BAH! just eat already

So.. my new pastel isnt eating. The former owner told me he hadnt been eating the last few weeks. Well he was due for his first feeding today so i decided to give it a try... My normal snatched his up, but the pastel did not as the owner had said. so now i have this little mouse... hes in a spare 10 gallon but there is not lid, and i dont have food..

soo i know some people will kill em and freeze em until the snake eats. BUT i have no idea how to humanely do this... and i really dont want to have to hit him over the head with a rock or pithe him... or anything like that:/ whats the best idea?

also any tips for someone whose snake wont eat?

My favorite way of euthanasia is putting a ruler or pencil behind the neck, and jerking upwards by the tail. Kills 'em instantly, basically.

I'm having a problem feeder too :( He hasn't eaten since November. I'm going to use a tub, it's really good with getting them to feed. A tub makes them feel more secure.

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Originally Posted by Sadistic Serpent

My favorite way of euthanasia is putting a ruler or pencil behind the neck, and jerking upwards by the tail. Kills 'em instantly, basically.

I'm having a problem feeder too :( He hasn't eaten since November. I'm going to use a tub, it's really good with getting them to feed. A tub makes them feel more secure.

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This can also go very wrong and cause severe pain if she's not experianced with exactly how to do it or if she gets nervous and doesn't do it hard enough.

CO2 is the only way to go IMO for mammals.

Smacking them is another option, but once again, it's risky and probably won't kill it.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by blackcrystal22

This can also go very wrong and cause severe pain if she's not experianced with exactly how to do it or if she gets nervous and doesn't do it hard enough.

CO2 is the only way to go IMO for mammals.

Smacking them is another option, but once again, it's risky and probably won't kill it.

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I was wondering about that.... Where do you get CO2? Is it expensive?

I like the "sack it and whack it" approach. It's definitely quick--though it's not a method for everyone...

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Originally Posted by Sadistic Serpent

I was wondering about that.... Where do you get CO2? Is it expensive?

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It depends on what stores you have avaliable.
You can get canisters that are initially a little pricey, but re-fills are cheap usually.

You might be able to find a small canister somewhere.

I just keep em. Give 'em bread, newspaper, a hide, weighted water dish.

sooo CO2 huh? how would one go about doing that?

also to the above comment... i am keeping him right now... but im afriad it could be a month or longer... wouldnt want to get attatched or something.. im wierd like that...

any other ideas?

Dry ice:
http://www.ball-pythons.net/forums/s...ad.php?t=33850

C02:
http://www.ball-pythons.net/forums/s...ad.php?t=55509

One reason I always recommend f/t is that if the snake don't eat it atleast the mouse is already dead. Cause I'll tell ya I'm not sure what to do with a live mouse a snake won't eat other than.

A) Make it a Pet
B) Save it for next week with food and water and such
C) Set it free in the woods which sounds dumb even as I type it.


There's alot of tips I could give for F/T Feeding but I'd never do live personally so I can't help there. I will say that I wouldn't worry yet. BP not eating for a few weeks is A okay as long as it's not showing other health problems or significant weight loss.

I have a feeder that I'm keeping right now. I just set up a spare tub, bought a $3 box of "pet mouse and rat food" from wal mart. Bought a $1.50 water thing for them. It's better to be prepared that you might have a feeder leftover than to not be. Then you get stuck in sticky situations and panic cuz you weren't prepared.

The lady I get my feeders from will let me take a leftover back to her. I'm going to try to feed him off again tonight, if not then I'll probly be taking him back.

I thought I would get attached to leftovers, but I don't. I think they're cute, and they're super fun to watch... But the bottom line is if he doesn't get fed to my snakes, he'll get fed to someone else's. I guess I'm pretty used to it, having a problem feeder myself.

I would definitely recommend this method:

http://www.alysion.org/euthanasia/
Works well, but can take a while.

Thanks for all the advice!:]

I just ended up keepin it... i found some mouse food i still had from when i had rats... and a wheel..so heck .. why not...

its been a week so im going to attempt to feed him again... wish me luck!

Or u could just feed it off to your other snake. If one of my snakes doesn't eat, it gets offered to the next and if I have any left overs I keep them in a 10gallon tank for a couple days.

When I first started out I was feeding live too, since it was what the previous owner had done (the two bps were 2 and 3 years old). Definitely had my fair share of hunger-strikes during that time. I know you're keepin it now, but in the future if its a "keep, kill, or let go" kind of scenario, I would go to some local shops and see if they will take it back off your hands. Some places will do it, some will not; but it's better to check than not! :gj:

Good luck on feeding soon! :snake: