Feeding problems

how do u deal with ur snake not wanting to eat like mine ate no problem a fuzzy f/t on 9/3 and wouldnt eat till i force fed it on 10/3 i thought babys eat alot and i know force feeding it is not good but i was real worried tips please

you don't force feed a snake that is already eating on it's own. if he ate then stopped something is off and forcing a rodent down it's throat isn't the answer.

Make sure that you have warmed the food properly.

Force feeding after only a month? :colbert: Not always the best idea....

I suggest trying other prey items, it took me 6 weeks and multiple different f/t prey items, and then an extra week when she refused a live rat fuzzy to see that my picky baby girl only wants live hoppers right now. Force feeding is completely unnecessary at this point. Try a f/t hopper mouse this time, if that doesn't work try and adult mouse, etc etc. If he/she refuses after a couple more attempts, try a live hopper. I don't suggest force/assist feeding unless completely necessary.

Yeah, to agree with what most others have been saying, that's way too soon to resort to force feeding, and you may make things worse.

It's getting close to winter and a lot of snakes go off feed around this time. You're going to see a lot of "not eating" threads coming up now. It's just that time of the year.

My girl hasn't eaten since mid august. I offer food once a week, and if she refuses, you just wait a week and try again. Just keep an eye on her weight.

were to u get diff kinds of food the pet strores around here only have frozen fuzzies or frozen rats the rats are way to big

I found a local rat breeder from craigslist....

how often should it be eating once a week??
and i just checked craigs list and found no rat breeders were im at

Every 5-7 days if it's an appropriate sized meal...

Check you husbandry, if your snake is too warm it can't digest and will not eat if your snake is too cold it can't digest and will not eat... You get the point. Check and make sure everything is ok. A small snake not eating is not a sessional issue they are too small to be in breeding mode. Force feeding is never a good option it is a last resort. Snakes cannot be force fed for any lengh of time and survive. You need to solve why your animal is not feeding typically temps and security are the big ones. I personally would look to temps first as they sometimes wonder at the change of seasons.

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Originally Posted by kitedemon

Check you husbandry, if your snake is too warm it can't digest and will not eat if your snake is too cold it can't digest and will not eat... You get the point. Check and make sure everything is ok. A small snake not eating is not a sessional issue they are too small to be in breeding mode. Force feeding is never a good option it is a last resort. Snakes cannot be force fed for any lengh of time and survive. You need to solve why your animal is not feeding typically temps and security are the big ones. I personally would look to temps first as they sometimes wonder at the change of seasons.

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agree with this, check your temps and don't handle until it gets back on feed and shows a good feed response, if it's in too big of an enclosure it can also stress a ball off of feed. bigger isn't better.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by kitedemon

Check you husbandry, if your snake is too warm it can't digest and will not eat if your snake is too cold it can't digest and will not eat... You get the point. Check and make sure everything is ok. A small snake not eating is not a sessional issue they are too small to be in breeding mode. Force feeding is never a good option it is a last resort. Snakes cannot be force fed for any lengh of time and survive. You need to solve why your animal is not feeding typically temps and security are the big ones. I personally would look to temps first as they sometimes wonder at the change of seasons.

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ok cool thanks and is the whole feeding ur snake in its cage thng really a myth cause i read on here it was

I believe so. I have a very timid snake and she would flip if I tried to feed in a separate enclosure. I have been bitten but only from a very bad miss for a rat and the day I stuck my hand in after handling a rat.

o ok well ill try and feed her in her cage next time thn thanks again