Hatchling won't eat

My ~6 week old BP just shed yesterday, so I figured today would be a good time to feed her.

I tried tossing in a f/t mouse (not pinkies, but the next size up), and it is still a no-go.

Again, she just shed, so I figured she would be ready to eat. She has a nice cage with three distinct temperature gradients, two hides (one on the warm and a moist one on the cool side), and optimum humidity.

I tried braining and dipping it in chicken stock...and it is just sitting outside her hide still. I tried moving it around...nothing.

What should I do? I read I should try leaving it over night...but who knows.

If she doesn't eat it by tomorrow morning, what should i do? I don't want to keep having f/t mice going to waste.

Try live rat fuzzies or mouse crawlers at first. That works for me, then after a while you can ween them to f/t if you want.

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Originally Posted by PythonWallace

Try live rat fuzzies or mouse crawlers at first. That works for me, then after a while you can ween them to f/t if you want.

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Should I still leave it there overnight?

Get a 6 quarts tub (15 at the most) provide 1 or 2 tight hides (6 inches plastic flowerpot saucers), provide proper temps (80-84 on the cool side and 90-94 on the warm side), leave your BP alone for a week (NO handling) and try to offer a LIVE hopper mouse.

Right now your priority is to get your BP to eat, once your BP eats with consistency 4 to 6 meals for you, you can worry about switching to F/T

The keys are security, temps, stimulation!

Wow that was the shortest well said explanation ever! What a mouthful. Anyhow, do what deborah said.
Make sure the hides are secure and NOT log hides. They should be small enough to touch the bp on all sides.

That food item is too small. If you don't have access to hopper mice or fuzzy rats go to petco and pick the smallest weanling mouse they have in there, he should be fine eating it.

Also, 'tossing in' an f/t mouse isn't going to do much good. Most young bps won't even look at it. AFTER you get him to eat live a few times and want to try f/t again, then dance around your mouse about 5-6 inches from your ball python's face making it look alive.

Good luck!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by blackcrystal22

Wow that was the shortest well said explanation ever! What a mouthful. Anyhow, do what deborah said.
Make sure the hides are secure and NOT log hides. They should be small enough to touch the bp on all sides.

That food item is too small. If you don't have access to hopper mice or fuzzy rats go to petco and pick the smallest weanling mouse they have in there, he should be fine eating it.

Also, 'tossing in' an f/t mouse isn't going to do much good. Most young bps won't even look at it. AFTER you get him to eat live a few times and want to try f/t again, then dance around your mouse about 5-6 inches from your ball python's face making it look alive.

Good luck!

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Ok, tossing it in wasn't the best description.

I had tongs and tried dangling it around for a few minutes. The BP seemed semi-interested at first and started following it around...but it just never did anything.

I guess I will try live...I just worry about it biting/scratching the snake.

If all else fails, try leaving the f/t mouse in with your BP in a small paper bag inside the cage. This normally works. :) You could also try putting the BP in another tank/container with some soiled mouse bedding (most petstores will give this to you readily) and then try feeding him. Thats what I always do with my BP (though I use my hamster's bedding) and he's always been good eater since day one.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by p0ink

Ok, tossing it in wasn't the best description.

I had tongs and tried dangling it around for a few minutes. The BP seemed semi-interested at first and started following it around...but it just never did anything.

I guess I will try live...I just worry about it biting/scratching the snake.

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I used to be very worried about this too, until I came here.
I discovered that it is very rare for snakes to get bitten/scratched when feeding live. Snake breeders with hundreds of snakes have had zero problems feeding live.
THE PROBLEM is when irresponsible keepers leave the mouse or rat in overnight or don't monitor/check back on the snake and then the mouse or rat makes food of the snake.
Usually if a snake is being bitten while constricting, it will squeeze harder, killing it faster and making it unable to bite very hard.

:]

Still a no-go.

I tried feeding it a freshly killed....not interested. I tried scenting it with a gerbil, again, not interested.

I have the temps spot on, the humidity is great, I haven't been handling it, it has 2 different hides, it comes out and wanders around his cage, etc. etc.

Seriously, I really do not know what to do. I leave for vacation for two days, and I was going to have a buddy watch him, but I don't know what to do now.

Maybe hatchling isn't the right term. The snake is roughly 2 months old, and I picked it up 12 days ago (2 Aug) and it shed 7 Aug.

The problem is I will be out of town for 10 days, and I have to leave it with a buddy who knows even less about snakes than I apparently do.

Hi,

That may actually work in your favour.

As long as you stress to him to change the water and clean as necessary but to handle the snake for the bare minimum it should be a nice quiet de-stress persiod for your snake to allow him to get totally settled.

I may have missed this but is there another thread giving the details of your enclosure?

Just to check you are bang on with the temperatures and see what you measure them with (and where) etc.

When you get back I would try a very simple feeding attemp at first as I see from the thread you seem to try several methods at once.

I would stick with F/T for this one.

Defrost it slowly in the same room (sitting on top of the tank if you like and it isn't too warm) to let the scent announce to the snake the food is there.

Then really blast the head of the mouse with a hairdrier to get it nice and hot.

Hopefully the snake will have it's head poking out of a hide looking intrested at this point. :please:

If it is then slowly bring the mouse about 4-5 inches or so from the front of the hide ( I don't mean in slowmotion just trying to say don't scare the snake as this can knock them out of feeding mode ) - the idea is the snake has to come closer rather than shoving the prey in its face.

If it does strike and wrap then leave the room or at least back waaaaay off so the snake doesn't feel threatened.

If it doesn't strike then I would lay it on the floor ( I would use a flat rock in the cool end if you have a loose substrate - put it in before you go on your trip and he should be used to it by the time you get back if you don't already have one ;) ) and then cover the front of the tank with a towel or something so he feels more secure and doesn't see anything that startles him.

Then do not go back near him untill the next morning - no peeking as sods law dictates that you will peek at exactly the right second to put him off. :taz:

If it is still there in the morning then chuck it and wait till next week and we can try something else. :gj:

The idea is to try and reduce the stress and messing with the food and re-offering multiple times can stress them out if they are nervous to begin with and actually stop them eating a meal presented in a way they would have eaten it if it was the first one tried. :weirdface

Obviously no handling till you get him eating regularly. :)

It might also be a good idea to ask the place you got him to describe how they prepare and offer food, how he was housed and everything to see if anything jumps out as being different to how you are doing it.


dr del