Paranoid/Worried New BP Mommy :D

So I have had Meerah for about 2 weeks now. (Saturday will be 2 weeks). And she hasn't eaten since I have had her.... +1/2 week before that.

So I am a little worried. Im soooo used to dogs/horses/etc that eat multiple times a day so I dunno how long is a "safe" time for BP to not eat.

P.O. (previous owner) said she ate every 1.5 week, medium rat. Even gave me some frozen rats to start us out. When attempts with those rats failed I thought maybe she is a snob and only wants fresh ones..

So today I went and got a freshly "euthanized" rat... gave it to her and no interest what-so-ever. I took her hides out, closed her back up and left the rat in there with her, and still nothing (1hr later).

She has never had live rats, so I know that is not the problem...

Am I being a worrywort for nothing? Should I leave the rat in there longer?

Thanks for any advice :)

I just tried warming it up more (hair dryer) to no avail....

Hi,

It's possible she hasn't settled down completely yet - or you could simply be doing the "zombie mouse dance" the wrong way in her opinion. :rat:

Since it's F/T you can certainly try leaving it in her enclosure over night to see if she eats in the dead of night. :ninja:

We generally try not to panic unitl they start losing weight.

Just do the best you can to help her relax and settle into her new environment and feel safe and secure. :gj:

Also asking the P.O. to describe how he thawed, prescented and offered the prey might help spot anything you are doing differently.


dr del

if all else fails just try live

She explained it to me, and that is what I did with the last 2 attempts.. Which is why I decided to change to fresh...

She is still healthy and whatnot, and just pooped yesterday and shed as well. I would think she is settled? But I truly don't know.

My zombie rat dance is most likely wrong hehe, as I don't know how she likes her zombie rats to dance yet.

Worst case I guess I will wait and try something smaller at least to entice her some. I do know the PO recently switched her to the medium rats VS big, small rats before I got her..

Thanks for the input :) I just wanna make sure shes happy and healthy!

don't panic snakes can go a couple weeks ( months) with out eating.
My male bp that just about 2 years old has gone with out eating for 4 months+ with out eating he ate 3 weeks ago a single asf and has not eaten since.

OK that makes me feel better :)

I was just expecting her to be such a good eater because the PO said she was her best eater (she had 3 snakes, 2 BP and one corn IIRC)....

If she just shed yesterday...the refusals could have been due to the shed. :) I have two snakes here that are pigs except when they're in shed. Then they refuse anything and everything.

Also, as Del said, it could just be that she isn't fully settled yet. Give her a nice long break without bothering her (hard I know) and then try her with a FT overnight. :) She may just be unnerved by the new surroundings.

so excuse my total newb "?" what is an FT?

the only things i could even come up with were:

freshly thumped
freshly thawed

LOL

Quote:

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Originally Posted by OFRD_GRL

so excuse my total newb "?" what is an FT?

the only things i could even come up with were:

freshly thumped
freshly thawed

LOL

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Frozen/thawed...

Someone PM'd me for pics of her enclosure, so here you are just snapped em real quick while she was cuddling with her dead rat..
(this is what I got her with, except the log was another one of those plastic hides...)
I am gonna be building her a new one (next week or two) that will be a little more accomodating, and that I can put a humidity monitor in and mount a better thermometer in and such.

The side with the log is the cool side, the side with the plastic hide is the warm side. It has a digital reptile thermostat and a digital thermometer in it as well.
It maintains about a 70% humidity from what I can gather.
The heating pad is always between 89-91 degrees F.
And the pictures don't show it well, but the tub does have lots of drilled holes in it. It's not solid plastic, just to clarify.

http://i516.photobucket.com/albums/u...4/DSC_5447.jpg

http://i516.photobucket.com/albums/u...4/DSC_5446.jpg

I just went through the same thing with my new BP. Tried every trick and nothing for a couple weeks. Then I just left a rat in there that had a little gerbil flavor overnight and covered the tank for privacy and the next afternoon it was gone. Now she eats like a champ!

