3rd feeding refusal...

[icygirl]

I hope people aren't sick of me by now, but I want to make sure I do everything right with my new ball. I attempted to offer food for a third time to Luke last night. Following the advice given to me here, I offered live. I started with prescenting. I stuck the cardboard box containing the live mouse into Luke's tub for half an hour - the tub reeked of mouse after that. However, I still got no signs of movement from Luke. I know he is sensitive to light, so I decided to pre-scent for another half hour with him in total darkness and silence. I came back and sure enough he was out on top of one of his hides, apparently interested in this stinky box. But as soon as I turned on the (small) light to check on him, he retreated into his hide again.

With high hopes for his eating, I released the mouse, and decided to leave him and it alone in darkness and quiet for awhile. Literally, if you have even the tiniest light on in the room, he won't come out, so I decided leaving him in darkness was better than supervising him. Came back in an hour; the mouse is running laps around his tub, and he's in his hide with his head poking out, retreating whenever the mouse passes by. At this point I needed to go to sleep, so I put the mouse in a bag and whacked it so that I thought I had killed it, and left it in with him overnight in case he decided to eat.

This morning, turns out I hadn't killed it after all! (Yes, I know, this was very stupid - it was an accident.) No scratches on Luke, luckily - he was curled up under the newspaper and the mouse was alive and well under one of his hides. Not knowing what else to do with the live mouse, I killed it (for real this time) and gave it to my corn, who happily ate it up.

I just want him to eat! What, if anything, did I do wrong here? Why does he seem to be afraid of mice? I feel like most snakes, if their enclosure has smelled like mouse for half an hour and then suddenly there is a live mouse doing laps outside their door, there's no question that they will eat. His humidity is perfect, and his temps are the same as those for my female, who eats like a champ - flexwatt direct temp set to 92, actual ground temp on warm side around 88-89, cool side in mid 70's.

Furthermore, why is he so insanely affected by light? My other snakes are not too bothered by it at all.

I can't figure this guy out, and my current plan is to repeat this episode next week (minus leaving a live mouse in there all night accidentally ) and hope he will get used to the routine.

[kc261]

First, don't worry about anyone getting "sick of you". People on this site want to help and a person who posts lots of times trying to get everything right is quite appreciated around here!

People say that BPs do well with feeding routines, so establishing a routine, even if the snake isn't eating yet, is probably a good idea.

I don't remember/possibly haven't read all the details from your past threads, so I apologize if you've gone over this before.

Do you know for sure what size mouse the snake was eating previously? Some snakes apparently can get particular about the size of their food. Particularly if they are already feeling stressed or insecure, a bigger prey item may be refused.

Have you tried the crumpled newspaper trick?

I don't have lots of experience with lots of different snakes, but it does sound to me like this snake isn't feeling secure. Some people have said that certain snakes need a lot more security than others. What can you do to help him feel safer? What are you doing already?

[starmom]

Tired of you? No
I think you need to bump your temps a little on the warm side and a lot on the cool side. Cool side ought to be around 82 or so.
Also, have you tried a rat?
As for sensitivity to light- that is odd. I have not ever run into that~ even with my albino!
I don't know what the environment is, but it sounds like this little guy needs to be in a very small environment; like a 16qt tub.
What do you think?

[kc261]

I think you need to bump your temps a little on the warm side and a lot on the cool side. Cool side ought to be around 82 or so.

Oops! I missed that! That's what I get for trying to post advice when I'm exhausted! I think they say below 75 is "unhealthy" so mid 70s doesn't sound good. I know you say it is working for your other BP, and she might do ok at those temps for her whole life. Certainly we've seen threads about rescue BPs that have lived for years with no heat at all. But it isn't what is generally advised, and it might be a source of stress for the male.

[icygirl]

Thanks both of you for the advice!

Do most people use two pieces of flexwatt on a tub, when their snake room is around 70 ambient?

I will say though that my obnoxious roommate likes to turn down the house thermostat all the time without telling anyone, so that probably isn't helping matters. Luckily I'll be out of here in a couple weeks.

As for sensitivity to light- that is odd. I have not ever run into that~ even with my albino!

I agree completely, it's so odd! I've never heard of a snake being super sensitive to light before either. I've noticed him moving his eyes a bit more than my other ball, too, so maybe he just has better vision than the average ball? Who knows.

I don't know what the environment is, but it sounds like this little guy needs to be in a very small environment; like a 16qt tub.
What do you think?

Right now all three of my snakes are in 27 quart tubs, although once I get home from college I'll be shopping for a slightly larger tub for my female ball.

Here's a pic of the enclosure - it's very simple, but I think I got it right - two identical hides, newspaper, water bowl, appropriate heating. (There's an acu-rite in there too, for some reason it was knocked over when this was taken). Flexwatt is under the right half. This was taken during feeding attempt #2 with frozen mouse defrosting on top, and you can see his complete lack of reaction to the pre-scenting.

Too big you think?

[dr del]

Hi,

What colour of light are you using? - he might be less freaked out by a different colour.


dr del

[SatanicIntention]

I would recommend much smaller hides. Those just dwarf him. If you eat frozen meals, the Smart Ones lasagna pans work well for baby hides They are a bit taller than normal and aren't sectioned off.

Try the smaller hides, possibly put a dark pillowcase over his tub, and try again in a week.

He may need to be in a smaller tub, such as a 6qt or 15qt. I've easily fit 2 hides and a water bowl in the 15qt size tub. Even have an 850g Hypo male in one and he's quite happy. He'll be getting a 27qt soon though.

Definitely get the temperatures up though. Try between 92-94 on the warm side and 82-84 on the cool side. I don't like mine to dip into the 78s if I can help it.

[starmom]

Oh my- yes, smaller hides and I would also do a smaller tub. I bet that with these two changes your snake will be eating again in a couple of weeks!
(BTW, sometimes roommates are a giant drag. Why can't people be nice???)