Sumatran Keeps Wrapping And Not Eating Suddenly

As some of you may recall, I had battled with this girl for awhile, getting her to eat frozen/thawed consistently. But, I finally won and she has been eating like a true killer. However, for the past two feedings she keeps striking, wrapping and not eating. When I open her tub on feeding day she is practically charging out of the tub before I can even present the rat. She immediately strikes and wraps, but when I check on her later on the rat will be laying in her tub. So, I will heat the rat back up with my heat gun and she will immediately strike and wrap again. Once again, I will check on her later and the rat will be laying in her tub. The prey item is the perfect size for her, so it isn't that it's too large for her or anything... Does anyone have any idea why she would be doing this all of the sudden? Maybe she is trying to swallow it ass first and can't get it down or something, perhaps?

Sometimes it helps if you wiggle the prey animal. After they grab and wrap it. It makes them feel as if they are killing there own food. Just use your feeding toungs to wiggle it a little bit.

I always do that, actually...

I don't think its the "butt first" thing, because you would notice the back end of the rat being all slimy...

Could it be that she is preparing to go into shed ? Bloods often have such a strong feeding/striking response that she may strike first, only to realize she doesn't actually want to eat ?

Either that, or could there be something wrong with those rats? Are you warming them the same exact way as always ?

I'd wait a few days, try again and as soon as she takes it, turn off the lights and leave the room. Don't even check until a couple of hours later or next morning.

Who knows with those snakes, LOL. Especially being a female. You just never, ever know what's going on up there, LMAO !!

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Originally Posted by zina10

Who knows with those snakes, LOL. Especially being a female. You just never, ever know what's going on up there, LMAO !!

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Haha 😂 they're kinda like cats in that way!

Lol, especially being female! That's a bit odd, is she constipated, maybe a nice warm bath will help.

[QUOTE=Aedryan Methyus;2564777]I always do that, actually

( Actually) I was just trying to help you. I wish you the best.:cool:

I think you should skip the next two feedings and then try again. No handling until you get her to feed again. :colbert:

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Originally Posted by zina10

I don't think its the "butt first" thing, because you would notice the back end of the rat being all slimy...

Could it be that she is preparing to go into shed ? Bloods often have such a strong feeding/striking response that she may strike first, only to realize she doesn't actually want to eat ?

Either that, or could there be something wrong with those rats? Are you warming them the same exact way as always ?

I'd wait a few days, try again and as soon as she takes it, turn off the lights and leave the room. Don't even check until a couple of hours later or next morning.

Who knows with those snakes, LOL. Especially being a female. You just never, ever know what's going on up there, LMAO !!

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Good point about how I would notice the rat being all slimy if that were the case. Neither end ever appears to be slimy, so she must be striking, wrapping and not even trying to eat it. Nothing has changed with the preparation and everyone else is eating fine. Their rats sit out in the snake room for a few hours and thaw to room temperature then heated with a heat gun before I feed each of them. She doesn't appear to be getting ready to shed. She just shed on 8/25, but who knows... It's most likely just because she's a crazy female. She probably just needs some Xanax! lol :P

[QUOTE=Tigerhawk;2564982]

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Originally Posted by Aedryan Methyus

I always do that, actually

( Actually) I was just trying to help you. I wish you the best.:cool:

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(Actually) I know you were just trying to help and I (actually) appreciated it. All I (actually) did was state that I do, in fact, always wiggle the prey after they take it... lol I'm not sure why that made you feel slighted... :confusd:

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Originally Posted by Albert Clark

I think you should skip the next two feedings and then try again. No handling until you get her to feed again. :colbert:

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Thanks, Albert. I think I will try to feed her once more on feeding day (Monday) since she has already missed her last two feedings and if she pulls this again I will try your advice...

My boy is weird too. He strikes the rat and then needs 20 to 30 minutes to eat it. He sniffs at the rat everywhere and sometimes looks clueless in my direction. In his tube, when he was nearly to big for it he sometimes had no space to eat it, because he strikes near his hide. I then often rearranged the rat for him and he ate it. I wonder how they survive in the wild. When he is a few days before getting blue, he hisses at the rat or strikes it but won't eat it. That's just normal. After his shed he is hungry again.

