Oh dear. Coiling and not eating on repeat.

[redshepherd]

Both Cake and Blackout are now doing the same thing. They strike and coil the mouse/rat... and when I come back to check 15 minutes later, they dropped it. I left the rat in Blackout's tub overnight just in case, and she did not eat it over that time either. :s

I'm not sure what to do in this case, since it is not a defensive strike. They are out of their hides, looking hungry... so I offer. They are coiling their food, just... not eating it a few minutes later. Something over two weeks for both of them.

Any advice to get them to... not suddenly drop the food?

[200xth]

How big is the food and the snake? I've had some do that and many times in my cases it seemed to be an indicator the food was bigger than they would like.

[redshepherd]

How big is the food and the snake? I've had some do that and many times in my cases it seemed to be an indicator the food was bigger than they would like.

Blackout is 360g and on weaned rats. Cake should be around 100g and on mice hoppers. Both were apparently eating well before on the same food size when with their breeders previously.

[Mustang5]

It could be to big but when my female does that she often times grabs the butt or the side of the rat and is too lazy to find the head. Do you feed f/t? If so grabbing the rat on the scruff of the neck with your tongs and feed your snake that way so it is easier for them to get to the head.

[redshepherd]

It could be to big but when my female does that she often times grabs the butt or the side of the rat and is too lazy to find the head. Do you feed f/t? If so grabbing the rat on the scruff of the neck with your tongs and feed your snake that way so it is easier for them to get to the head.

Oh, that's actually a good idea. I just assumed that grabbing the rat there would somehow get the snake to accidentally nab the tongs, or something weird like that.

[AKA Dave]

Tucker did that. Turned out the mouse was just too big. He ate the next one the same day with no issues. The hawk that lives across the street took the other one so no harm. Waste not...

Dave

[BoiseBallz]

Although snakes can randomly do this, two snakes doing it several times suggests an underlying problem. I have the same question as Mustang5 - are you feeding F/T? I suspect that you probably are, and I suspect that the prey isn't completely thawed/warmed. That is typically the cause. The outside of the rodent can seem warm, but then center may still be cold, and this can cause the snake to reject the prey. The easiest way to check this is, after you have warmed the prey the way that you normally do, drop it into a ziplock bag, then pinch the rodent between your fingers and hold them there for a while, at least 15-20 seconds, and if the rodent isn't ready, it will begin to feel cool/cold. Do this test both in the center of the torso and on the head. If you feel cool/cold, continue to warm the prey and repeat until the prey feels warm between your fingers for a good 15-20 seconds.

If you are feeding live prey, I don't know what to tell you other than maybe the prey are being raised on a snake-unfriendly substrate.

[bcr229]

I've had males do that randomly even with live feeders. Try dropping back a feeder size for a few weeks or extending the duration between feedings from a week to 10-14 days.

[Penultimate]

Oh yeah. My first ball python, my onyx pastel girl, used to do this. Were they on live before? I have a method that worked very nicely for me, and that snake is now eating every time. So what you're going to want to do is first triple check husbandry and that the rodent is properly thawed. If that's not the problem, then it's time to change feeding methods. Make sure the food is hot enough, ninety to one hundred degrees fahrenheit. Grab the rodent by the scruff and make it "walk" along the bottom of the cage, mimicking the movement of a live rodent (if you don't know what that looks like, go for YouTube). It must touch the substrate. This seems to get picky eaters interested because it makes similar vibrations to a live rodent. Bring it right up to the snake's nose. When it coils, tug very gently on a leg or the tail. I give it two to five good tugs before I leave. Remember, you need to be extremely gentle! I have heard some snakes are scared of the tugs, though mine wasn't. After that, close the cage up and leave the room. Do not enter again for another hour.

If this doesn't work, then you can try some other things. For example, handle them less to reduce stress. I'd also try braining a rodent, though I haven't had much success there. Moving down in prey size may also work (my 468 gram mojave bumblebee won't eat anything bigger than a tiny rat pup >.>). If all of this isn't working and your snakes start to lose weight, put them on live temporarily and switch them back later. Hope something in here helps!

[Albert Clark]

Also, double check all your husbandry numbers. Ambients , hot spot, humidity. Tips, Place a handful of 100% cypress mulch under the hides only and do not handle them whatsoever for at least 1 week. When you are ready to feed them, do it very late at night or early morning (1am) in complete darkness. Only use a small , dim light for yourself to see. Good luck. And again, no handling for the next 7 to 10 days.