Vote for BP.Net for the 2013 Forum of the Year! Click here for more info.

» Site Navigation

» Home
 > FAQ

» Online Users: 2,886

0 members and 2,886 guests
No Members online
Most users ever online was 6,337, 01-24-2020 at 04:30 AM.

» Today's Birthdays

None

» Stats

Members: 75,031
Threads: 248,489
Posts: 2,568,446
Top Poster: JLC (31,651)
Welcome to our newest member, isismomma
Results 1 to 8 of 8
  1. #1
    Registered User
    Join Date
    12-31-2018
    Posts
    2
    Thanks
    0
    Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts

    live-feed attempt, bp wasnt hungry. what now?

    had my first live-feed attempt with my bumblebee bp and he wouldnt eat the fuzzy rat. we left him in his feeder tank with it (under supervision) for about 15 minutes and he seemed at least curious at first, but quickly lost interest and just tried to find away out of his feed tank after a bit. now we just kind of have a fuzzy feeder that we have no idea what to do with. we figured wed just care for him until next feed and try again but were also rodent lovers and are already, admittedly, getting a little attatched

    do we just suck it up and try again next week? can you keep these little guys as pets? please help 😂

  2. #2
    BPnet Veteran pretends2bnormal's Avatar
    Join Date
    09-07-2017
    Posts
    861
    Thanks
    713
    Thanked 1,179 Times in 575 Posts
    Images: 7

    Re: live-feed attempt, bp wasnt hungry. what now?

    Sorry your BP wouldn't go for it.

    A fuzzy rat is not weaned, so unless you have a lactating female rat to nurse it, if you try to keep as a pet it will starve to death not able to eat any rodent food you offer.

    Your main options are you can return it to the store if that is allowed by their policies asap (get store credit for next week, perhaps), or you will need to humanely kill and freeze it to offer in the future as a f/t meal.


    The smallest size rat you could keep as a pet for a week is 2 sizes larger, a weaned rat. Before then they typically can't exclusively eat rodent food. (I say typically in case a pup was left with mom close enough to weaning time that it may be okay, but that isn't common for feeders from stores)
    Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk
    Last edited by pretends2bnormal; 01-19-2019 at 04:27 PM.

  3. The Following 4 Users Say Thank You to pretends2bnormal For This Useful Post:

    Bogertophis (01-19-2019),MissterDog (01-19-2019),Sonny1318 (01-19-2019),Stewart_Reptiles (01-19-2019)

  4. #3
    Telling it like it is! Stewart_Reptiles's Avatar
    Join Date
    09-28-2006
    Posts
    24,845
    Thanks
    6,116
    Thanked 20,811 Times in 9,584 Posts
    Blog Entries
    1
    Images: 6
    Your main issue
    we left him in his feeder tank
    , explains why feeding was unsuccessful. (could be other issues as well depending on how the animal is kept.

    do we just suck it up and try again next week? can you keep these little guys as pets?
    The feeder will be dead in a few days, fuzzies and pup rely on their mother to nurse them, and only animals 3 weeks an older can survive without a mother and eat solid food.

    Your option are

    Bring it back to the store.

    Euthanize it.
    Deborah Stewart


  5. The Following 6 Users Say Thank You to Stewart_Reptiles For This Useful Post:

    Bogertophis (01-20-2019),Craiga 01453 (01-19-2019),Kira (01-19-2019),MissterDog (01-19-2019),pretends2bnormal (01-19-2019),Sonny1318 (01-19-2019)

  6. #4
    Registered User
    Join Date
    12-06-2017
    Posts
    193
    Thanks
    109
    Thanked 181 Times in 84 Posts

    Re: live-feed attempt, bp wasnt hungry. what now?

    Quote Originally Posted by Reshi View Post
    had my first live-feed attempt with my bumblebee bp and he wouldnt eat the fuzzy rat. we left him in his feeder tank with it (under supervision) for about 15 minutes and he seemed at least curious at first, but quickly lost interest and just tried to find away out of his feed tank after a bit. now we just kind of have a fuzzy feeder that we have no idea what to do with. we figured wed just care for him until next feed and try again but were also rodent lovers and are already, admittedly, getting a little attatched

    do we just suck it up and try again next week? can you keep these little guys as pets? please help 😂
    like Deb said. There is no reason to feed your snake in anything but his home enclosure. There is a very good chance he wouldn’t eat because of the move to a different tank. Also is there a reason your feeding live.

  7. The Following 3 Users Say Thank You to DandD For This Useful Post:

    Craiga 01453 (01-20-2019),Kira (01-20-2019),MissterDog (01-20-2019)

  8. #5
    Registered User
    Join Date
    12-31-2018
    Posts
    2
    Thanks
    0
    Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts

    Re: live-feed attempt, bp wasnt hungry. what now?

    Quote Originally Posted by DandD View Post
    like Deb said. There is no reason to feed your snake in anything but his home enclosure. There is a very good chance he wouldn’t eat because of the move to a different tank. Also is there a reason your feeding live.
    ive always been told to feed in a seperate tank. his previous carer fed him in a seperate tank and fed live so i was trying to keep things consistent for him but if thats not correct im absolutely and obviously willing to change it.

  9. #6
    Bogertophis's Avatar
    Join Date
    04-28-2018
    Location
    USA
    Posts
    20,183
    Thanks
    28,085
    Thanked 19,740 Times in 11,797 Posts

    Re: live-feed attempt, bp wasnt hungry. what now?

    Quote Originally Posted by Reshi View Post
    ive always been told to feed in a seperate tank. his previous carer fed him in a seperate tank and fed live so i was trying to keep things consistent for him but if thats not correct im absolutely and obviously willing to change it.
    It's not correct & it's stressful for a snake to be handled...it takes their mind off feeding. The only thing that normally picks up a snake in the wild is a predator that's
    going to eat it, & while our snakes do learn not to fear us handling them, their feeding instincts are essential to their survival, and they feel way more secure in their
    regular environment. BPs are ambush-predators, so when you see them peeking out of their hides in the evening hours, they are hoping for a clueless "meal" to walk
    by within their reach.

    The other problem with feeding in a separate tank is that you are way more likely to get bit, either before or after, because snakes stay pumped up in "feeding mode"
    for hours or even a day+. And handling some snakes after they've just eaten can also make some of them regurgitate their meal, so it goes to waste. For all these
    reasons, please feed your snake where he lives. There are easy & successful ways to let your snake know that it's time to be handled & not feeding time, other than
    putting them in a different tank.

  10. The Following User Says Thank You to Bogertophis For This Useful Post:

    Craiga 01453 (01-20-2019)

  11. #7
    BPnet Senior Member MR Snakes's Avatar
    Join Date
    11-25-2018
    Location
    Rockbound coast of Maine, USA
    Posts
    2,667
    Thanks
    1,258
    Thanked 477 Times in 379 Posts
    He's defective. Send him to Maine.

  12. #8
    Banned
    Join Date
    01-27-2017
    Location
    MA, USA
    Posts
    10,560
    Thanks
    14,297
    Thanked 11,072 Times in 5,330 Posts

    Re: live-feed attempt, bp wasnt hungry. what now?

    Quote Originally Posted by Reshi View Post
    ive always been told to feed in a seperate tank. his previous carer fed him in a seperate tank and fed live so i was trying to keep things consistent for him but if thats not correct im absolutely and obviously willing to change it.
    Seperate feeding tubs are old school and proven counter productive over time.
    There is literally ZERO benefit to feeding in a seperate feeding tub.

    A) moving the snake = stress. Stress = refused food
    B) moving the snake after eating = stress. Stress = regurgitated food
    C) snakes remain in feed mode after eating, sometimes for over 24 hours. Moving a snake in feed mode = you getting tagged (bitten, in food mode, so not a defensive bite. Very different)

  13. The Following User Says Thank You to Craiga 01453 For This Useful Post:

    MissterDog (01-20-2019)

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •  
Powered by vBadvanced CMPS v4.2.1