Questions about age, adjustment time and eating.

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Originally Posted by KL888

He ate. A live feeding but hopefully this will stoke is apatite.

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I'm glad that at least you got him to eat. I hope you can get him "back" to taking f/t rodents for safety & humane reasons, but the other thing that occurs to me (& I don't recall who or where you got this snake from, sorry if you mentioned?) is that some people tell you what you want to hear just to make a sale (as in "oh yes, he takes f/t really well"...) & it's possible that he never actually did. Just saying...;) It would be nice if snakes could actually talk & give us the straight story.

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Originally Posted by KL888

So here is my plan for Wednesday. Do the normal thawing process but feed him before he comes out of the hide. From all the help you have generously given me, I think I was waiting too long to fee him. I did also lowered and double checked the temps and humidity. There in the parameter we talked about. I may need to invest in a small soft light source as my normal room light is rather bright.

Any thoughts?

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Edit: i missed that he ate live.

Even so, That's a good point about lighting you made, A couple of mine will only feed in subdued light. And thats in my tub system (let alone your glass tank). especially my Blue Eyed Lusystic who has very good eyesight. She tends to watch me more than the food otherwize.

MAybe turn the room light off and leave one on in the corridor outside if you dont have a lamp for now. you might be able to do defrosted then.

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Originally Posted by KL888

... I may need to invest in a small soft light source as my normal room light is rather bright. Any thoughts?

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Yes, as Ascended already noted, BPs are nocturnal hunters & bright lights are a turn-off for them. Our standard recommendation is to feed in the evening or nighttime hours, & it goes without saying you want the room as dim as possible for a while before you offer. If he doesn't take it immediately, best that you turn the lights out & leave for a while if you can, & be careful to use only dim light when you need to return to the room- at least until you see if he ate. Black or red incandescent bulbs are good options, or just get a lamp dimmer (IF it's the kind of light that you can use a dimmer with- not all modern lights work with a dimmer.)

I would prefer that. I mean I know it's nature but still it was a little rough.

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Originally Posted by KL888

I would prefer that. I mean I know it's nature and the rat was kind of a jerk but still it was a little rough.

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Well, "jerks" fight back & can injure your non-jerk pet snake- it's far easier to keep a snake healthy than to need a vet to fix injuries. There's a reason that most of my snakes live to "ripe old ages"- I prefer to avoid risks like feeding live. I'm glad your snake made this kill successfully, but over time, the odds of a rat seriously biting your snake increases. Rat bites can cause serious infections, so even when the injury doesn't appear to be significant, it still might prove to be. Nearly all snakes will switch to f/t if you stick with it & "check all the boxes"- we'll do our best to help you figure out your :snake: Sometimes snakes will refuse to eat (live) after a bite also- that's another headache. :rolleyes:

it's not something I would do again. That was the worst part, waiting two days to check him out medically.

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Originally Posted by KL888

it's not something I would do again. That was the worst part, waiting two days to check him out medically.

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Just know that IF you need to feed live while you get him switched to f/t, rat pups with eyes closed will NOT bite back in self-defense, not until their eyes are open, & the same goes for mice. Feeding live is still best avoided out of respect for the prey animals, but let's face it, most of us are not vegetarians either, & neither are our dogs & cats- we're often forced to "take sides" for the well-being of our pets, or just for our own personal preferences. While we mostly promote feeding f/t (or p/k- pre-killed, fresh) for our pets, we're also not going to criticize you for doing what is needed for the pet you're keeping. Many snakes happily take f/t, but not all of them do, or some take more persuasion than others do. We're just here to help you find the best options & methods.

Oka so I tried a F/T this week and no dice. I used the blow dryer but by the time he would get on to the rats it was cold. Does anyone have an advice for getting him back on F/T? Also can a feeder be too small? Thank you.

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Originally Posted by KL888

Oka so I tried a F/T this week and no dice. I used the blow dryer but by the time he would get on to the rats it was cold. Does anyone have an advice for getting him back on F/T? Also can a feeder be too small? Thank you.

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It might take some time to get him on F/T. Do you jiggle it? Long tweezers (at least a foot long) are good to so it cant see your hand.
If it prefers to find it himself or he backs off when you jiggle it and you want to drop feed, then I find the food item stays hot longer with the hot water method.
Also, I have some that will take after a few hours in the tank when its cooled if lefty alone.

Jiggling it, even when further away scares him, if he even notices. I have done the hot water and the drop fed didn't seem to make a difference, I do use tongs. I will add that even with a live feed he took a long time to zero in on it.