The Burm Has Landed!

[Zincubus]

So Dexter is STILL stonewalling me on frozen thawed rats. He went about a month and a half without eating at all and I had to get him to take something to I made probably a bad decision and gave him a live mouse...which he snatched in about 30 seconds. The next week I offered a live small rat....he would slither up and check it out over the course of about two hours but still refused to take it.

So far Ive tried: tuna juice, chicken broth, mouse bedding, braining, the hairdryer method. I dance the rat for him every time for about a half hour...then leave it overnight, Nothing has worked. He smells it, slithers up to it...but wont strike, wont wrap.

His problem? He wants mice, but Im not going to give them to him becauee I cant have a mouser Burm. I will try your buffalo bill method tonight but Im still confused as to how you "pin" the mouse hide to the rat I guess.

On a side note: After hours and hours of scrolling around "Burm Junkies"...which I believe to now be a dead website, numerous breeders claim that Albinos are notoriously picky feeders and that a far majority of transitioning prey problems (mice to rats, rats to rabbits) involve albinos. Interesting. Would explain why Dr Waffles and Dexter had this same issue. Albinism in both.

As regards the hairdryer method .. apart from repeating it numerous times ...the key for many is to have the viv door ajar , rat on tongs , 10 second hairdryer blast and offer INSTANTLY ..... the slightest delay and the heat escapes ... you're dancing a cool target for 30 minutes .. better a hot one for 6 seconds then reheat and then re-offer , dance a few seconds , reheat and so on ... if it's gonna work the snake you can see the interest building up in the snakes twitchy behaviour .. that said more often than not they strike the first or second time ..

Have you tried leaving the rat near the viv for a while before offering?

Offer at night with dim lighting ?

Anyways good luck !!!


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[KevinK]

I am proud to report...THE BUFFALO BILL METHOD WORKS!

I took a strip of mouse hide cut from a frozen mouse and made a small incision on the neck of the frozen thawed rat and tucked the strip of mouse hide unti it so that is was secure but still hanging out.

I couldnt get him to take it after reheating and making it dance for him, but he instead took it about 15 minutes later without wrapping and striking. He just ate it after I left it there. Its almost like he's still aware of the rat but will put it down simply because of the small amount of mouse smell.

I swear live mice are like crack for Burms and he wanted his fix so bad that he took a thawed rat with just a little amount of mouse fur lol.

Zinc, Im going to do the buffalo method now that its worked, and Ill try it for about three weeks in a row, then when I want him to take an unscented rat Ill try exactly what you described. It does make me nervous however because I know that the little bugger is only eating the rat because it smells like his favorite treat. Ill keep you updated! Much appreciated!

[Zincubus]

I am proud to report...THE BUFFALO BILL METHOD WORKS!

I took a strip of mouse hide cut from a frozen mouse and made a small incision on the neck of the frozen thawed rat and tucked the strip of mouse hide unti it so that is was secure but still hanging out.

I couldnt get him to take it after reheating and making it dance for him, but he instead took it about 15 minutes later without wrapping and striking. He just ate it after I left it there. Its almost like he's still aware of the rat but will put it down simply because of the small amount of mouse smell.

I swear live mice are like crack for Burms and he wanted his fix so bad that he took a thawed rat with just a little amount of mouse fur lol.

Zinc, Im going to do the buffalo method now that its worked, and Ill try it for about three weeks in a row, then when I want him to take an unscented rat Ill try exactly what you described. It does make me nervous however because I know that the little bugger is only eating the rat because it smells like his favorite treat. Ill keep you updated! Much appreciated!

Whatever works is the way to go !

Good luck !!


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[dkatz4]

I am proud to report...THE BUFFALO BILL METHOD WORKS!

I took a strip of mouse hide cut from a frozen mouse and made a small incision on the neck of the frozen thawed rat and tucked the strip of mouse hide unti it so that is was secure but still hanging out.

I couldnt get him to take it after reheating and making it dance for him, but he instead took it about 15 minutes later without wrapping and striking. He just ate it after I left it there. Its almost like he's still aware of the rat but will put it down simply because of the small amount of mouse smell.

