Feeding

[BallKingdom]

I got Goldy to finally stop being so freaking picky....sorta. My babies like it one way, and one way only. The runt likes it dead, almost always frozen thawed. And she must, must, be put in a snake bag with it for two hours. Then I go get her and she is nice and fat. Never misses a meal though.

Goldy will only take it live, when nobody is around, and if she is in the mood. I hate live, but sometimes I give in and hold the rodent behind the head and put it in front of her. Last night I just killed it, she wasn't interested. It'd been two weeks, and she was showing some interest. So I put the top of it's head in her mouth and she bit down, hard. And she took it.

Anyone else got picky eaters? And by the way, that was not a force feed in any way.

[Wizill]

i've never thought of doing that... although it's a good idea.

[Wizill]

btw, i still got a picky eater... bubba has refused his last 2 meals.

[daftperception]

ive still got a picky eater my sage hasn't eaten in 4 weeks.

[JLC]

I think I've heard that called "assist feeding".... I don't think there's anything wrong with that if circumstances warrent it.

And speaking of that...how exactly do you get your snake's mouth open to put the mouse in it? My gopher is being quite stubborn about eating for the last couple of months and I'm wondering if doing that might remind him that f/th fuzzies are what he used to love.

[bigslimrich]

My new ball is 141 grams and the first day i got it i put him (or her... don"t know) in a feeding box and put a live mouse in it, it had only been 4 days since the pet store fed it, and it refused, it just tried to climb out of the box. later that night after it settled down in its new home i got him (or her) out and put it in the feeding box, dropped in the mouse and it wasn't 5 mins. before it struck and killed the little guy!!! he (or she) got it down in about 15 mins.. I'm very happy this is my first snake, my buddy brought his baby ball over a couple of times and i just had to have one!!! Hope everyones snakes start eating soon, but it is in there nature to fast while in hibernation, so it may just be doing what comes naturally

[BallKingdom]

To get the mouth open I take the mouse's nose and put it on the front part of the mouth, then push a little. The open up very easily, and since I check for RI frequently they are used to opening up for me no problem. Well, anyway. The slanted nose acts like a crow bar and when in to past the eyes she bites down, hard. Then sits there and considers whether to eat it or not. I've only done it twice. But every time it takes 3-4 tries. She'll start to eat, but then decides she doesn't wanna after seeing me move.

I wish she fed like the runt. So easy to feed in snake bags.

[Rosy_Boa]

well, i just got my snkae almost a week ago. he shed about 3 days after i got him. the day after he shed i tried to feed him cause he hadnt eaten in about 2 weeks. now i have to wait intill sunday to try again. now i really now what peole meant by the stress it puts you on. but its not like im friking out or anything at all. i would just like for him to eat sooner than later

[invadertoast]

Eleanor hasn't eaten since December 9th! :? She still appears healthy... a little lethargic but not much more than usual. I haven't been offering food too often for fear of her getting too stressed about it... I don't think I should try assist feeding or anything unless she appears unhealthy. I guess it's just a winter thing -- trying not to let it drive me crazy!