She wont eat...

So my new girl, have had her for about 5 days wont eat. She weighs in at 58g so I got her a little hopper for her first meal, I have it in the tub with her now, has been in there awhile, is actually over in the corner asleep, while Jade, my 2 week old BP, is sitting in her hide, I did have everything removed but she seemed to be a little scared and just around the tub for a bit then curled up in the corner, so I put her hide back in ontop of her to make her feel a little more secure. Im about to toss it in my males take cause he'll eat anything I throw in there, he actually just ate an adult mouse. So, any suggestions? If she was older I would be so concerned, but its not like she has much weight to play with.

Have you ever had any experience getting a new hatchling started before?


I would suggest reading this first. I believe Adam sets his up in six quart tubs? Hopefully he'll chime in if I'm wrong.

http://www.8ballpythons.com/journal/...ingseating.htm

A couple suggestions...

Leave the hide on her when you feed her. They're ambush predators and feel most comfortable striking when they're in their hides.

Feed her about an hour after it gets dark. Place the hopper in her cage and then leave (with the lights off).

Find out what she was eating before you got her. If it was hopper mice, then you're good to go. If it was something else, then feed her whatever she was eating.

If she was eating mice hoppers, put a little bit of mouse bedding in her cage about 30 minutes before you try to feed her.

Finally, don't try to feed her for another week. And don't handle her until she starts eating.

Good luck!

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Originally Posted by xdeus

A couple suggestions...

Leave the hide on her when you feed her. They're ambush predators and feel most comfortable striking when they're in their hides.

Feed her about an hour after it gets dark. Place the hopper in her cage and then leave (with the lights off).

Find out what she was eating before you got her. If it was hopper mice, then you're good to go. If it was something else, then feed her whatever she was eating.

If she was eating mice hoppers, put a little bit of mouse bedding in her cage about 30 minutes before you try to feed her.

Finally, don't try to feed her for another week. And don't handle her until she starts eating.

Good luck!

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Lawrence, I don't think she's ever been fed - sounds like a fresh import that was sold at a show:

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while Jade, my 2 week old BP, is sitting in her hide

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Quote:

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Originally Posted by xdeus

A couple suggestions...

Leave the hide on her when you feed her. They're ambush predators and feel most comfortable striking when they're in their hides.

Feed her about an hour after it gets dark. Place the hopper in her cage and then leave (with the lights off).


Good luck!

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Yes this always works for me when I got my baby Het pieds. You have to share there personality. There frightened. If you where caged in a new room and some big giant is watching you eat, will you eat a burger that he put for you? The truth is new snakes especially babies take time to get used to there enviroment (tanks,enclosures etc), There nocturnal animals they will feed better at night just as there instincts tell them too. If lights out doesnt work. Do a method where you pre kill the mouse and throw it in the hide with the snake. That should work but if the snake still refuses dont leave the mouse in there for a whole day take that mouse out after 13-18 hours. Hey good luck. Dont worry the baby Bp will eat eventually. There good docile snakes there known too be good eaters. Thats why there so successful when it becomes to breeding

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Originally Posted by rabernet

Lawrence, I don't think she's ever been fed - sounds like a fresh import that was sold at a show:

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Oh my god imports are so hard to care for. Imagine getting a imported adult!!??. I guess having imports makes your skills of being a breeder and keeper so damn talented. :oops:

Where did you get a 2 week old snake if you aren't breeding them?


Anyway...new born balls usually don't even have their first meal till almost 10 days after birth (till they have had their first shed)...in your case the most you can expect is that the snake has eatin only once (maybe).

I would suggest you get rid of the hopper (they move too quickly) and get her a pinkie rat which is a better size to start with. Put the pinky in and leave it over night (no risk to the snake)

Keep the hide at all times.

small enclosure, smaller hide, warm 90 deg.

try a live mouse fuzzy, once a week.


vaughn

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Originally Posted by crisstyle21

Oh my god imports are so hard to care for.

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Not really, they just need to be well hydrated and set up properly.

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Originally Posted by rabernet

Not really, they just need to be well hydrated and set up properly.

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I agree with Robin they aren't hard to care for if you have previous experience with balls...but they really aren't for newbies as they don't allow alot of room for error.

Follow the link that Robin provided above to Adam's site...it is the best recipe for success.:)

alrighty, as it stands, lights out, hides in, mouse sleeping in corner of tub, lol. Ill leave it in over night like adam's page suggest and see where we are in the morning. As for where I got her, she was a WC CH baby. I realize with it being a WC CH its much harder to take care of, which I dont mind in the least. I just dont want her to be put in harms way cause she doesnt want to eat. My male who is almost 8 months and eats anything I throw in there is what I got accustomed to, so I guess thats why im really stressing her not eating. She also had her first shed the beginning of the week, which would actually make her about 3 weeks old.

