Takes nice but rejects rats?

Hey guys,

My BP is currently 9 months old. I've been feeding him an adult mouse and a hopper until now. I know that's little, but I had so many mice left and I didn't want to waste it. So instead of feeding him every week, I fed him every 5 days.

Just yesterday, I finally went to the reptile expo and purchased weaned rats. Today is feeding day and he refused the take the rat. It was nice and warm with a little bit of blood.

Any tips on how I can get him to eat it?

I just purchased 25 of them and I really don't wanna waste it ...

Wasting rodents is part of BP life unfortunately. There are a bunch of ways to get them to eat. We have 22 and here are some of the things we do/have done to get them to eat.

-we have 3 who won't eat a rat unless it's so hot it's almost ready to explode
-we have some that won't strike and take it from tongs. We need to leave it in the tub overnight
-some will not strike in light. Use a red bulb to see what you are doing
-scent your rat with mice or dirty mouse bedding (pet stores will give that stuff away)
-offer farther apart. Let the snake sit 2 weeks before offering again
-be persistent

All that being said we have 1 BP who no matter what we do he won't eat rats. And it's costly to keep him fed on mice!

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You need to scent your rats with the smell of mice, since they smell different to snakes.

Either defrost a rat and a mouse together in the same bag, or get dirty mouse bedding from a pet store and roll the thawed rat around in it for a minute before offering.

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Originally Posted by monks98

All that being said we have 1 BP who no matter what we do he won't eat rats. And it's costly to keep him fed on mice!

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I just saw this part- if you want to, a trick is to get an undersized mouse (hopper, fuzzy, whatever size your bp will still be hungry) and feed that first. And then 5 minutes after he finishes swallowing, to offer a similar sized scented rat (fuzzy, pup or small weaned, depending). And hopefully the BP thinks it is another mouse while still in feeding mode and eats it.

Tried that [emoji19] he takes the rat then immediately dumps it.

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Thanks guys! Will try this next week and I'm praying it'll work!

I've heard direct chasing the rat works for some, aka when the snake still has its gob open working down the mouse, just guide the rat's head into its mouth, just make sure the combined prey size is adequate.

Braining a mouse and smearing that on a rat can help too. That's what I do when needed.

I agree with mouse bedding. Especially from the male mice. I do this at work. And yes we give it to you if you need it!

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Originally Posted by Sunnieskys

I agree with mouse bedding. Especially from the male mice. I do this at work. And yes we give it to you if you need it!

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Would all pet stores give it away? Like petco or petsmart? I tried calling a representative and they were like, we don't hold this service...

Also, WOULD IT BE FREE? I'm not sure if i wanna buy dirty mice bedding

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Originally Posted by hollowlaughter

Braining a mouse and smearing that on a rat can help too. That's what I do when needed.

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Does that mean to cut open the head and just wipe it over the rat?

I have done it 3 ways.

1) Rub a mouse on the rat.
2) Do one, then put the mouse in a plastic container with air holes that the snake can't get to. Sit rat on container.
3) Wait. Wait. Wait. Don't offer anything for like a month. Then offer a rat. If they are hungry enough they'll take it.

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Originally Posted by Szhang

Would all pet stores give it away? Like petco or petsmart? I tried calling a representative and they were like, we don't hold this service...

Also, WOULD IT BE FREE? I'm not sure if i wanna buy dirty mice bedding

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at my store if you say my snake won't eat can I have some bedding the answer would be yes. Just ask. And yes it would be free.

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Originally Posted by Szhang

Would all pet stores give it away? Like petco or petsmart? I tried calling a representative and they were like, we don't hold this service...

Also, WOULD IT BE FREE? I'm not sure if i wanna buy dirty mice bedding

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Even if you had to pay a few bucks, wouldn't it be worth it to try to get your snake to eat???

At Petco we have no code to charge you lol. Just ask the animal leader and explain why you need it.

If someone asked me for used bedding I would know lol. Some aren't as up on snake info though. :)

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Originally Posted by Szhang

Does that mean to cut open the head and just wipe it over the rat?

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Yep. Not for the squeamish, but I did medical work so it doesn't phase me.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Szhang

Would all pet stores give it away? Like petco or petsmart? I tried calling a representative and they were like, we don't hold this service...

Also, WOULD IT BE FREE? I'm not sure if i wanna buy dirty mice bedding

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LOL! Their reply made me laugh, the person you talked to was probably confused as all heck.

Yes, it's free and not a service lol- just go to the store and ask one of the employees to scoop you a small bag of their dirty substrate from the mouse enclosure. Maybe bring your own ziplock bag and ask for it. They might be confused, but just tell them to do it.