feeding/touching

my bp hasnt eaten in three weeks, and i havent touched it in three weeks, which was when i got it. Do i need to continue to not touch it? I feel like I have to get him out of there at least to clean the cage out, and I would like to hold him at least a little. but I also want him to eat, damnit.

Do you know if it is a captive born? How old is it? Have you talked to the person/place you got it from to find out it's eating history and what size of mouse/rat they were feeding it and how often?

he's a 04 cbb from alex hue. I assume he should be able to take down hopper mice, looks to be about that girthy.

If the cage is dirty, definitely get him out to clean it out. Have you been keeping it clean? Has he shown any interest at all in prey? Are you trying to feed f/t, pre-killed, or live?

i wouldnt say its dirty, I just havent disinfected it since I got him because I hadn't wanted to stress him out. he's pooed once but I removed that and the surrounding newspaper. I've been trying f/t hoppers, he sniffs it out, rubs his body around it, and then ignores it.

I would say its prolly time for a substrate change out. It'll give you some time to handle him, and clean the cage out. At this point he's prolly settled in a bit, and some handlings might be a good idea. How warm are you getting the f/t hopper?

i was thinking it needed to happen, just wasnt sure if the not feeding issue ought to take priority. I'd say i'm getting them pretty warm, warm to the touch anyway. about 10 mins under my ceramic heat emitter.

Thats one thing i know you need to make sure is getting done with f/t prey. The whole thing needs to be warm. The part that takes the longest to thaw out and heat is the brain because of the thick bones around it. Have you been to the vet yet?

hadn't gone to the vet, wasn't sure that was necessary. since he's cbb from a reputable breeder i don't think he's got parasites or mites, i wasnt sure at what point i should get concerned enough to do that...

Hve you contacted Alex to see what might be up? He seems to be a pretty approachable kinda guy. Was he eating before you got him?

I emailed him tonight. I know he starts them on live fuzzies in general, but thats all i know before talking to him again.

alex suggested live hoppers until he's feeding regularly. now i really dunno what to do

Get a couple - try the first one freshly whacked - set it down near the entrance of his hide at night and leave the enclosure alone for a coupe hours - don't even let him see you - cover the front if you can to max out privacy. If you have to try the one that's still alive you will definitely have to supervise that one just for safety's sake.