leaving live rat pup overnight........good or bad idea?

So, I bought an 08 bee (703 grams when I got him) the first week of June and he has not been interested at all in eating. I have put a post about him not eating before and am following advice here on BP.net. I put a shoe box hide in his tub and have not tried to feed him for the last 3-4 weeks, along with covering his rack slot with newspaper so he is not bothered by me walking in and out of the snake room. The breeder said he never skipped a meal for him and he fed him one small live rat once every two weeks. The breeder recommended I buy a rat pup and leave it overnight since it will not chew on him. I bought a live rat pup from Big Cheese today to follow his advice. Do you guys think this is ok? Should I buy a rat crawler or fuzzy instead? I just feel uneasy about leaving anything live in his tub overnight.

I weighed my bee two days ago and he is at 685 grams, so he has lost 17 grams over the last 2+ months of not eating. He actually weighed 701 grams two weeks ago but last week, he pooped and shed for me for the first time.

sometimes they go off feed. If your snake is loosing weight you should take that poop to the vet and have a fecal float done to make sure you don't have parasites. To answer your question a rat pup with unopened eyes is safe to leave over nite but never leave anything that can move around well and has teeth unattended with your snake.

Sometimes they just get temperamental over being moved. Just keep trying once a week, and keep monitoring his weight. The live rat pup overnight is a good idea.

I disagree in leaving live prey in cage unmonitored. Not a good idea'

I wouldn't be too worried about the pup harming the snake, but I also wouldn't be too worried about the snake not eating at this point. It took a few of mine months to start eating again after I got them.

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Originally Posted by musclebabe

I disagree in leaving live prey in cage unmonitored. Not a good idea'

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I did specify not to leave any prey with open eyes that can get around as it could harm the snake. A rat pup does not fall in that catagory, its eyes are'nt open and they can barely crawl around.

Well, this rat pups eyes were open. It had some small teeth too so I was a little worried. I put it in with my boy and covered up the rack slot with more newspaper, then went on to feed the rest of my BP's. I checked on him after 5 minutes, pulled out the tub, and he had killed it. I checked on him again 15 minutes later and he had swallowed it. So, it looks like I will just feed him one live rat pup every 2 weeks until he starts eating regularly for me. After that, I will try to switch him over to F/T like the rest of my BP's.

As far as weight loss, I wasn't really worried that he lost 17 grams after 10 weeks. Like I said, he was 703 grams when I got him and 701 grams just two weeks ago. He pooped and shed and I think thats where the other 15 grams or so went. I'm just happy he finally ate!

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Originally Posted by rj1204

As far as weight loss, I wasn't really worried that he lost 17 grams after 10 weeks. Like I said, he was 703 grams when I got him and 701 grams just two weeks ago. He pooped and shed and I think thats where the other 15 grams or so went. I'm just happy he finally ate!

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Congrats, it's a relief when they finally decide to eat after a spell of non eating.

What about leaving a mouse pinkie? They don't have any teeth and can barely move (eyes closed too, not to mention little to no claws)...

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Originally Posted by tiny_tiger60978

What about leaving a mouse pinkie? They don't have any teeth and can barely move (eyes closed too, not to mention little to no claws)...

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a mouse pinky wouldnt hurt your snake but its pretty much pointless to feed as its way to small

Oh...I was talking about for a hatchling. I didn't know how big this guy's snake actually was...but figured if he was gonna leave anything in there that couldn't hurt a snake, a pinkie or two would be a good alternative

Unless you get one of those 18 gram twins, a hatchling ball python isn't going to be eating pinkie mice. I only try those on rare occasion when I have a stubborn starter, and nothing else has worked. I've never had that work yet, either (but they do seem to like mouse fuzzies sometimes). Pinkie mice are quite simply too small for ball pythons.

Some people get way too overzealous about the 'never leave live prey unmonitored' stories. 9 times out of 10, the culprit in these cautionary tales is an adult mouse that is left with the snake for days. The other 1 time, it's a hopper or older rat that's left for days. Adult rodents are dangerous. Some caution is also warranted when dealing with hoppers--hoppers are weaning or weaned, have teeth, and can occasionally be aggressive.

I put hopper mice in with my baby snakes when they won't accept rat fuzzies--I check them several hours later, and pull the uneaten ones before I go to bed.
Crawler rats--those are the rats that have their eyes open, are just starting to get teeth in, but are very wobbly on their legs and aren't weaned yet--are harmless. They are not going to attack your snake. It is perfectly safe to leave one in overnight. Realistically, few brand new hatchlings are going to eat for the first time while you're watching them.

I've never had an adverse incident from leaving live baby rodents in with snakes. Sometimes, if you want them to eat, that's what you need to do.