picky eater

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Originally Posted by Benjo_08

should i offer him live in his encloser? he may be more comfortable eating there

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Yeah, just make sure to watch and prevent any injuries from happening.

i picked up a non started hatchling (thats what they call it when they've never eaten before). I got a live small adult mouse and prescented (put the mouse in a container outside the snakes enclosure for 30 mins) then put the rodent in the enclosure on the opposite side that the snake was on.

it took her about 45 mins, but she did eventually strike, constrict, kill and eat. i did watch her the entire time because sm. mice are big enough to cause damage. I did remove a hide to keep the mouse from going into it.

You could try warming the f/t mouse and moving it like its a real mouse, just dont harass the snake with the mouse. Sometimes they will take it like that. I switched my girl to F/T after 3 feedings on live and how she eats like a champ.

I tried my best to prescent the room before offering him the f/t. Its a male btw.. I'll try live fuzzies this time.. should i wait a whole week before offering him another meal?? I feel so bad, he looks really skinny..

I'm thinking the poor guy is just stressed out.. i barely got the guy and i've already had to go through the hassle of bathing him and treating his tank for mites.... he's been handled and moved around a lot..

If he refuses the meal next week do i consider force feeding him?

I am by no means an expert, but as someone who came here with questions similar to yours...

I would wait 4 or 5 days and then offer food again. I would either move him to a smaller enclosure, or clutter up his current home. With my baby, I just stuffed his tank positively full of fake plants and driftwood to give him total ground cover, and then switched to feeding in his cage.

Once I made these changes, he immediately struck, and ate a f/t hopper with NO problem after 3 weeks of ignoring food.

I had a similar situation. I bought mine at 2 weeks old, and she had only eaten twice. Took her home, put her in a 20g and she wouldn't eat when I presented food. I offered twice, then posted. Figured out 20g is too big, and bought a 12qt tub. I switched her, waited 4-5 days, and put a small mouse in there. Left, came back and it was gone. I just fed her again last night, and her feeding response could not have been better.

Is your tank in a high traffic area? I would suggest moving him to a smaller enclosure and leaving him be for about 5 days. Only bother him when you need to change his water or substrate. It'll do loads of good when it comes to lowering the stress level.