(TW: written gore) Difficult BP + Horrifying Nightmares: What next?

Yes I love Bob's "brother" Kent, he makes me think of a lot of people I've met... Or at least some of them. As far as the scenting thing I haven't heard of the vanilla thing either but I have heard of the ASF juice.

At least ASF juice makes sense. Using vanilla? Not so much... I also have a hard time believing that taking a shy & easily-stressed snake for a "ride in the car" could possibly do anything to inspire their appetite, but I've heard that more than once, so who knows? It's not the first thing I'd try, I'll say that.

Vanilla is one of those old-school myths you still hear now and then.

I'm not a huge fan of Bob's videos. He seems like a nice guy; he's funny; but he hasn't kept snakes for all that long. He's entertaining but I wouldn't take husbandry advice from him.

Reptilinks sells ASF juice for scenting as well as frog juice for scenting for reptiles that eat amphibians, and some other scenting juices. I'm still not sure what the fascination is with ASF as feeders for Royal pythons - ASF aren't really a common native rodent in their habitat. But the various scenting juices can be helpful for specific reptiles. I'm not at all convinced of their utility for Royal pythons, as feeding refusal with Royals is husbandry-related most of the time, and not related to improper diet or the need to tempt them with other scents.

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Originally Posted by Caitlin

Vanilla is one of those old-school myths you still hear now and then.

I'm not a huge fan of Bob's videos. He seems like a nice guy; he's funny; but he hasn't kept snakes for all that long. He's entertaining but I wouldn't take husbandry advice from him.

Reptilinks sells ASF juice for scenting as well as frog juice for scenting for reptiles that eat amphibians, and some other scenting juices. I'm still not sure what the fascination is with ASF as feeders for Royal pythons - ASF aren't really a common native rodent in their habitat. But the various scenting juices can be helpful for specific reptiles. I'm not at all convinced of their utility for Royal pythons, as feeding refusal with Royals is husbandry-related most of the time, and not related to improper diet or the need to tempt them with other scents.

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I'm happy to see your input on this, & agree with your assessment of him- I don't watch many videos on snake-keeping (nor do I have the time), but this one is beginner-oriented with some humor that's probably better omitted so as not to confuse anyone.

In my experience, switching rodents or "scenting" is as likely to work as it is to backfire & appear to make the snake more fussy. It's a gamble at best, & last resort after husbandry issues have been fully addressed. So as not to stress the snake, it's best to try as few things as possible to get it feeding.

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Originally Posted by smakemom

when he ate at the breeder's, it was about two years ago, and he was kept in a rack and fed a live rat.

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Some snakes just do a lot better in tubs, or at least not in glass enclosures (where it is cold, bright, dry, and every predator in the neighborhood is looking in all the time). This shouldn't be surprising. PVC enclosures might be a good alternative for those snakes, in regards to the apparent feelings of security and ease of keeping the environment stable.

Some snakes don't take well to FT prey. Again, this shouldn't be surprising as they look, smell, feel and taste different than something fresh (first hand knowledge not available on that last point ;) ). For them, trying prekilled live feeders might be a good option -- buy a live prey item, and then dispatch it immediately before offering it. I have a couple snakes (not BPs) that prefer prekilled prey at least sometimes (when they get fussy for a stretch of time).

It could be that the vanilla scent mentioned above helps to hide the natural scent of the prey item, often in an attempt to get a snake to recognize a non-natural prey item as food (as when convincing a lizard-eating species to eat rodents). It isn't apparent that this is relevant in this situation.

Once a vet has established that there's no apparent health issues, I'd not get a vet involved unless the situation changes in some relevant way.

Right now, I'm going with the "leave him alone" strategy. No handling, no disturbances, only refilling his water dish. I'll offer food every few weeks, trying the suggested methods. I'd prefer to leave pre-killed as a last ditch effort, but I'll keep in in mind just in case. I thought about ASF juice but it's just so expensive and not a sure thing so I'm not keen on that method yet either. I'll keep y'all posted, as always.

Attempted a feeding tonight, but the conditions weren't great and I may have been too aggressive with my approach. I did quite a few things wrong, but I'm not used to actively feeding him (he usually takes things on his own overnight) so that's going to happen.

But it's not all bad news. When I was dangling the rat, he showed interest and got close to it to smell it and figure it out. But since he was exposed and outside of his cave, I think he decided against going after it.

Next time, I'll be more thoughtful. I know better so idk why I rushed it. Frustrated with myself. I'll keep an eye out for when he's poking his head out of his cave and try again then.

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Originally Posted by smakemom

Attempted a feeding tonight, but the conditions weren't great and I may have been too aggressive with my approach. I did quite a few things wrong, but I'm not used to actively feeding him (he usually takes things on his own overnight) so that's going to happen.

But it's not all bad news. When I was dangling the rat, he showed interest and got close to it to smell it and figure it out. But since he was exposed and outside of his cave, I think he decided against going after it.

Next time, I'll be more thoughtful. I know better so idk why I rushed it. Frustrated with myself. I'll keep an eye out for when he's poking his head out of his cave and try again then.

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You'll get there. Anytime I offer a snake food & they don't take it as expected, I usually leave it for a while (overnight is just fine- unless they're in blue- then it's generally hopeless) & hopefully yours will take it later. Hey, we ALL had to learn how to get our snakes to eat- mistakes happen- & to make matters worse, they're not all the same, trust me. ;) Hang in there.

I would've left it, but I accidentally impaled it with my tongs, so it got pitched. ooey gooey rat mess is a no from me AND smake...

I get that, I wouldn't want that sitting in my snake's enclosure either because of the smell... Sometimes it does attract the snakes though. Though my snake doesn't like messes even if its his mess.