BP wont take hamsters...feeding too soon?

i have a 24" BP tht has been on mice for the few months that ive had it. today i got given 15 dwarf hamsters so i tried to feed one to my snake. the snake struck 3 times but didnt bite down like usual. so i continued to try but the hamster scared the snake by walking on it.

i tried rubbing the hamster on some of my mice but the snake still wasnt interested. i just fed her a small mouse (wanted to get rid of a male) 3 days ago but it was half the size of her normal mice so i figured she would eat again. the hamsters are larger around than adult mice but shorter. maybe too fat for my snake?

any reasoning for false striking? could i just be trying to feed her too soon? any ideas to make this work?

why are you feeding hamsters? rats and mice are all that's necessary...and they're quite a bit cheaper.

BP's can also imprint on hamsters like they do with guinea pigs I believe. Once you start feeding them hamsters then you may have a big problem switching back to mice or rats. Hamsters are also very fatty. Rats have the most nutritional value.

Sounds like she was defensive striking, not feed striking. Did you just take these hamsters because they would be free food for you? You may be stuck with 15 hamsters (plus their future babies) if she has no interest in them.

Personally, I'd stick with mice and rats.

Keep it on mice, and wait a week before trying again.

Unless you have some husbandry issues, I would suggest that.

Don't know why you are trying hamsters? If they are not feeding it is usually a husbandry issue not food source. Stick to what they were eating before or you may start a new problem.

i thought about feeding these too i found a guy that has em for $2 each and i dont have to worry about them out growing my bp when they dont want to eat, but then id have to switch them over again on feed and i HATED doing that from mice to rats....altho my pastel just ate the rat like he didnt care what he was eating....

I've had this problem with mine. You do not want to get your snake stuck on hamsters.

i took them because they were free and came with 2 cages. actually only wanted the cages but i had to take the hamsters too. ive just started breeding mice...

at first everything was like normal until the strikes when she didnt bite down. she got all prepared for the strikes like normal each time. the hamster has no fear of the snake and my snake got very scared after the hamster started walking on her. so i killed a hamster and rubbed a mouse on it but the snake was still afraid of it.

ill try again tonight as she has refused food early on in the day before so it might just be that. i have 8 or 9 females and the rest are males. im sure theres going to be babies sometime in the near future unless i decide to CO2 and freeze them until i find someone who will take them.

would it be ok to feed a hamster every 2nd or 3rd feeding to prevent her from getting hooked on them? hopefully there wont be any problems when i switch to rats later this year...

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Originally Posted by ch312

i took them because they were free and came with 2 cages. actually only wanted the cages but i had to take the hamsters too. ive just started breeding mice...

at first everything was like normal until the strikes when she didnt bite down. she got all prepared for the strikes like normal each time. the hamster has no fear of the snake and my snake got very scared after the hamster started walking on her. so i killed a hamster and rubbed a mouse on it but the snake was still afraid of it.

ill try again tonight as she has refused food early on in the day before so it might just be that. i have 8 or 9 females and the rest are males. im sure theres going to be babies sometime in the near future unless i decide to CO2 and freeze them until i find someone who will take them.

would it be ok to feed a hamster every 2nd or 3rd feeding to prevent her from getting hooked on them? hopefully there wont be any problems when i switch to rats later this year...

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Don't feed hamsters. Alternating prey is just going to give you more trouble.

I would not recommend feeding hamsters - just find them some new homes and stick with mice or rats.

I agree. Mice and Rats is all that is needed. See if your local petshop can do some sort of trade with you, maybe for some rats or mice or even stuff like water bowls or hides or something

Hamsters are Great for bps. So are Gerbils. But, if yours are all ready eating rats or mice dont switch them over.. Why? I have No I dea.. I have mice, rat, gerbil,hamster feeders.. They all produce and are happy healthy snakes...

See if a local pet store will take the hamsters off your hands and stick to what you were feeding.

well last night i traded 2 degu's for 5 white mice (3 females, 2 males...well 1 male now:P) a female albino dumbo rat and a male rex.:cool: put one of the male mice in with the snake and it took a few minutes but she finally took him.

i was comparing the 2 critters and the hamsters are quite a bit fatter than adult mice so i think that may have been why the snake wouldnt take it. the hamster was at least 1/2" wider than the widest spot on the snake. ill ask the local shop if they will do a trade...

it seemed like she had a really hard time letting go of the mouse last night too. her bottom teeth seemed caught in the fur and it was obvious she couldnt get it off. it took a few minutes for her to finally get it free before she chowed down. first time ive seen this, is it normal?

oh ya...i woke up to a fresh shed in her hide this morning:) when i got her a few months ago she was skinny like a corn snake and weighed 120grams at 22" long or so. she is now slightly longer but weighed in at 233 grams 6 days after her last feeding. ill weigh her again before the next feeding. im glad to see that shes healthy like she should be.

Sometimes they're not the smartest when handling their food. After all they have no arms!

Its normal, give them time and they'll get the job done.

Sell em and buy some rats

"ill try again tonight as she has refused food early on in the day"

If your snake does not take a meal... wait a week, not a few hours.

You have said she is head shy and hesitant to eat, and you have been switching food sources on her. Repeatedly introducing prey and offering at different time of day will only exacerbate that.

Bruce

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Originally Posted by HALEN16

Sell em and buy some rats

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well i did just that last night....sold the hamsters for $3 each:O:confused: are they worth money or something? a chinese couple said they were going to sell them in their shop but they didnt have the slightest clue how to sex them....

anyways, after i dropped those off i drove about 45 minutes to where i was suppose to get 3 adult and 10 baby rats. the person wasnt home after saying she would be :mad: hopefully ill hear back from her today so i can go get them. i wont mind burning $10 in gas to get 13 rats;)

taken yesterday after a shed....

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3...cture041-1.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3...Picture040.jpg

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Originally Posted by Loft Lizard

"ill try again tonight as she has refused food early on in the day"

If your snake does not take a meal... wait a week, not a few hours.

You have said she is head shy and hesitant to eat, and you have been switching food sources on her. Repeatedly introducing prey and offering at different time of day will only exacerbate that.

Bruce

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^ +1

I agree. Just place the animal in her cage and leave her be for a week, aside from checking on her to make sure temp and humidity are okay, the animal is doing alright and to change water. Its really no big deal if an animal misses a meal here and there. You already tried to feed while the animal was in a shed cycle. So, yeah, just hold off for a while or you both may end up getting upset.

Pretty little girl there, BTW :)