Fussy eater - do I give in or stand firm?

[Phillydubs]

Thank you Phillydubs,
I'm doing all the things you suggested, EXCEPT, I'm not putting the f/t in a plastic bag, just putting it directly into the water. I never thought about that removing the odor. Will definitely try that and see if it makes a difference, thank you.

No prob. Hope it helps. I think you are getting rid of or watering down the scent and offering a soaked rodent. I don’t know about you but I don’t want to eat some water down tasteless meal.

Imagine someone takes a slice of pizza soaks it in a bucket for an hour then hits it w a hair dryer and is like here good as new .... ummmm no thanks.

Zip lock all the way. Dry rodent. Full scent. I bet it does the trick.

[B.P.'s 4me]

12g isn't all that much to loose, it could've pooped that out. Have you tried the hair dryer method? If I recall correctly you warm the rodent with a hairdryer to about 100f and offer it. I'd also try thawing your rats in a plastic bag in some warm water.

Thank you for your suggestion, I do thaw the rats in warm water and offer warm, it's not that she won't take them, she strikes and wraps immediately, but then leaves them. I don't have a hair dryer, but warm under a heat lamp for a couple of minutes. :-)

[B.P.'s 4me]

No prob. Hope it helps. I think you are getting rid of or watering down the scent and offering a soaked rodent. I don’t know about you but I don’t want to eat some water down tasteless meal.

Imagine someone takes a slice of pizza soaks it in a bucket for an hour then hits it w a hair dryer and is like here good as new .... ummmm no thanks.

Zip lock all the way. Dry rodent. Full scent. I bet it does the trick.

I actually towel dry them lightly before offering, and put them under a heat lamp for a couple of minutes, so they aren't wet. :-) I'm certainly going to try your zip lock suggestion though,can't believe that didn't occur to me, but saw one of the big breeders on youtube soaking rats in a bucket of hot water, no plastic bags there..... in retrospect, probably because they do so many at a time. Thanks so much.

[Aedryan Methyus]

Thank you cchardwick, she did happily take a fresh killed rat pup, even though it was 45 minutes before I got it home and offered it to her, I'm just mystified why she won't accept f/t, esp. since they're warmer than the f/t was when i offered it to her. And it's not that she won't strike, she strikes immediately, and wraps, but refuses to eat. Very odd!

One of my Sumatran Short Tails is famous for doing that. My belief is, she has a hard time figuring out that she needs to swallow it head first sometimes. If your snake keeps biting and wrapping, you have it made! All you have to do is keep reheating the prey up with a blow dryer and offering it again. Sometimes you might have to heat it back up and re-offer a half a dozen times in a row, but she will eventually get it right...

[dadofsix]

One of my snakes can be a fussy eater at times. i've found that wriggling parts of the thawed rat after it's been wrapped by the snake's coils, such as pulling gently but consistently, from time to time, on the tail, or an exposed leg, with my tongs further helps to convince the snake that he's killing the rat in his coils. I'm just trying to simulate the actions of a dying rat. After a minute or so of that, I then cover the terrarium with a towel so he doesn't get distracted by what's happening outside the terrarium.

It just seems to focus his mind and give purpose to his efforts.

<><Ciao

[Zincubus]

One of my snakes can be a fussy eater at times. i've found that wriggling parts of the thawed rat after it's been wrapped by the snake's coils, such as pulling gently but consistently, from time to time, on the tail, or an exposed leg, with my tongs further helps to convince the snake that he's killing the rat in his coils. I'm just trying to simulate the actions of a dying rat. After a minute or so of that, I then cover the terrarium with a towel so he doesn't get distracted by what's happening outside the terrarium.

It just seems to focus his mind and give purpose to his efforts.

<><Ciao

Yep I do that with my SD Retic and Dwarf SunGlow Boa

It's almost as though they grab it then go to sleep until I shake it a bit ..


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