Ugh..help?

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Originally Posted by angllady2

I am very glad she ate.

Now, ignoring all the rigamarole bashing of each other done by so many on your thread, the next step is to try and get her to eat f/t.

I will let you know I've never had any luck getting a snake to eat a dripping wet rodent. A big problem is also not thawing completely through.

Here is how I do it most of the time: Select the rodent to be thawed; if you have time, let it stand at room temperature in the same room with your snake for 4 - 5 hours. If you don't have the time, place in a small container and run a thin stream of hot water into the container and over the rodent for 10 - 15 minutes. If you had to wet the rodent, use an old rag or towel to blot off most of the water and then use a hair dryer to dry it completely. If you did not wet the rodent, you can use the hair dryer to just warm the rodent all over. It is best to do this right near the snake tub, if possible blow the air in the direction of the snake tub. The warm rodent scented breezes should have the baby good and ready to go. Carefully remove the hide, and if necessary any decor in the way. Grasp the rodent with tongs just behind the head. By the scruff of the neck and hit just the head with the hair dryer for 15 - 20 seconds. You want that rodent putting off a massive heat signature. Gently offer the rodent to one side of the snake's head, and not too close. Chances are good she'll hit it right away. If not, gently wiggle the rodent back and forth a little bit. We call this the "zombie dance". The goal is not to make the rodent into a Rockette, but to fool the snake into thinking it's alive. If a few good wiggles doesn't entice a strike, you can try re-heating the head an offering again in much the same way. You want the rodent close to the snake, but not right on top of her. If she still refuses, you can gently lay the rodent down nearby, cover the tank, turn off the lights and leave the room for about 20 minutes. Most of the time when you return the rodent will be gone. If not, you can try re-heating the head one last time. If this fails completely, and it sometimes will, trash the rodent or feed it to another snake if you can. Wait at least 3 or 4 days before trying again.

One last thing. These guys can really key in to your mood. If you are anxious and nervous and " What if she doesn't eat ?" I can just about promise she won't eat. Calm yourself down before you go into her room. Breathe deep and tell yourself, if she eats that's good, if she doesn't no big deal. And MAKE yourself believe that. I've stressed out more than one snake to the point of not eating, just by being worried they would not eat. They can sense your moods and they will react to them.

I wish you and your baby all the best.

Gale

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Well for me it was weird. When I fed Cleo the first time, I had the coconut husk substrate, so when I rinsed the mouse I had to put it on a piece of newspaper so the substrate didn't stick to it. She ate it no problem, and the mouse was really wet. But I'm going to try the hair dryer trick that you suggested. I just can't wait until she turns into a pig just like Akeda. He eats everything I offer him.

I got her to eat again! It was another live mouse and she ate it 4 days later. Here is the photo evidence:

[IMG]http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e3...s.jpg~original[/IMG]

[IMG]http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e3...i.jpg~original[/IMG]


[IMG]http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e3...h.jpg~original[/IMG]

Wonderful man. Would you want a fresh burger or a frozen McDonald's burger? Do you enjoy frozen vegetables or fresh fruit? Fish is best off the dock. Every day after it was killed it gets worse and worse.

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Originally Posted by Foolish1

Wonderful man. Would you want a fresh burger or a frozen McDonald's burger? Do you enjoy frozen vegetables or fresh fruit? Fish is best off the dock. Every day after it was killed it gets worse and worse.

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yeah i understand that. This is the second time I've fed live, and every time I do it, I am less and less wary of it. I would much rather my snake eat than suffer. I will try to convert her to f/t only so that I don't have to house live rats when she gets bigger.

Rats are easy to house. With proper husbandry don't smell and require no effort. My rats and mice are fed organically. I know every thing that goes into them start to finish and into my snakes. It's a good feeling knowing your friends are eating porterhouse steaks and not cube steak.

A simple tote properly setup with enough size. 1 male 3 females. Very easy man. My girl didn't like the idea at all about it. But after seeing them she loves watching the mommas feed and as long as I change their bedding once a week it doesn't smell. Proper ventilation is everythibg so ammonia gas doesn't build up. It's like a Compost pit. Air needs to get in their for microbe colonies to fix ammonia into nitrogen. Nitrogen doesn't smell. Ammonia does! I am not that educated but I am am organic farmer so. I care about what I do.

http://youtu.be/zy1uU56aZAo

Here she is eating!

Pretty snake right there. Clean strike.

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Originally Posted by Foolish1

Pretty snake right there. Clean strike.

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Too bad you can't see her coloring in the video. The red bulbs were on so everything got washed out in red. I adjusted the color so you could see it and so it wouldn't look like a technicolor movie from the 30's and 40's.

Update:

Today I got her a live adult mouse, and she ate it no problem. It was the size of a rat pup. I'm glad I followed the advice of the user Albinos_Rule in that he had never fed anything smaller than a rat pup to his snakes under 300g. Right now I have a bunch of small mice and adult mice in my freezer, so I'm using those to supplement meals that I'm giving to my bigger guy. Last night he ate a frozen rat pup and 3 hoppers/small fuzzies. they were TINY so it wasn't like he was being fed 4 large meals in one day.