When to give up and call her a mouser.

Well, my girl hasn't eaten since Easter. Why? My supplier was sold out of rats so I had to give her 3 mice. Ever since then, she's back to refusing rats. She's about 9-10 months old and is at 657g. My husbandry hasn't changed and nothing is different otherwise. Considering she's not even a year old yet, how long should I wait until I give into her?

She still acts hungry and is very unenthusiastic until she smells the thing. Right now, it's basically a game of who's more stubborn.

Be more stubborn ;) Ive switched back an forth between mice and rats with my smaller balls when I first started breeding rats. I feed live tho so idk if you uses frozen or live.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by carlson

Be more stubborn ;) Ive switched back an forth between mice and rats with my smaller balls when I first started breeding rats. I feed live tho so idk if you uses frozen or live.

---

Yeah I feed frozen, so I even leave it in there over night for her, and she still doesn't take it.

She lost 10g between this week and last week. And I was really wondering when this fast would become unhealthy.

Have you tried scenting the rat with mouse? I have one whos a mouser he eats them good so I figure I can deak with one mouse eater.

myself if i know they will eat, just not what i am offering them, i hold them out. both my stinger bee female and mojave spider male gave me the same issue, cooled them down for 2 months then brought them back up, now they both are pounding rats now without hesitation.

If she's eating multiple food items at a sitting, give her a mouse for her first meal then as soon as it's been swallowed follow up with a rat.

My Calider is 850+ grams and has only ever consumed ONE rat. She is a dedicated mouser.

I have not pushed her too terribly hard to switch because I want her to continue to grow. When I get back I may be more aggressive to get her to make the switch, but to be honest I am happy she while eat at all.

I've never had a "mouser" before. All my Balls have been on ft rats and mice from about a year old or so. If tough love dose not work, try to wash a rat with non scented soap and rinse real well, then roll it around a bit in a bag with a mouse.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by AdamM

I've never had a "mouser" before. All my Balls have been on ft rats and mice from about a year old or so. If tough love dose not work, try to wash a rat with non scented soap and rinse real well, then roll it around a bit in a bag with a mouse.

---

I don't think soap is a good idea....:O

Dude if you have a snake on f/t that will only eat mice, f/t or not, that's what a mouser is.

Thanks for all your input guys. Next week I'll think I'll try the tip about feeding a mouse first and then a rat right after. (Considering the rat is a little below 15% her body weight. I'll also thaw them in the same bag so the rat will get scented as well. We'll see.

I'm still curious what would be a healthy fast for a snake her size. (640g now). Just so I know when to stop trying. It's already about about a month, is it safe to go for two?

Since she's steadily losing weight, I wouldn't go for another month. I'd try what you said up there, defrosting at once so you can scent the rat as well.

Update: Welp, I tried, and no luck. She took the mouse very aggressively (ugh i feel horrible that she's acting like i'm starving her), and then, instead of showing interest like she normally does, she just completely ignored the rat. She acted like it wasn't there and was just a thing in her way even with the scenting. So I gave her the other one I had, (I bought two, one to scent with each rat I had), so since it was small meal i'll feed her 3-4 mice in another 5 days.

Thanks guys for all your help. I might try again just to see if she'll take it, (I'm thinking after she goes through her 1000g fast), but that won't be for a while. A mouser she is.