an empty tub in their rack (i feed frozen thawed and happen to have empty rack space in my rack). I let the rodents defrost for about 5 hours or more. The larger items go over the heat tape, the smaller ones don\'t have to. I then take out a hair dryer and give all the rodents a quick blast with it on low. I usually have the hair dryer on, but not directly on the rodents because you dont want to cook them. Within 30 seconds all my snakes are out cursing their enclosures looking for food.

Other methods of presenting are leaving the rodents to thaw near the enclosure of the snake. Weather it be a live rodent or defrosting in a baggie with warm water and leaving the corner of the baggie open.

Always make sure your rodents are warm enough. They should feel warm to the touch (not hot, not cold). And make sure they are thoroughly defrosted. You can check this by squeezing the ribs and stomach of the rodent lightly. If you get give the rodent is defrosted. If you squeeze and you dont feel any movement of the ribs, then the rodent is not yet defrosted .

SWITCHING PREY TYPES and SCENTING:
Ball pythons can be pretty picky when it comes to their food. If they like mice, sometimes they want to stay on mice, but you want to move them to rats (for whatever reason you choose).

Always try just feeding the wanted prey type first, you\'d be surprised how many snakes just don\'t care and smell "rodent" instead of individualizing, and end up eating.

If you feed F/T, defrost 2 prey items that together reach the size of the prey item you want to feed your snake. Have one of them be the first prey type, and the other be the second prey type. Take the first prey item (hereby called mouse) and rub it all over the second prey item (we\'ll call that one rat). I usually try to rub the head, belly and genital area of the mouse on the rat. I don\'t really know rodent anatomy other than the gross anatomy stuff but i assume rodents have scent glands in their faces and genital areas. Do this pretty liberally. You might not be able to discern a difference between the two, but your snake may. Try to offer the rat (second item) once you\'ve done this. If the snake doesn\'t take it, try rubbing the mouse on the rat some more (this is called scenting). Try offering it again (make sure it is warm, the item may have cooled off by now).

Hopefully the snake will take it, if not, offer the first prey item first (mouse). Let the snake eat that item. Once it has finished and realigned its jaws offer the second item. Since the snake is in feeding mode, it may take the rodent since it already smells vaguely of its preferred type.

If this doesn\'t work, try it again at the next feeding. If you have to skip a feeding session to try to switch your snake it is ok. These snakes eat much more often in captivity than they do in the wild. Baby snakes can go with skipping a meal every once in a while. Until your snake switches, keep scenting the rodent by rubbing it with the other prey type.

With older, more established animals, skipping a few feeding sessions may be in order. Be aware that there are some snakes that will never switch. They would rather starve than eat prey type two.

Adult Animals
Sexually mature ball pythons (both males and females) usually go off feed during breeding season. These animals have enough energy stored so they can safely not eat for months. Personally, I have had a snake go off food for 5 months, be picky for another 2, then eat with gusto. Over this time, this 1100 gram snake lost maybe 100 grams. This is within the acceptable range. Don\'t fret if your 2,3 or 20 year old BP stops eating around November (in the northern hemisphere). Offer food a few times a month and when they are ready they will begin eating again.

Starting Babies
So, you just got your first ball python, its a cute little baby that weighs about 60 grams. Its head might be a little funny shaped because its thin, and it has a triangle look to its body where its spine is a little more apparent than it should be. You offer it a F/T rat, and when it dosen\'t take it, you worry.

It is possible to get an unstarted baby without realizing it. Most responsible breeders will make sure their babies have fed at least 2 times before selling them, but not every breeder or pet store is like this.

Let your baby settle in for 7 days with no handling except for cage maintenance (cleaning or weighing). After this 7 day period, I suggest offering a live hopper or small adult mouse. Remove any cage furniture that the rodent can hide in like vines or the second hide. Prescent the room by leaving the rodent in a secure container with a few air holes in it so your snake can smell it.

Introduce the rodent into the side of the enclosure OPPOSITE from the one your snake is on. Your snake will most likely be in its hide. The snake should get interested in the prey item but it will be unsure of itself. The process of striking, coiling and eating may take an hour or more for the snake to really figure it out. Just trust your snake. They are little predators and instinctively should know what to do. Dont leave your snake unattended with a live rodent. I keep a pair of hemostats handy just to keep a bitey rodent from snacking on my snake.

I would offer a live prey item to the snake at the next feeding. Then, at the third feeding, if you want to try switching your snake to F/T you can try it.

Pre scent (! ) youre prey item, make sure it is dry and offer it to your snake off of hemostats. Hold the prey item with the hemostats near the scruff or the shoulder blades. If your snake takes it off the hemostats, congrats! If not, try doing the zombie dance. The zombie dance is moving the rodent in natural ways simulating life so that your snake thinks the prey is alive. Move the rodent slowly, and dont harass the snake with it (ie, don\'t bump your snake in the nose or body with the rodent). If your snake is in feeding mode you\'ll be able to tell. (Intent stare, flickering tongue, "s" curve in the neck). If they are in feeding mode, you will probably elicit a feeding strike. If your snake strikes and constricts, give the tail of the rodent a few tugs to simulate struggling. This will further ingrain the feeding response and help to curb any spitting out of the rodent.

Once your snake strikes and constricts, leave it alone in a dim room. Keep an eye on it but don\'t pester it much. If you bother your snake too much it may spit out the prey item.

I\'ll be adding to this thread as i figure out more information. Hopefully this will shed some light on helping these sometimes stubborn snakes eat.