My male and female both did this same thing on feeding day yesterday. Both of them were lunging out of their tubs and snapping when I pulled them out at feeding time... lol Both of them immediately struck and wrapped, but when I checked on them a couple hours later the rats were laying in their tubs. I heated them back up with my heat gun and both of them immediately struck and wrapped again. That time they both ate, though. I'm not sure why they're doing this...

Interesting. I have no idea, Rambo wont strike if i'm offering, i have to leave the f/t on a napkin in his boaphile and he'll go for it after a few minutes. Hes never turned anything down though, theyre always gone when i check back in on him.

My Borneo went through a phase doing the same thing. She did it for a couple months when I switched her to small rats at about 400g. She's up to 1100g now and still is on small rats each week and always eats now. I think it's more frustrating than then straight refusing. No idea of a fix other than to reheat until they eat or quit striking.

Kyle


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

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Originally Posted by Dxw425

Interesting. I have no idea, Rambo wont strike if i'm offering, i have to leave the f/t on a napkin in his boaphile and he'll go for it after a few minutes. Hes never turned anything down though, theyre always gone when i check back in on him.

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Both of my Matrix Bloods are like that. Only one time has my big Matrix girl ever actually struck and wrapped while I was offering the prey. I always have to just leave it for her. Her boyfriend will sometimes take it from me after about 20 minutes of puppeteering... lol Most of the time I end up just leaving it for him, too, though. One of my Ball Pythons has never taken a rat from me. If only ALL snakes were as ferocious of eaters as Boas, huh?

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Originally Posted by Kroberts10

My Borneo went through a phase doing the same thing. She did it for a couple months when I switched her to small rats at about 400g. She's up to 1100g now and still is on small rats each week and always eats now. I think it's more frustrating than then straight refusing. No idea of a fix other than to reheat until they eat or quit striking.

Kyle


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

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I actually just increased these Sumatran's prey sizes a few weeks ago, too after finally getting them to start eating frozen/thawed consistently. I was wondering if that could be the problem. Maybe they're still just trying to get the hang of eating larger prey items, huh? I had been giving them "mouse size" rats. Now they're getting something that is between "mouse size" and small rat size prey. I'll be glad when all of my younger Borneos and Sumatrans are finally eating full size small rats. It will make buying my rats much easier. They're just at one of those weird in-between stage right now...

My ball python did that too.
She'd been fed live before I bought her but fed really well on f/t for perhaps 3 feedings after I bought her. Then surprised me by striking, wrapping and ignoring. I waited a week and she was acting really hungry and snatched the rat pup out of my tongs as soon as I opened her tub, but again, didn't eat it. Another week and still, she'd have a really good feeding response, but wouldn't eat after wrapping. She was starting to lose weight so I caved and bought her a live pup, she nailed it before it even touched the floor of the bin and ate it immediately.
She's due to be fed again this weekend, I'm going to try another f/t but am resigned that I may have to pick up another live pup. I HATE that!!! I have no idea what caused the change in behavior but was happy I was able to get her eating again as she's only 5 mos. old.

This girl of mine STILL does this! Every feeding day I have to keep reheating the rat and re-offering it. After about the 5th time of repeating this she will finally swallow it. She doesn't ignore it, though. She immediately snatches it right up and wraps it every time, but when I return the rat will still be laying there with her slobber and bit marks all over it and she will be looking out the front of her tub wanting fed. I have watched her and the problem is, she can't figure out that she has to swallow it head first. She will be trying to swallow it from the side, from the back and everywhere else. It's really weird!

How old is she, what size feeder are you offering, and how often do you offer it?

Samantha will be 2 years old this summer and she is currently eating one small rat every 7 days... She was doing the same thing with weanling rats... I have watched her and once she unwraps she will keep biting the rat from every angle like she can't figure out that she is supposed to eat it head first, but eventually she gets it. The rats are always all slobbered up and bloody from her biting it all over. This crazy snake would be in big trouble out in the wild! lol She reminds me of a spoiled child, who has to have their food cut up and arranged on their plates just so before they'll eat... lol