Hi, FPG.
First off, I definitely would recommend buying rats in bulk online. It will save you lots of money over time and will cut down on trips to the pet store. I get a year's supply of rats for my ball python at a time to make the shipping (i.e. dry ice) cost worth while. You can get rats for less than $2 apiece at
http://www.rodentpro.com/ and their quality is very good.
You mentioned that your snake's hides are getting too small, so its probably time to move up to the next size hides. Your snake needs to feel secure to be a good eater. I think this is probably your main problem if your snake is freaking out. Cage roaming can be a sign of stress if your snake doesn't have adequate hides.
Do you remove the hide the snake is in to feed it? I would not recommend that, as I've scared off my snake's appetite before by removing the hide. Your snake should still have plenty of room to strike and eat within the hide (with a good sized hide that is).
No, I don't remove the hides, which do need to be upgraded, I just hope I can fit a bigger one in her tub.
Some snakes go into a pseudo-hibernation in the winter and will eat less than normal, if at all. You might be able to go bi-weekly or bi-monthly (or even monthly) feedings once you become more familiar with your snake habits.
Is your snake in the processing of shedding? My snake never ever eats when he is working on his new skin. Wait until after the snake sheds before offering it a meal.
No, she just finished shedding in the last couple weeks
Feed your snake at the same time of day, on the same day of the week. Your snake will learn this schedule and will begin to anticipate feedings. I feed my snake on Sundays at 10 pm. If I don't prepare a rat for feeding and he is hanging of the hide at that time, hes telling me that he is hungry and I'll feed him the next week.
Are your temperatures and humidity in their proper ranges and without large fluctuations? Always a good idea to make sure your basics are good.
I'm working on getting the humidity down(it's at about 70% right now, I had eco earth in there, and switched to papers instead)
and my temps are normally a little cool(about 71-75) but that's not been an issue
and on the hotside, it seems I can get the temps to 88-93 at the hottest, since my heatpad's being a pain in the tail all of a sudden.(can't get it close enough to the bottom of the cage with the tstat probe in between it and the tub :rolleyes:
Here are the tricks that I know to get my snake to eat F/T:
1) Puncture the rat's cranium (I use a cheap kitchen knife). My snake loves the smell of brains. This method worked very well when I first started using it and I think it still works well.
2) Add a drop or two of olive oil on the rat's head. This is how I finally got my snake to eat for the first time in my care.
3) Get some rat substrate from the pet store and rub it on the prey item to transfer the scent of live rats to it. Just throw some of the substrate in a zip-lock with the rat.
I actually already do this, but I use mouse bedding, as she was on mice beforehand
4) Just barely, barely wiggle the prey with your tweezers to mimic movement. This always gets my snake interested even if he has no plans on striking. You don't want to move the rat too much or you will make the rat a hard target for the snake to grab.
5) Let the snake come to the rat. The snake needs to feel safe and in control, not threatened.
6) Darken the room. My snake gets kinda shy sometimes if the room is well lit. I'm sure other snakes probably feel the same.
7) Reheat the rat if it is refused at the first offering. The rat's internal temperature may not be adequate for the snake.
8) Heat the rat up in organic chicken broth on the stove. I don't really like this method as it requires a bit more monitoring to get the temperature right.
9) Leave the rat in the cage for a few hours or overnight. This trick is somewhat hit or miss in my experience. Sometimes my snake is just shy about eating in front of me and other times the rat makes the snake uncomfortable.
That's all I can think of at the moment. Good luck with your snake! She'll eat eventually.