Seriously, just leave it in there. If she's hungry, she'll take it but they are very shy sometimes and may need privacy at first. Don't resort to live food. It's just a bad idea. Be patient and don't panic--she'll eat when she's hungry.

Also, I wouldn't try too many times in a row. Try once and wait a few days before you try again. It stresses the snake out if you pester it with food.

She is pretty- good luck with her :)

Mine eat live. I haven't tried anything else.

Under the BP Husbandry section, look for the Sticky post right at the top
for the feeding technique video by Adam Wysocki from 8 Ball - it's very useful.
Hope this helps!

___________________________
Deb V.

Some people prefer to feed live. Some snakes will only take live food. We tried it once and Shai' got a scratch while she was checking it out. Bashed that little mousie's brains right out.:taz:

I'm paranoid that she's going to get injured by the prey and it's much more convenient to have frozen rats than live ones. If you do try live, just don't leave it unattended. Nasty things can happen:colbert:

Absolutely! Good advice.

Your getting lots of good advice here, and thats coming from someone who was new to this and asked a lot of questions in the beginning. Something that I did to my enclosure after seeking advice really worked well for me and my BP "Viper." I purchased two identical hides, one for the cool side @ 80 degrees and one for the warm side @ 90 degrees. I got rid of the 1/2 log thing, and went with two roundish hides with a single entrance so she could get in there and feel nice and secure. I have two UTH (Under The Tank) heaters, both controlled by thermostats with probes under the substrate on the floor of the enclosure. I have an Accurite measuring the humidity, ambient temp as well as the "hot" side. I have a second digital thermometer probe measuring the "cool" side. Viper has done quite well since I made these improvements, and she will usually strike at a F/T rat when presented to her. When she does not show interest I leave it in her cage and make the room dark & quiet. It is usally gone within an hour.
Welcome to the site, and the best of luck with your new pet.

What finally did the trick for me with my one and only fussy eater (there's always one LOL) was to crumple up newspapers and put them all over the enclosure - that way my nervous eater felt secure and "invisible". Worked like a charm! Keep us posted!

___________________
Deb V.

Het Piebald 1.0, Piebald 0.1, Pastel 0.2, SuperPastel 0.1, Lesser 0.1, Normal 0.1 and on the lookout for the perfect Pinstripe! (I'd sell my left kidney for a Desert Pin - gorgeous!)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by GoFride08

Under the BP Husbandry section, look for the Sticky post right at the top
for the feeding technique video by Adam Wysocki from 8 Ball - it's very useful.
Hope this helps!

___________________________
Deb V.

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Awesome, thanks :D

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Ed Chisholm

Your getting lots of good advice here, and thats coming from someone who was new to this and asked a lot of questions in the beginning. Something that I did to my enclosure after seeking advice really worked well for me and my BP "Viper." I purchased two identical hides, one for the cool side @ 80 degrees and one for the warm side @ 90 degrees. I got rid of the 1/2 log thing, and went with two roundish hides with a single entrance so she could get in there and feel nice and secure. I have two UTH (Under The Tank) heaters, both controlled by thermostats with probes under the substrate on the floor of the enclosure. I have an Accurite measuring the humidity, ambient temp as well as the "hot" side. I have a second digital thermometer probe measuring the "cool" side. Viper has done quite well since I made these improvements, and she will usually strike at a F/T rat when presented to her. When she does not show interest I leave it in her cage and make the room dark & quiet. It is usally gone within an hour.
Welcome to the site, and the best of luck with your new pet.

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I also have the under tank heater for her (the warm side). With thermometer probes & thermostat.
I am leaving the Rat in the cage overnight but if it is not gone in the AM I will take it out.
(what is too long to leave rat in there, as far as when it starts to grow bacteria/etc.?)

I got the log because it was short enough to fit in her tank, but big enough she could get her body in. Her plastic hide is too small for her, but I can't fit any other plastic hides until I get a larger area for her to inhabit ;)

Thanks again for all teh info everyone!