Hey everyone,

I am wanting to get some advice on what to do with my female bp. She was a rescue, and weighed 450 grams in May, and as of about 2 weeks ago, she made it past 1000 grams. From ~April til late May she ate one adult mouse a week, then for 3 weeks she ate 2, then three more weeks on 3, then about a month and a half on 4/week....I didnt count this out exactly since I dont have the time right now, but that is a rough feed schedule. About a month and a half ago, I pulled her back down to 2 mice/week since I was happy with her growth and did not want to overfeed.

She has always been a picky eater, often taking several hours out of my feeding night so that I can supervise her live feeding. Frankly, I dont have that much spare time anymore, and I need some advice about what to do. She has refused for two weeks now, though had I been more patient I am confident she would have eaten the first time (2 weeks ago). 3 weeks ago she ate 1 live, then after getting frustrated I prekilled the 2nd mouse and she surprisingly took that without much hassle. Since then, she wont take anything. 2 weeks ago she was in hunt mode, seemed interested, etc, but would not strike after nearly an hour of free roaming mouse, me encouraging the mouse over to her as well as tong fed live, which she has taken several times. last week, no interest, defensive burial of her head, etc.

I really dont want to trade or sell her, etc, since she was my first snake/bp and I really do like her, but she is a picky eater and I just dont have 3 hours to devote to her every feeding day. I recently got two boas from jimisnakes, and from the time I get the f/t out of the freezer, to the time I am completely done, is about 30 minutes, with at least 20 of that allowing me to do other stuff while they thaw.

So....I think I made my dilemma clear, but let me know if you want more info.

Her husbandry etc is all fine, fresh water, on aspen, mite treated and no problems for several months, 2 identical hides, 41qt tub cool ~81-83 and warm 90-94, usually around 92.

The only thing I have been thinking about is trying ASF's. I have heard they work wonders on picky eaters, and if it could make her eat quicker, that would be awesome. I have also heard that bp's are major imprint feeders, so do ASF's just kind of negate that rule. I was hoping to switch her to normal rats before I started having this feeding problem, but now I really doubt that will ever happen.


Let me know what you think I should do.