Still not eating

[DJ_Bizarre]

So i know this is a subject that is constantly beaten to death but I am seeking some friendly advice. I bought a bunch of BPs last month at a show and most of them are doing just fine(2 of them even found homes). Anyway, 6 of them are very strong eaters, they kill and eat their prey in minutes(2 of the girls are very aggressive but im working them down), but the other 2 babies that I have left have yet to have a meal within about the last month. I have noticed that they are very timid when a hopper is in their tub and they just seem to shy away rather quickly like they are extremely scared. They have yet to ever strike at the mouse or anything, they also haven't even tried to eat the f/t that ive tried to feed them. They have lost about 3-4g each and are now at 62g and 65g and I am afraid that they may starve. Most people say that a BP won't starve itself but I am just worried that if they keeps this up for not too much longer they may die. Help!?!

[kellysballs]

I'm going to ask you the normal questions.

What does your set up look like and what are your temps?
Include any info on hides, substrates...ect.
Do you know their background, are they ch babies that have never eaten or are they established cb babies?

Once we know how they are being kept we may be able to pin point something that may be stressing them.

[DJ_Bizarre]

My setup is a custom snake rack I made myself using sterilite tubs to house them. Their hides are plastic bowls from walmart that have little entrances cut into the front of them. The "substrate" they are on are sheets of newspaper. Their backgrouns id that they are ch babies from africa that I got from Outback reptiles, they have their first shed before I purchased them and have not eaten their first meal at the time of purchase. 6 of the 8 i have have now eaten for 3-4 weeks in a row and the other 2 have yet to have their first meal. Also, their temp is set at 93 for the flexwatt that the tubs are sitting directly on top of, I am using a ranco thermostat to keep it consistant.

[kellysballs]

Cool good info thanks.

Okay here is what I would do. Make sure that they are being left alone (not being held at all), after a few days of complete isolation then I would drop in a rat pup (small) around twilight and leave it in there all night with them. A rat pup wont hurt your babies. See if that works.

If you have already done this try it with an asfr that is hopper size. Just keep an eye on them since an asf of that size could chew on your baby. You can always place a kernel of dog food in there for the rodent to nibble on while you wait it out. (You should still keep a fairly close eye on them while the rodent is in there just to be safe.)

[Dalishar]

If Kelly's suggestion doesn't work, here's what worked with me.

I recently had the same exact problem with a big female of mine. She's beyond shy, and would get knocked out of feeding mode if the rat so much as looked at her (let alone touched her!). Nothin' worked until I just bit the bullet and switched her substrate over to aspen shavings from paper towls. (I think I read somewhere on here about that being some magic trick ) Gave her two days to resituate herself and popped a rat in there. The rat was dead and gone within ~4 mins and she broke a 6 month fast. We've repeated the performance twice now, so I'm thinking the substrate change finally solved her issues.

Good luck with your babies!

[llovelace]

What size tubs are they in?

[DJ_Bizarre]

Ok so you want me to get a rat pup like one of the pink ones correct? because like I said they are only about 60-65 grams each so I don't want to feed them anyhing too big, the other babies are easily taking down mice hoppers. they are in 12qt tubs

[het.pied]

yeah, get a rat pup like 6g-7g and throw it in the tub and forget about it. youll come back after a few hours and it'll be gone. leave it on the opposite end of the tub though

[jallenfl]

I have had a few CH babies not want to eat at first. I have tried leaving prey in tub and still had no luck. A friend of mine told me to bag the snake. I looked at him like he was nuts...

Get a brown paper bag of adequate size for the snake.
Take a P/K food item drop it in the bag with the snake. Staple or tape shut so the snake cant get out.

Place half on the warm side and half on the cool side of the tub. In the morning the food should be gone. I find it adds more security to the little guys not being able to see anything frightening and just being enclosed with there food. You may have to do this a few times but they will get hte idea and start eating shortly after...Hope this helps...

J