Need some help.....

[L.West]

Hi Everyone,

Well, I've had my girl Bella for about 11 months now (she is about 1 1/2 years old). All the time I've had her she has always ate once a week - first it was mice and then eventually moved up to small rats. The only feeding she has ever refused was about three weeks ago when she was heavily into a shed cycle so I didn't worry about it - plus she went right back on feed the next week.

Well, this past weekend I purchased more rats - moved up to a (standard small size about 60/70 grams each) - last night was her first feeding with these new rats and she would not take it. She weighs about 700 grams empty so I am assuming that she should be able to handle a 70 gram rat???

What should I do - why do you think this is happening now?? Should I attempt to feed her again tonight but offer one of the smaller rats that she is used to or what??

I am worried about her. Everything in her enclosure is the good (92/82, humidity at 58%) she is in a Reptile Basics cage with an RHP for heat. I had her out on Tuesday night and she seemed fine.

Any helpful suggestions would be greatly appreciated. This is my first and only snake so I have not been thru anything like this before.

Thanks.

[llovelace]

How long are you leaving the prey item in with her?

[dsirkle]

They will sometimes go on a hunger strike for months for reasons known only unto them. You don't need to worry so early.If you believe that there is no husbandry issue causing the refusals, you may just have to wait until it decides to eat and this may take much longer than is comfortable to you, but it likely will only refuse a couple of times and then start eating again. I have one snake that was raised on rats and suddenly wouldn't eat. After about 2 months I offered it live mice and he ate them. He won't eat rats anymore. I have no idea why.You could try offering a smaller rat that she is accustomed to.

[mumps]

Welcome to the world of balls...

Okay, maybe that doesn't sound right. Anyway, there is no cause for alarm though I do understand your despair. No need to worry, however.

It could be the rats themselves. Different colonies have different smells, be it from the substrate they are kept on, how dirty/clean their enclosures are, etc.

Sometimes our snakes just go off of feed - be it for breeding, shedding or any other reason that they don't want to tell us. I had a male boa go 19 months without eating, and then one day "Sure I'd like that, thanks".

Keep offering the food every couple days. Try the old size that she's used to and see if that is taken. You could always let her eat one of them, and then put the bigger size in her mouth as she's finishing up. It's not that hard, and not nearly as nerve wracking as putting an 8 pound rabbit into a Burmese python's mouth as he's finishing his chicken (the only food he takes).

Good luck and be patient,

Chris

[L.West]

Usually, she strikes the rat right away - but when she didn't react, I just left the rat in the enclosure with her all night - it was F/T. She never did eat it.

I was afraid maybe she thought it was too big - LOL!!

[dsirkle]

I wouldn't leave a live rat overnight unsupervised.The rat may start eating the rat. I never leave a live rat in more than a couple hours unless I a watching.Edit- I just noticed it was f/t.

[L.West]

I am thawing out one of her smaller rats that she is used to and will offer it tonight to see if she takes it. This hobby is getting a bit stressful for me - I hate when any of my pets won't eat.

I hope I didn't waste $30 on the larger rats if she decides she just won't eat them - ugh!!!!

[piper]

I would personally wait a few days up to a week before offering another. Just my opinion.

[Nate]

That's part of the headache with f/t, and it is a reality that you will have to sometimes throw away the food.

If it goes on for much longer, you may need to seek a Live alternative. Start looking for some local mouse or rat breeders, or Petco sells feeders.

I've had some incredibly stubborn snakes when I was doing the f/t thing...and once I went back to Live, almost every feeding night is 100% successful. All but 1 is eating right now ( eggs )

[L.West]

Okay, thanks for that suggestion. I guess I will just wait until next week and offer her another larger rat then and see what happens.

But, do you all think that a 70 gram rat is too big for a 700 gram snake. Her widest part of her body is larger than the girth of the rat.