BP hasn't shed yet

[Craiga 01453]

He's likely digesting, and possibly starting a shed. That one proper meal may have been what edged him over and now he's ready to shed.
I go days without seeing my BP all the time, especially after a meal and always leading up to a shed.

[sharpe]

Awesome! Thank you so much

[Bogertophis]

Update:

He ate the larger mouse without any issue whatsoever on his next scheduled feeding time, 4 days ago.

Since then though, he's been spending all of his time in his hide and not coming out as much as he did before.

I'm assuming that a more satisflying meal means he's just taking it easy and not out "hunting".

Do BP's ususally hide out more for a few days after eating?

Yes, that's totally normal. They eat a meal, then lay low to digest for a few days. If, at that time, they go into a shed-cycle, they'll hide even longer, so don't
panic if (when) that happens. You can always use a small flashlight (penlight) in a darkened room to check their eyes for the tell-tale "haze" (ie. "blue") of a shed.

Also, offering food too often (even when it's not "filling") can stress them, but as already mentioned, snakes aren't all the same on this...some are gluttons, but not
usually BPs.

[sharpe]

OK, he has stayed in his hide until this evening and we fed him again. First time since pinkies he got a fuzzy and tonight we stepped it up again and gave him a small mouse. At least those were the descriptions on the packaging.

The medium mouse still looks a little large, so I'm thinking we'll stick with the small mouse for a few feedings? However, I can step up the size again if you guys think I should.

[sharpe]

We tried the medium sized mouse and he ate it without problem.

Should I stick with this size for a bit? How does the rat sizes compare to the medium sized mouse?

[sharpe]

UPDATE:

He ate a large mouse. Still can't believe it fit down his neck, but I guess that's what they do.

The next size up is a small rat, and I'm pretty sure that that's too big for him right now.

He still hasn't shed or had a bowel movement since I've started increasing the size of his food.

I'll stick with the large mouse unless someone wiser than I thinks that that still isn't enough.

Hoping to get his first shed soon.

[sufficio]

UPDATE:

He ate a large mouse. Still can't believe it fit down his neck, but I guess that's what they do.

The next size up is a small rat, and I'm pretty sure that that's too big for him right now.

He still hasn't shed or had a bowel movement since I've started increasing the size of his food.

I'll stick with the large mouse unless someone wiser than I thinks that that still isn't enough.

Hoping to get his first shed soon.

You can start him on rat fuzzies or rat pups, those should be about the size of large mice! You'll want to eventually switch from mice to rats since they are more complete in nutrition for BPs. Glad he's eating larger food without trouble though, good job!

[Bogertophis]

UPDATE:

He ate a large mouse. Still can't believe it fit down his neck, but I guess that's what they do.

The next size up is a small rat, and I'm pretty sure that that's too big for him right now.

He still hasn't shed or had a bowel movement since I've started increasing the size of his food.

I'll stick with the large mouse unless someone wiser than I thinks that that still isn't enough.

Hoping to get his first shed soon.

I didn't see your previous post or I'd have said, yes, stick with that size for a while. For a young BP to go so quickly from eating next to nothing to eating a large
mouse might be a digestive challenge...let's hope he keeps it down. Not that they have such choices in the wild though, & it's mostly fine.

I would stick w/ medium (NOT large) mice for some time, actually...if he was my snake. It's better not to push it too far...it's too soon to rush to a small rat.
But also, as sufficio's post suggested, rat fuzzies or rat pups would also be fine...they're about the same size as the med. mouse...so either way.
If nothing else, snakes teach us patience...

[Craiga 01453]

UPDATE:

He ate a large mouse. Still can't believe it fit down his neck, but I guess that's what they do.

The next size up is a small rat, and I'm pretty sure that that's too big for him right now.

He still hasn't shed or had a bowel movement since I've started increasing the size of his food.

I'll stick with the large mouse unless someone wiser than I thinks that that still isn't enough.

Hoping to get his first shed soon.

It's pretty darn impressive what they can do. They haven't survived thousands of years for nothing though. And they've survived all these years with no arms or legs.

If it were me, I'd stick to the large mice for a little while. Then I'd try to switch. Maybe feed him the mice until his 3rd shed with you. Then wait him out. Dont feed durong shed or after the first aign of shed. Then let him get good and hungry (by this point he'll be plenty healthy enough to miss a week or two) and then offer a rat.

[sharpe]

He handled the large mouse really well (he's handled each increase in size well actually). After this large mouse, he hid away for a couple days, but last night, I found him out on the warmer side of the tank hanging out. He seems really content.

I've been buying my frozen mice from the local pet smart, but they only have rats that are obviously quite a bit larger than the large mouse.

Is there an online retailer that you'd recommend?