should i even try.....

my BP has refused to eat for 6 weeks now... should i even try to get him to eat. i usually pre-kill a small rat.. .should i buy a mouse instead and see if he will take it when its running around.... or should i wait another week or so to feed him

Wait until his normal time to feed him.

that would be saturday but i will be gone all day saturday and wont be back till sunday afternoon. so probably wouldnt be able to feed until monday....

How old is this snake? Do you know its weight?

If your snake is already refusing meals, an extra 2 days isn't going to hurt.

he was born november of 08. i dont know his weight but i dont notice any weight change. he has become pretty active since it has began to warm up a bit..... could he be looking for a mate and not care that there is food in front of him...????

That very well could be the case. If he was a baby, I would say that the fasting is abnormal but since he is an adult its fine.

You could try raising your temps by a few degrees to see if that tricks him out of thinking its time to breed.

How long have you left a dead feeder in with the snake? Do you feed in the home enclosure?

i take him out to feed... but i tried last week and he refused and so i put the dead rat in the enclosure for 2 hours and he would come up to it and put his nose directly on the rat and flick his tounge at it and then move on and not even care. he did that like 3 or 4 times...

What kind of setup do you have him in? Do you have a picture?

It would probably be better to just offer him food in his home enclosure where he feels safe.

i dont have a picture but the tank is plenty big. but not to big to where he would feel insecure. i have to identical hides that i got from reptile basics.com a water bowl (obviously) a few fake vines so it looks nice when my friends see it.... and thermometer hooked up to a thermostat.... a fogger for humidity and a heat lamp that has a red bulb on it.... oh ya and orchid bark for substrate.

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Originally Posted by mattramsfan

i dont have a picture but the tank is plenty big. but not to big to where he would feel insecure. i have to identical hides that i got from reptile basics.com a water bowl (obviously) a few fake vines so it looks nice when my friends see it.... and thermometer hooked up to a thermostat.... a fogger for humidity and a heat lamp that has a red bulb on it.... oh ya and orchid bark for substrate.

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What size is the tank? What kind of hides are they? You could try filling the tank with crumpled newspaper or printer paper to give him more cover. Then on monday try and offer him a dead rat. If he doesn't strike, leave it in the tank with him overnight (do this before you go to bed so there isn't a stinky rat sitting in there for more than 10 hours). If it is still there in the morning then toss it. if not, then success!

I would not try a mouse. Count yourself lucky that you have a rat eater. I need to try and switch mine over. Personally, I would not risk him liking mice too much and not going back to rats.

well the tank in a perfect square.... i believe it is 25 gallons... and are u sure i should leave it in there for that long. that kinda seems like a long time. the rat will be all stiff and cold.. lol

alright... ya the last thing i wanted to do is go back to mice cause they lack the nutrition that rats have....

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Originally Posted by mattramsfan

well the tank in a perfect square.... i believe it is 25 gallons... and are u sure i should leave it in there for that long. that kinda seems like a long time. the rat will be all stiff and cold.. lol

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I have done it many many times with my picky eaters. They usually eat once no one is in the room and it is completely dark.

Also, mice aren't really "less" nutritious than rats. There are many people that feed only mice and their snakes are perfectly healthy.

ok i will try that on monday.... his last meal i put the dead rat in there and i walked out of the room for like 5 minutes and i came back in and the rat was no where to be seen. he ate that thing so fast. i couldnt believe it.

my suggestion is to stop pulling your snake out of its enclosure when you feed him. it sounds like he's getting to stressed to eat when you handle him.
i'm glad to hear he ate for you.