Kali Still Doesn't Eat

[Kilo]

Well it's been another week and I tried to feed my baby girl Kali again with no such luck. I did try this time around using Joe's method with the paper bag. I know it still has not been that long since I have owned her but it's killing me inside. I need here to eat! Does anyone have any tips or tricks?

[joepythons]

Well it's been another week and I tried to feed my baby girl Kali again with no such luck. I did try this time around using Joe's method with the paper bag. I know it still has not been that long since I have owned her but it's killing me inside. I need here to eat! Does anyone have any tips or tricks?

Kilo, how long did you leave her in the bag? Do not give up she will eat when she wants to .

[snakey68]

Well it's been another week and I tried to feed my baby girl Kali again with no such luck. I did try this time around using Joe's method with the paper bag. I know it still has not been that long since I have owned her but it's killing me inside. I need here to eat! Does anyone have any tips or tricks?

I still think its a bit early yet to be worrying mate. Its not that long you changed the set up again so IMO another week or so will be fine just let it settle in. 2 or 3 weeks settling in is not a long time.

If your feeding F/T try heating the head quite hot with a hairdryer and stick the blood and rat in a box with a lid that is quite snug ......but again I would wait a bit longer yet and give it 2 weeks to settle in Baby Bloods can be tricky to get started and they really need to feel safe and secure 1st.

You were advised to change the set up which you have done so let it settle in a couple of weeks and try to be patient.

how did you try to feed her when you did ? off the tongs ? just leave the rat in ? describe for me if you dont mind the procedure you used ?

dont worry once she gets started you will struggle to keep her satisfied ( I am talking about feeding the snake btw ..lol )

[Kilo]

I tried a dead mouse and a live mouse... both were rejected. I layed the dead mouse right in the door of her hide. And attempted the brown bag treatment for the live attempt.

LOL as your last comment

[snakey68]

I tried a dead mouse and a live mouse... both were rejected. I layed the dead mouse right in the door of her hide. And attempted the brown bag treatment for the live attempt.

LOL as your last comment

have you tried offering with tongs both mine eat that way and the female wont touch anything layed out in front of her although the big male will eat as long as it is heated up enough for him.

as I said try heating the head in particular with a hair dryer and hold it on the tongs in front of her and moving it slightly to see if she will strike.

and boy when they strike they are rapid and very aggressive so be prepared ! lol

did you say you put a live mouse in a paper bag with your blood ?

[Kilo]

No I haven't used tongs yet. I also didn't heat the dead mouse at all. I will be prepared! (hopefully lol). and yes I did say that... I believe that is what JoePythons told me I should attempt.

EDIT: Sorry Joe I didn't see your reply. I left her in the bag for almost an hour. I was worried the mouse was going to mess with her.

[Smulkin]

Some great advice Kara (KLG) gave me in a similar situation - my first blood and me being neurotic about her not eating:

Here's what has worked for me time & again when it comes to dealing with difficult bloods.

Get a large plastic shoebox - either the Rubbermaid 2220 or the Sterilite 1754 model (which I'm particularly fond of for bloods since it's so deep). With a drill or soldering iron, make 20 ventilation holes in each of the "short" sides of the box. Use a very simple substrate - newspaper or paper towels work especially well. Add a couple of hide spots & a small water bowl. Maintain the entire shoebox at 82-84 degrees, and DO NOT UTILIZE A BASKING SPOT. Young blood pythons & basking spots are like oil and water - they do not mix!!!! Get them too warm & they freak out & stop eating. Put them in too big of a cage & they freak out & stop eating. In fact, there are a lot of factors that can cause a young blood to freak out & stop eating.

At this point your blood is probably freaked out by the overhead lighting & hot temperatures within her enclosure. If she's in a glass tank, the high visibility setup is likely to be stressful as well. The best thing to do IMO is to move her into the shoebox setup that I just described. Leave her alone for a week to 10 days & keep handling to an absolute minimum. After a week or so, introduce a large hopper mouse or appropriately-sized rat fuzzy/crawler into her enclosure. Do this after you've turned out the lights in your snake room. If you use a mouse, leave her alone for 20-30 minutes or so, and if she hasn't eaten it, remove it. If you're using a rat, it's safe to leave in overnight. This is a case where it's almost better to use a fuzzy/crawler rat, because they tend to bumble around a lot & create movement that will get your blood's attention. They're also too small to do any damage to your snake.

Worked for me - I hope it helps!

[snakey68]

No I haven't used tongs yet. I also didn't heat the dead mouse at all. I will be prepared! (hopefully lol). and yes I did say that... I believe that is what JoePythons told me I should attempt.

EDIT: Sorry Joe I didn't see your reply. I left her in the bag for almost an hour. I was worried the mouse was going to mess with her.

ok try the heating the head method and use tongs to tempt her with it.

I find it hard to believe someone would suggest putting a live mouse and a snake in a paper bag, IMO this is not a good practice however I dont feed live ever these days so maybe the "live" feeders can comment on that but to my mind I would have layed the "live" mouse in her tank and offered the dead mouse in the bag but thats my opinion.

let me know how you go with the tongs and heated mouse ? Dont poke her in the face with it though she will smell it fine especially if you up the heat signiture on it by using the hairdryer on the head method so its quite hot ( not cooked though lol )

As I said I would wait another week myself and be patient and give her space.

[Kara]

What are your temps consistently running since you've changed the setup?

Also, how long did you wait between offering live/offering dead/brown-bagging it?

Just curious...

K~

[Smulkin]

Speak of the devil in brongersmai form and so shall she appear!!


Thank you Kara!


Listen to this gal she is the pinnacle of blood husbandry.