Now what ??

[Jodi2950]

[Freakie_frog]

Random.

[RoseyReps]

Do the hokey pokey!

[Jodi2950]

Oops. I posted too soon. Here is what I meant to type....
I've had Watson for 9 days now. He is a normal male about 14 inches(sorry, I don't have a scale yet). I finally have his tank going. Thermostat set with temps at 90 on the warm side and 80-85 on the cool. Two hides, a water dish, a climbing branch, some fake plants and reptile carpeting on the bottom. I use heat lamps to keep temps up. One black light and one blue. Still struggling with humidity so I mist several time a day. Three sides are blacked out on his tank also.
When I got him from the pet store( next time I will buy from a breeder) they told me he had eaten once or twice on f/t. He has not eaten for me. I've tried with f/t hopper that I thaw in warm water then blow dry for a minute or so. I dangle it in front of him. He will look intrested and even follow it a little. But other than smell it, that is all he does. I've left it in the cage but still nothing. I try at night when he is most active.
I think he is starting to look skinny ( anyway, not as "round" as when I got him)... What should I do? I know they can go a long time without eating but how long is too long? I've read about assist feeding and think I can do it but when is it time to try that? How often between trying to offer the hopper? I've been trying nightly ( and throwing away a lot of mice). Can I refreeze the mice? Are hoppers the right size?
I'm soo afraid I'm going to look in at him and find him dead!! Please advise !!

[RoseyReps]

I would try a live hopper if you can find one. I know you may not want to feed live, but the wiggley little hoppers can really trigger that feeding response. I would not continue trying nightly, as this is probably freaking him out a bit. Give him 4-5 days of being left alone completely (aside from filling his water dish / cleaning up any poops) and give the live a shot. Once he's comfortable and eating for you, then you can start working on switching to f/t again.

It's hard to say if hoppers are the right side, honestly, probably not. Usually hatchlings right out of the egg can take a hopper mouse. But, if he's still a little guy, the hopper might be better to get him eating. I know you don't have a scale, but you really should grab one from walmart / target if you want a more definitive answer on what size he should be eating. They are only around $15-20 (kitchen section, food scale that does grams) and it will help determine if he's losing a lot of weight or not, and what size prey he should be on.

[DooLittle]

Trying to feed to frequently can stress them out. Leave him be for a week with out offering food, or handling. Then try either a live mouse hopper or appropriate sized rat fuzzy. If the rat fuzzy has its eyes closed still, you can just leave it there with him overnight too, and it won't hurt him. Most of the time you will find it gone in the morning. If you don't have a scale, go for a rodent the same size as the biggest part around of your snake.

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[Jodi2950]

Thank you all for the advice! I will see if I can come up with a scale this week. I think the mice I have are hoppers...they are about 2 inches in body length and have fur. Hard to tell if their eyes were open but I think so. These are what the pet store gave me for him. I live in a rural area and have to drive 75 miles to get anywhere that has mice so I got several when I got him. Can they be re froze if he does not eat them? I've been throwing them away... Also, If I do feed him live once or twice, will it be hard to get him eating f/t? I will wait several days to try again. It's really hard when you think your new baby is starving. I suppose I've been bothering him too much trying to get him to eat.
I feel very lucky to have found this web site. Everyone is so helpful and FRIENDLY. Thanks again.

[PitOnTheProwl]

I know its been mentioned but a scale is the best way to monitor their weight when they are not eating. I have a male spider that is back off feed after about a 10 month fast if I remember right.

[RoseyReps]

It will entirely depend on him if he switches back to f/t easily. Some do, some are a pain in the bum. As for refreezing, some people say you can refreeze once. I would not suggest refreezing if it was left in over night, but if you only have it thawed for a feeding attempt then it might be alright.

Also, I would call the pet store ahead of time and make sure they have live before making the trek. Some stores only sell f/t, and even those that ccarry live can run out some days.

[Amber Mathews]

I was having the same issue with my lil' guy. After the third time I tried feeding him and he wouldn't eat I just left the f/t mouse on a piece of news paper (so he wouldn't swallow substrate) and shut all the lights off in the room and left him alone. I checked a couple of hours later and the mouse was gone. And from what I've heard it's not a good idea to refreeze f/t feeders. Hope you get him to eat soon Also you could try ordering you feeders. I order mine from laynelabs.com