2 months and down 100g

My male firebee has only eaten 1 live mouse with me since I got him 2 months ago. He has dropped from 780 to 680g and his spine is prominent. He is in a 15 qt tub (moved from a 32qt) with a 90 hotspot gradient to a 80 coolside. Humidity is 60%. When presented a frozen thawed rat, he tries to run away. He currently has one spending the night with him.

Is it a problem how much weight he has lossed? I have a booklet of all of his feedings since 70g. He was fed both live and frozen thawed and seemed like a really good eater (got to 800g in 8 months). When I got him he had only been fed live for the few months before. Should I try feeding live?

You may have to try live, and make sure its a bit smaller than what he is used to. Are you sure the f/t rat isn't too large, this may cause the snake to feel intimidated by it.

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Originally Posted by Jon14

You may have to try live, and make sure its a bit smaller than what he is used to. Are you sure the f/t rat isn't too large, this may cause the snake to feel intimidated by it.

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It was a 50ish gram rat. Shouldnt be too big.

What was he eating with the original owner?

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Originally Posted by PitOnTheProwl

What was he eating with the original owner?

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This is a good question, if he was only eating live It'll be very hard to switch him over.

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Originally Posted by PitOnTheProwl

What was he eating with the original owner?

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According to the booklet he was eatting a mix of f/t and live at first. The last 3 months or so was purely live medium rats.

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Originally Posted by Cthulhu2015

The last 3 months or so was purely live medium rats.

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A male under 1000g gram shouldn't be on mediums. A small every two weeks is enough most of the time.
He could still be full from over feeding.

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Originally Posted by PitOnTheProwl

A male under 1000g gram shouldn't be on mediums. A small every two weeks is enough most of the time.
He could still be full from over feeding.

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That's was my original thought, but I was hoping he was going to start eatting now that his spine is starting to show.

I'm going to pick up a live rat pup tonight

Maybe a weanling rat. . .one of mine feels a bit intimidated by small rats still, and he's about 780g. Or a mouse, though you might not want to introduce mice if you don't have to.

No interest in the 30g live rat pup. Should I be worried?

How long did you leave the live rat pup in there?

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Originally Posted by Jon14

How long did you leave the live rat pup in there?

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I tried about 5 mins in his tub but the space was way too enclosed. Then I tried about 10 mins in a bigger tub where he just slithered over the rat and tried to escape.

Leave the rat pup in your snakes enclosure for many hours before checking on it. Possibly 8 or so?

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Originally Posted by Cthulhu2015

I tried about 5 mins in his tub but the space was way too enclosed. Then I tried about 10 mins in a bigger tub where he just slithered over the rat and tried to escape.

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Leave him be for a while to relax, you are doing nothing but adding more stress to him with all the food offers and then moving him around.

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Originally Posted by PitOnTheProwl

Leave him be for a while to relax, you are doing nothing but adding more stress to him with all the food offers and then moving him around.

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How much harm does a rat pup that just opened his eyes pose? Can I leave him alone for several hours like the last poster said?