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Originally Posted by SnakeEyes

She also had her first shed the beginning of the week, which would actually make her about 3 weeks old.

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Actually if she just had her first shed this week she is less then 2 weeks old. Most baby balls have their first sheds at about 7-10 days. (so she is only 10-14 days old)

ok, im getting my wording all screwed up and its making things worse. When I bought her about 5-6 days ago, she shed about 2-3 days prior to that and at the time was said to be about two weeks old....ok, think I got it right that time.

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Originally Posted by SnakeEyes

alrighty, as it stands, lights out, hides in, mouse sleeping in corner of tub, lol. Ill leave it in over night like adam's page suggest and see where we are in the morning. As for where I got her, she was a WC CH baby. I realize with it being a WC CH its much harder to take care of, which I dont mind in the least. I just dont want her to be put in harms way cause she doesnt want to eat. My male who is almost 8 months and eats anything I throw in there is what I got accustomed to, so I guess thats why im really stressing her not eating. She also had her first shed the beginning of the week, which would actually make her about 3 weeks old.

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Adam's page does not suggest leaving a mouse in overnight, it suggests for the first feeding, a rat pink overnight - HUGE difference!

"By the third week after their first shed, any hatchling that hasn't take a pink rat will get a hopper mouse overnight. This feeing usually gets just about all of the remaining babies eating. On the fourth week after their shed, the non-feeders and hopper eaters from the week before are offered livehopper mice again overnight. I sometimes get one or two hold outs to take a hopper on this feeding. "


Looks like it does to me ?

Have you tried a rat pink first? And you're sure this is a hopper mouse you have and not a small adult? And it's not been three weeks after your first shed by your calculations, has it?

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Originally Posted by rabernet

Adam's page does not suggest leaving a mouse in overnight, it suggests for the first feeding, a rat pink overnight - HUGE difference!

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This is what I said too in my first post...WC CH are all about the details. Required to get them started off right. :D

no rat pink, was planning on picking up one tomorrow, but a mouse pink, if the hopper was still in there by morning. And this thing is pretty tiny, how big is an adult hopper? Should I just feed the hopper to my male and try a pink fuzzy tomorrow?

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Originally Posted by rabernet

Lawrence, I don't think she's ever been fed - sounds like a fresh import that was sold at a show:

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Sorry... I should have paid closer attention to the size.

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Originally Posted by SnakeEyes

I realize with it being a WC CH its much harder to take care of, which I dont mind in the least.

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FYI... it's either WC or CH, but not both. Check out this article on the different definitions.

Also, if this snake doesn't eat by tomorrow I would definitely hold off trying to feed it again for several days. I'm sure it's more than a little stressed after being bounced all over the globe and will need time to settle in. You'll have about a month before worrying about taking more drastic measures (assist feeding).

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Originally Posted by SnakeEyes

"By the third week after their first shed, any hatchling that hasn't take a pink rat will get a hopper mouse overnight. This feeing usually gets just about all of the remaining babies eating. On the fourth week after their shed, the non-feeders and hopper eaters from the week before are offered livehopper mice again overnight. I sometimes get one or two hold outs to take a hopper on this feeding. "


Looks like it does to me ?

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Hold On! Adam's timing for his instructions are based on captive born babies right out of the egg (from day 1). You have to start from the beginning regardless of when you got him. So yes, your snake should be on week 3...but since it hasn't eatin yet you need to start small.

You really need to start with a rat pink.

4th week after shed, puts the snake around 6 weeks old!!


58 grams is a little one, imo i would do mouse fuzzies for a while to get some weight on.


vaughn

thought when WC CH were put together it ment the parents were WC but the baby itself was CH? Anyways...doesnt matter where she is from only where she is going, which is good health people! :8: Alrighty, enough of the pep talking...

Per your alls advice I'll leave her alone, which I have been and if she hasnt eaten by morning will give her more time to relax and will get a pinkie for her in a few days...


What just strikes me as odd, is up until today, at night she would be all over her tub, exploring the hell out of it, and during the day she would be in her hide, take a random stroll, then go back in, then again at night look like she is on drugs or something. So I figured she was getting used to her surroundings....did I completely misread what was/is going on?

EDIT: I give up on how old she is by date, im going with 58g and thats my story and im sticking to it. :rolleye2:

Just out of curiosity... Do you have any experience with babies? I would be terrified dealing with a baby for the first time.

SHE ATE! woohoo!!!! :rockon: :rockon:

lights were off, hides were in, temps were good, g/f was onto......err.....W00T! SHE ATE!! THANKS FOR ALL YOUR ALLS ADVICE! next week I'm def gonna go with something smaller.


And no, this is my first "baby".

You all gave great advice, you all should at least give yourselves a pat on the back... :clap: :clap: