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  1. #1
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    He's scared of the rat?

    Hey, I'm not great with words so I'll just apologize in advance if my grammar is weird. I've never had any issues feeding my bp, the only times he's ever refused food is while in shed. I know that he's not in shed know as he just recently finished one. We did recently switch to rats, but he's eaten several with no issues thus far. I also haven't made any recent changes to his habitat or temperature. There are only two notable recent changes in his life that I can think of. 1. When I handled him a few weeks ago I noticed him adjusting his jaw a few times and he occasionally "whistled". I made sure to keep an eye on it and I haven't noticed either of those things since then. 2. During the aforementioned handling session, I noticed that he looked a bit overweight to I decided to change his feeding schedule from once a week to once every two weeks. When I tried to feed him on Saturday, it had been my first time feeding him after implementing the new schedule so I figured he'd be eager to eat, but he wasn't. He struck at it several times, but drew back quickly each time, as if he was afraid of the rat. He finally took it from the tongs so I closed the lid and left him to eat, as I always do. When I came in the check on him, he wasn't holding onto it anymore, but sometimes the sound of the lid closing startles him off the food and he'll eventually start eating again. Figuring this to be the case, I left him again. When I finally came back, he'd gone into his other hide and left the rat on the ground. I've read that trying to feed them every day when their refusing can teach them to always refuse so I waited until Monday (today) to try again. The same thing happened. I'm sorry this is so long, if anyone has advice I would appreciate it a lot.

  2. #2
    Bogertophis's Avatar
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    No matter what the reason your snake is refusing food, offering TOO often will just stress him more & make him MORE likely to keep refusing. I assume you feed f/t?

    So after a refusal, it's best to leave your snake alone for at least a week & probably for 2 weeks. Meanwhile, don't handle much but try to pay attention & see if anything
    else is going on. Sometimes a snake will go right back into another shed too, especially if over-fed; it's not common but it could happen.
    Rudeness is the weak man's imitation of strength.
    Eric Hoffer (1902 - 1983)

  3. #3
    BPnet Royalty KMG's Avatar
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    Just relax first of all. Especially if it is overweight. Snakes can go a long time without food and a Ball refusing food is not uncommon. Mine has done it a few times, 3-4 months at times. The only down side is wasting food but with the others in my collection they take care of any refused items for me. Good reason to buy a garbage disposal of a snake to have handy. Lol!

    When I do have a refusal I stick to my schedule and do not offer again until the next time to feed my collection.
    Last edited by KMG; 05-25-2020 at 05:57 PM.
    KMG
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    christineho (05-25-2020)

  5. #4
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    Re: He's scared of the rat?

    Thank you for the feedback, he did seem especially stressed today. I'll be sure to give him some space.

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