My BP Missed, then refused

[ssmith73]

So on Tuesday I went to feed my snakes. My 3 month old BP was in her hide when I lowered the frozen thawed small rat into the tub. Before I knew it her hide went flying up and she missed the rat. When I looked into the hide I could see that she had some of the Reptile Prime substrate stuck in the front of her mouth. I gave her some time to clear it out (which she did) and attempted to feed her again. I tried several times and each time she seemed extremely interested but would not take.

Do you think she didn't take because it was a stressful or maybe it hurt her? She has never missed a meal she is a veracious eater. I am hoping this does not impact future feedings.

I am going to wait until next week to try again or should I try sooner?

Thanks for reading!

[Bogertophis]

Best to make sure there is nothing stuck in her mouth. I think when anything like this happens it temporarily subverts their confidence. It makes sense, right?
If you've tried now & she refused, you'll probably have better luck by waiting a week. Maybe it did "hurt" somehow, but sounds like she is mostly stressed.

[ssmith73]

I no longer see the substrate in her mouth. She dislodged it pretty much right away. I have not tried to feed her again since. I was just going to wait until next Tuesday. She is only 3 moths though and I'm not sure I want her to miss a meal but she is already a little over 300 grams so I think she will be fine.

Thanks for your reply!

[Craiga 01453]

Best to make sure there is nothing stuck in her mouth. I think when anything like this happens it temporarily subverts their confidence. It makes sense, right?
If you've tried now & she refused, you'll probably have better luck by waiting a week. Maybe it did "hurt" somehow, but sounds like she is mostly stressed.

^^^agreed 100%^^^

I'dsimply wait a week and try again. If she's never missed a meal she'll be perfectly fine going a week without.

[Zincubus]

So on Tuesday I went to feed my snakes. My 3 month old BP was in her hide when I lowered the frozen thawed small rat into the tub. Before I knew it her hide went flying up and she missed the rat. When I looked into the hide I could see that she had some of the Reptile Prime substrate stuck in the front of her mouth. I gave her some time to clear it out (which she did) and attempted to feed her again. I tried several times and each time she seemed extremely interested but would not take.

Do you think she didn't take because it was a stressful or maybe it hurt her? She has never missed a meal she is a veracious eater. I am hoping this does not impact future feedings.

I am going to wait until next week to try again or should I try sooner?

Thanks for reading!

I put pieces of card / cardboard over the top of the substrate to minimise ingestion of bark ...

Occasionally I still notice a little piece or two of bark going in the mouth with the mouse /rat ... I just pinch it out with long tweezers or tongs . Rarely fails tbh .


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[Bogertophis]

I put pieces of card / cardboard over the top of the substrate to minimise ingestion of bark ...

Occasionally I still notice a little piece or two of bark going in the mouth with the mouse /rat ... I just pinch it out with long tweezers or tongs . Rarely fails tbh .


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Exactly what I do, & fortunately I only have one snake that objects to being watched while he eats. (my shy Korean rat snake)