Need some help.....

[L.West]

So, pet stores are not a good option??? Since I will only need one small rat each week - I don't know if a breeder would want to bother with it.

Hopefully, she will eat next Wednesday and I won't have to worry about switching her to live prey - I much prefer the f/t.

[Nate]

So, pet stores are not a good option??? Since I will only need one small rat each week - I don't know if a breeder would want to bother with it.

Hopefully, she will eat next Wednesday and I won't have to worry about switching her to live prey - I much prefer the f/t.

No Pet stores are a great option. For a while, I was hitting up Petco and cleaning them out but i think they're over priced. I moved recently and a more decently price mom n pop pet store is about 20 minutes away, so I got there now.

[L.West]

Great - thanks for all your help.

L. West

[L.West]

Hi Everyone,

I need some advice on what to feed her tonight - should I offer her the small rats that she is used to or try to offer her one of the new rats (slightly larger) that she refused to eat last week.

I am not sure how to handle her feeding night - need some help here.

Thanks.

[kc261]

If I understand this correctly, she refused 1 feeding when she was in shed, then went back to eating, and now has refused 1 feeding when you bought the new rats. Is that correct?

I would not worry AT ALL about a BP that has refused 2 feedings. That is NOTHING to a snake, assuming it is otherwise healthy and acting normal. But I understand owners worry anyway sometimes.

It really is up to you which rat you offer. Some people would prefer to use up the smaller size. Others would go ahead and switch their snake to the bigger size, and from your description, it does sound like the bigger ones are the right size for her.

[L.West]

kc261 - thanks for your advice. You understood exactly what I have been thru. She ate consequtively for 10 months - never missed a feeding until during that one shed cycle and then ate like a trooper the following week. It was the next week after that - that I bought new rats and she refused.

Tonight is her feeding night again - I am soooo afraid that she won't eat again - I have thawed out both the smaller rats and the new bigger ones just don't know what to offer her.

If I offer her the larger one and she refuses it - is it too late to then offer her the smaller ones??? I just want her to eat.

Thanks again for your help.

[kc261]

If I offer her the larger one and she refuses it - is it too late to then offer her the smaller ones??? I just want her to eat.

In my opinion, no, that would not be a problem. In fact, on occasion when I have a snake refuse, I go feed some of my other snakes, and then offer to that one again. Sometimes they still refuse, sometimes they strike it without hesitation the 2nd time around. It maybe just that they needed a little more time to get in to hunting mode, or maybe they are capable of having some sort of feeling of "darn it got away, I better be ready for the next one".

Just don't over do it. Offering food too apparently does stress them and is counterproductive. So if she refuses both of them, wait a week until you try again.

[L.West]

KC261 - I offered her the larger sized rat and once again she just sniffed it and wouldn't strike - so I heated up two of the smaller rats that she is used to and she took both of them.

Why do you think she won't take the larger one??? I mean, it is larger but certainly not too big for her - then again, maybe I am wrong and it is simply too big for her - who knows.

I am just glad that she ate. I will just have to keep her on the smaller rats if that is what she prefers but will offer her two each feeding instead of one.

Your thoughts.

Thanks.