Feeding Mishap

Went to feed Carmen 2night,and she struck at the mouse 3 times but dropped it, this time she struck at the stomach area and it burst and after that she didnt go near it.i have yet to get her to feed 2 times in a row.have her since february or early january and she hasnt fed consistently.she is still pokin her head out of the opening looking for a mouse but she ignored the mouse i used after she burst the stomach. :( i think this girl just likes teasing me.

She obviously wasnt attempting to catch it...it was a warning strike attempting to get the rat to leave her alone...obviously with a busted stomach she reached her goal lol...


How is your set up? (temps...hides...humidity etc) and what size is she vs. what your offering her?

she is about 20 inches long, maybe a lil more,medium sized adult mouse like she took the few times she did feed.i dont think it was a defensive strike, when i braught the mouse into the room, she smelled it straight away and went into the strike pose before i even put the mouse in there(she did the same thing the few times she ate for me) so i dont think it was actually a defensive strike(i use thongs)temps are 93 hot side and 84 cool side.humidity is 55% right now.

And thats 93 and 84 on the bottom of the tank?

Is she ready to shed possibly?

aye,the thermometer is bout maybe 2 inches above the substrate.havnt handled her much in the last 2 weeks either,not going to till i get her feeding coinsistently.if she would eat half aswell as my corn id be happy.that guy is a lil pig.no, not ready to shed.

You're feeding frozen/thawed? Have you tried a live mouse yet?

yeah im feedin frozen thawed,i was gonna try a live mouse but nowhere near me does live mice for some reason.

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Originally Posted by Reptile_Man

aye,the thermometer is bout maybe 2 inches above the substrate.havnt handled her much in the last 2 weeks either,not going to till i get her feeding coinsistently.if she would eat half aswell as my corn id be happy.that guy is a lil pig.no, not ready to shed.

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You might want to bump the heat Down a bit!

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Originally Posted by bznj1

You might want to bump the heat Down a bit!

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bump the heat down?so why do people say to keep it between between 90-94 hot end and 80-85 cool end then?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Reptile_Man

bump the heat down?so why do people say to keep it between between 90-94 hot end and 80-85 cool end then?

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Probably because if you are measuring 2 inches above ground level, your actual ground level temperatures are warmer. Are you using those stick on dials or a digital thermometer?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Reptile_Man

bump the heat down?so why do people say to keep it between between 90-94 hot end and 80-85 cool end then?

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Are you useing a uth? If soo it's hotter where the snake is laying, Then where your probe is 2" above the substrate. IMHO 93 is a bit to warm anyway..

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Reptile_Man

bump the heat down?so why do people say to keep it between between 90-94 hot end and 80-85 cool end then?

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They generally mean in the animals hides/ immediate environment.

I believe bznj1 is refering to the fact you said the thermometers are a couple of inches above the substrate so may not be giving you a true measure of the temps the animal is actually encountering.

Perhaps you could move the probe to test this just to reassure yourself everything is as it should be?

bznj1,
If this was not what you meant by all means elaborate. :)

**edit**

Whoops -waaaay to slow at typing. :P

**/edit**

dr del

Hmm... whats the cage setup like? If its too open and not so hidey, then the snake may just feel too open, even if humidity and heat is correct, security might jsut be the main reason. Here is a pic of my snakes tub. Its 39" long, 20" wide, 7" tall. Fully covered. In this pic it shows newspaper as the bedding. I HATE newspaper, but snake prefers aspin or this natural like dirt stuff.. so thats what I use now, dirt stuff... err.. *reads the bag* " Fir And Sphahnug Peat Moss Mix". And its AWESOME stuff! Well anywho.. here is the pic of my nakers tub :)

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y66...estershome.jpg

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y66...7/Chester4.jpg

And my beautiful Chester
http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y66...7/Chester3.jpg

The half wooden logs have a bushy plant infront and behind it, its very secured. Around the watering dish. I know have another white flower plant, sort of like the one in the pic, but it has flower, well those to plants dangle over the water, and then the leafy fake vines, they are wrapped around a 12" fake branch I got at petco. There is 4 hides. Well typically 3. Two half wooden logs, a upside down small water dish (I put in in their as a joke 2 months ago, and Chester LOVED it since, lol), and then the other one is the Ivy/vine area, Chester likes to snooze under those plants too!