Feeding issues with recent proven breeder purchase

I recently bought a Proven Bumblebee male from a local breeder in my area. i have had him approximately two weeks. with in this time i have offered him to meals and has refused both. any ideas on what to do since he is being such a problem. should i resort back to the breeder and ask a few more questions about his eating patterns because when i purchased the big guy they said he was eating fine and had his last meal around five days before i purchased him. any thoughts would be great thanks guys!!!

Im having the same problem with my male pastel.

Some times they can take a little while to get started after they move to a new home. I had one take 3 weeks before she took food. Are you trying to feed him what the breeder was feeding (mice/rat, live/ f/t)?

If he is in good condition he can go a while before you need to start to worry. :)

I agree with. try feeding smaller or leave the prey item in there for a while.

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Originally Posted by KingPythons

I agree with. try feeding smaller or leave the prey item in there for a while.

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^This
I would leave it by the hide overnight if it is a f/t. If not, I would also try feeding him in his cage if you aren't already. Also, i would wait another week or so and try live if you haven't or vise versa with f/t. Another thing is if it is f/t be sure it is warmed up enough. Warm wishes to you and your Bumblebee. -Mike

In addition, check that your temps,husbandry,humidity is all correct as this could be a possible problem.

well i left the F/T in overnight for the second week in a row and stil no luck. i am going to try a smaller mouse next week. his husbandry is spot on with no issues in keeping it where it needs to be. he is approx 1000 grams so im not too worried at all i am just hoping i can get him eating soon thanks so much for the responses guys.

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Originally Posted by Hull357

I recently bought a Proven Bumblebee male from a local breeder in my area. i have had him approximately two weeks. with in this time i have offered him to meals and has refused both. any ideas on what to do since he is being such a problem. should i resort back to the breeder and ask a few more questions about his eating patterns because when i purchased the big guy they said he was eating fine and had his last meal around five days before i purchased him. any thoughts would be great thanks guys!!!

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Originally Posted by TKByrnes21783

Im having the same problem with my male pastel.

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both of you are having the same problem. where are you located? the temps and the length of sun light is changing. breeding season is just about here and the snakes could already be sensing this. breeding season will throw many males off feed and could last for months. this is normal.

you call the bee a big guy. sounds healthy as long as he has weight for his length. I wouldn't be concern. ask the breeder what he was feeding on, so you know what to feed him when he goes back on feed.

I have been having a similar issue with two adults that I purchased over the summer. Husbandry is spot on, tried f/t, live and different sizes of mice and rats. Neither have been consistent. They are finally starting to warm up to smaller live prey items now and have stayed healthy the entire time. I would wait a week or so and the start with small live prey until they are eating consistently. Then progress to what you would want them to normally eat; f/t, etc.

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Originally Posted by Hull357

I recently bought a Proven Bumblebee male from a local breeder in my area. i have had him approximately two weeks. with in this time i have offered him to meals and has refused both. any ideas on what to do since he is being such a problem. should i resort back to the breeder and ask a few more questions about his eating patterns because when i purchased the big guy they said he was eating fine and had his last meal around five days before i purchased him. any thoughts would be great thanks guys!!!

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2 weeks is not long enough to say you have a problem eater on your hands..I would start to say it's an issue in about 2-3 months..even than it's hard to say.. If he is a good weight and is healthy, don't stress yourself out. Wait 10 days in between offering food, not 7. Just make sure you offering what the breeder was.. live vs. ft'd..rats vs mice/asf etc.

Cheers,
Mike

Keep in mind alot of proven breeder males are sold for 2 reasons. #1 the male is no longer needed because he has been replaced. #2 the male has just got done breeding for the breeder selling the animal therefore it may still be off feed for a bit. I breed 3 different groups every year. One group will cool in october and start breeding in november, the second group will cool in january and breed in february. The third group cools in june and breeds in july. If that breeder is breeding year round the male may still be in breed mode. I would ask him. Also if hes off feed i would work with him to get on rats and leave the mice alone. If all else fails then go to the candy pantry and feed him asf.

Make sure you husbandry is optimal (appropriate size enclosure, proper temps etc), depending on his size you may consider housing him in something smaller (15 quarts tubs for males under 1000 grams often help).

No handling, make sure you feed him the same type prey than previously offered, feed in the enclosure.

Given you should have him quarantine 60 to 90 days it's plenty of time for you to figure it out.

And remember mature male are likely to go off feed during the season, you just need to see if you can help him resume feeding before you start pairing him.