Two random questions,

[gplegend11]

Hey guys, I have two unrelated questions for you guys. I know, I know, I write long threads.... I'm detail oriented I can't help it

Question 1..... so I have a 2-3 month BP, have had her just over a week. It has been so hard to not handle her because she was so friendly when we picked her out. Anyways, they were feeding her live at the store, I figured I would do the same to ensure she eats and then switch her to f/t once she gets a couple meals.

so last night I tried to feed her for the first time. I bought a live rat fuzzy, eyes not even open yet. I bought it from the guy who sold me the snake and he said it was appropriate size but honestly I felt like it was a little bigger than her widest part. I left it in there starting early evening( I know not to do this with prey that can harm my snake but the fuzzy could barely just hobble around). I watched for a while and saw the fuzzy wobble into her hide. I waited about five to ten minutes and checked to see if she ate it. The rat was basically sleeping with his head on my snake...........

I used my clamps and pulled it from the hide and put it in a hide across the cage, then went about my business. A couple hours later there was noise in the cage, I looked and she was trying to pull him into her hide by his tail for the LONGEST time but couldn't quite pull it in because she is a weirdo and was trying to do it from underneath the side and not the entrance so she gave up lol.

I left them alone for another couple hours and checked back in. The rat was just chilling in the corner. At this point I thought she wasn't interested enough because stress of her new home, or that it was just too big for her, so I took it out and put it in my other pythons cage even though the fuzzy is too small for him. He weighs 150 g and did eat it when it crawled into his hide, which is good news because I have been only giving him f/t and have had an unsuccessful attempt at switching from mouse to rat at his last feeding (first time he denied food since I got him), so I'm hoping he will now take a F/t rat after that in 3-4 days...(I also just read now not to put a prey in one cage, then switch it to a different one because it can transmit disease but idk if that is true or just holds true if there is a different species in each cage?.)

Heres the the actual question , should I attempt to put a rat pinky in her cage tonight instead of a fuzzy since it is much smaller, and she showed interest in pulling around the fuzzy, or should I wait 3-4 days before I try again?

She is active at night and when all the lights go off at bedtime she works her way around the whole tank climbing through everything so I would place it in a random hide just before the lights go off. Also temps and humidity are perfect.


question 2.... when I got her, before I placed her into the enclosure to settle in, i couldn't help but handle her for a few minutes but I also introduced my other guy and her together. They didn't flinch or anything and slithered comfortably around each other.

The question is, once I start handling her on a regular basis after a few feedings, is it okay/safe/stressful/bad to take them out together and have them interact when I handle them. Should I refrain from this and always take them out individually?( I don't actually know the sex of my snakes, I just assign them genders when I name them)



thanks for taking the time!

[debrisofamemory]

I'm not 100% sure about the second question, but my bp had the exact same issue (except I don't feed her live). She's five months and stopped eating for almost a month after we got her. I took her to the vet, fearing the worst. They said she was healthy and gave her a shot and what I think was a pill. She ate for me last week, and was the most enthusiastic I've ever seen her. I would try that out if nothing works, but changing the mouse size might prove to help. You should also go back to the place you bought her and ask exactly how they prepared the mouse. Maybe try feeding frozen and then thawed. Just play around with it for a while. Don't touch your snake until it starts to eat again, and wait a while before trying to feed her something else. I don't know if it's proven, but I think they get used to the schedule.

Hope I helped!
Chris

[gplegend11]

Thanks for your reply, I made a stop and talked to them today. I think next I am going to try turning off all lights before bed as usual and dangling a rat pinky in front of her hide. If she doesn't come grab it I will put it down and leave it overnight. My plan is to get two so if she takes the first right away I can try a second one, or leave both in there.

I looked again at all their fuzzies and they just seem too big. Maybe I'm wrong though and just being paranoid.

If if that doesn't work I will try braining a f/t fuzzy rat if I can find a good size.

if that doesn't work I'll try a dang mouse. Lol

[dr del]

trying a mouse is not a bad idea - at the same size they are older and have a thicker skin and bones.

As to question two you are going to have to step up the quarantine procedures as you get more snakes.

Have a search on the board for some more advice on that though.

[gplegend11]

Ahh I see, that's what I was looking for. Read it, learned it, its in the vault! Thanks