Out of ideas..

So I purchased my Mystic female about a month ago. She weighed in at 660 grams. So far, she has refused every meal and dropped to 615 grams.
The breeder told me he had cooled his females for the breeding season, so I wasnt too worried.. But with the weight loss, Im starting to.
I try every 7 days, prekilled and have tried live, scenting and just put in a different hide because she acts jumpy at times, as if on edge. She wont strike, but jumps away.

I guess I am looking for new things to try. Something that might spark the inner predator :) I am taking it slow and wont push her, but I dont want her to keep decreasing in weight.

I know it happens and Im sure she will take at some point, but any methods that might help get her back on track would be appreciated. I think my temps are fine, 88 on the flexwatt and 79-80 on the cool side.

Have you tried just leaving in the f/t or pre killed in over night?

I wont leave the live in, but have tried leaving the prekilled in for a few hours with the lights out. I plan on trying a full night this week, due to having thursday and friday off of work and not having to rush in the am. Was afraid I would forget to check on it the following morning.

Did you ask the breeder what he was feeding it?

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Originally Posted by dillan2020

Did you ask the breeder what he was feeding it?

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Yeah, that was one of the first questions asked. Shes been on rats her whole life and he had her on weaned/small rats.

how about force feed?

Force feeding is a little.. Drastic. I would assist feed if it ever got to that point, but I believe she will eat when she is ready.

One thing I have noticed, she never stays inside her hide. Instead, she will sit between it and the wall of the tub. And she pushes her bedding around her, almost in a pile. Could this be a security issue?

When mine first came home she also refused to eat we started thawing feeders on top of the cage with a bowl sitting over top it so that the scent would gradually build up and I would leave it thawing for aprox 5 hours well over time needed so that the scent was stronger after the first two thawing and feedings this way she now eats like a champ. worth a try

try 92ish on the hot spot ;)

You can try feeding an African Soft Fur, most BP's love em..

Just let her be for 2 weeks, I think offering every week might be stressful.

Try this trick, take a F/T rat, leave it in the room for a few hours(around 8 hours), then take a hair dryer, and blow the air on the rat, but blow the air toward her tub, will scent her whole tub, and should cause a here instincts to kick in and come looking for dinner heat the rat to about 100 body and 110 head. did this with my pied male who was a live mouser when i got him, he has not touched live or a mouse since i got him because of this little trick.

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Originally Posted by barbie.dragon

Just let her be for 2 weeks, I think offering every week might be stressful.

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Tried that as well. As far as raising the hotspot, my herpstat is set on 91.5 so I will raise it a bit. She just acts completely uninterested. Tomorrow is feeding day, so im praying xD

I have a calico I got as a hatchling that refused to eat after i got it. I tried everything mentioned and he wouldnt eat. I then assist fed him a prekilled mouse hopper soaked in warm water. After he was done eating the prekilled I offered a live mouse hopper and he took it followed by another live hopper.

He has been a consistent mouser on a 7 day schedule. He wont eat rats and has been my only 2012 on live but at least he is eating. Somethimes they just need a little help to get started.

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Originally Posted by 1nstinct

Try this trick, take a F/T rat, leave it in the room for a few hours(around 8 hours), then take a hair dryer, and blow the air on the rat, but blow the air toward her tub, will scent her whole tub, and should cause a here instincts to kick in and come looking for dinner heat the rat to about 100 body and 110 head
. did this with my pied male who was a live mouser when i got him, he has not touched live or a mouse since i got him because of this little trick.

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Interesting, will give it a shot tonight. Also going to try overnight and complete darkness.

I was unable to feed on friday due to family, but I decided to turn off the lighting in the snake room as it only provides light and not heat. Today I fed all of them and at the end, put a prekilled rat in the mystics tub and walked out for 30 minutes. I forgot my phone on the rack and decided to look in her tub when I went to retrieve my phone.

When I looked in, without pulling the tub out, she was staring at me from inside her hide, with the rat in her mouth:)

As a bonus, I had an extra hopper and thought I would see if my newly acquired Special would take it. He killed it but has yet to eat it. John from John Michael Reptiles said he liked to eat overnight so he should be fine.

try a live mouse. when mine went off feed for 2 months i stopped it with a live mouse. he had been on ft rats forever but suddenly stopped eating. wouldnt touch a live either. tossed in a live mouse and it lasted about 10 seconds. after that tried a rat again, no go. 2 more weeks of live mouse and he was back to normal. now he eats anything again.

Both the female mystic and male special have devoured their prey. Totally just made my weekend :)