I swear live mice are like crack for Burms and he wanted his fix so bad that he took a thawed rat with just a little amount of mouse fur lol.

Zinc, Im going to do the buffalo method now that its worked, and Ill try it for about three weeks in a row, then when I want him to take an unscented rat Ill try exactly what you described. It does make me nervous however because I know that the little bugger is only eating the rat because it smells like his favorite treat. Ill keep you updated! Much appreciated!

FAN-FLIPPIN'-TASTIC!!!
I must admit, I'm just a bit proud of this Buffalo bill thing, seems like everyone who tries it has success. I did it like 8 times before i tried just a plain old rat, probably over-kill on my part. Interestingly Doc also just slithered up to take it after some time, as we progressed he would take it sooner and sooner. Once on plain rats, i would just drop in the cage and and he'd come over and just start swallowing it a minute later. Then this past feeding day when i put the tongs in he just looked way more interested than usual, so instead of dropping it i danced it around for a second and WHAM!! he hit and wrapped that sucker like demon! It was super cool, although much like my boas who have always struck and wrapped, it took him way longer to actually start eating since i guess he had to make sure it was "dead" LOL.

[dkatz4]

Its been 8 months with my main man, the Doctor! He celebrated is 1st birthday in July and today measured in at
5 feet, 4 inches!
Thats exactly 3 feet since i got him, (and remember he only grew 4 inches in the first 2 months) He's consistently putting on about 6 inches per month and for last few weeks has been eating 1 medium and 1 small rat per meal (every 7 or 8 days) I'd rather just give him one large, but i really need to use up these meds and smalls before i go rat shopping again, lol.
In other news i finished his new enclosure along with new enclosures for Irwin and Gimel; pics soon!

[Valyrian]

Its been 8 months with my main man, the Doctor! He celebrated is 1st birthday in July and today measured in at
5 feet, 4 inches!
Thats exactly 3 feet since i got him, (and remember he only grew 4 inches in the first 2 months) He's consistently putting on about 6 inches per month and for last few weeks has been eating 1 medium and 1 small rat per meal (every 7 or 8 days) I'd rather just give him one large, but i really need to use up these meds and smalls before i go rat shopping again, lol.
In other news i finished his new enclosure along with new enclosures for Irwin and Gimel; pics soon!

This is weird, your numbers are spot on the same as my girl. Same age exact same length ha ha and I'm moving her onto large rats tonight and feeding every 2 weeks from now until 10 feet.

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[dkatz4]

This is weird, your numbers are spot on the same as my girl. Same age exact same length ha ha and I'm moving her onto large rats tonight and feeding every 2 weeks from now until 10 feet.

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I've def been considering spacing out the feedings a bit now that he's a year old and on larger food.

[Valyrian]

I've def been considering spacing out the feedings a bit now that he's a year old and on larger food.

Yeah at 10 feet I'm going to feed once a month. I'm after longevity and not a large size at the expense of lifespan. A lot of people move them onto large rats a lot earlier but here's no rush for me.

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[dkatz4]

A while back I was posting about Doc getting defensive and striking for no apparent reason and how concerned I was about that. Well it’s been a month or two now and he is calmed down in a big way. After his last “outburst” I limited handling sessions to very low stress situations, just me in a quiet room, gradually I increased the stimuli. Step-by-step we got to the point where I can take him out with my kids running around and let them handle him just like they did before this all started. Additionally, his formerly ubiquitous cage aggression has completely gone away. It used to be that even on a good day he would hiss and huff and puff when I went to take him out (although never strike) but now he is just as cool as a cucumber when I go to get him. I just give him a little rub with the hook and reach on in; no drama whatsoever. I don’t want to be overly optimistic but I am sincerely hoping that this is the beginning of him settling into his adult calmness.

[dkatz4]

Sorry for the lapse in updates, I am almost ready for his November measurement, but i never even updated September.
Well let me apologize with some eye candy!

Here is a composite shot (accurate to a fraction of an inch) of day one and early September then some shots i like, and finally my new snake condo - his is on top and should be sufficient for a little while (they are all 4x2)