She wont Eat Agrrr

[BlueCinder]

Are you warming up the prey before offering? Like say with a blow drier?

Oh, no thats a nifty idea. ill try it :0 thanks

[Danounet]

I feed live, never F/T yet, But I think people warm the prey up with blow driers and things like that to simulate normal body temp of prey.

[wuffielover]

As far as the prey item goes, like the poster above said make sure it's nice and toasty warm- I don't use a blow drier but I thaw my mice/rats out in hot tap water and dry them with a paper towel. Make sure they're thawed all the way through- seems obvious I know but sometimes they can still be frozen in the middle even when they *seem* thawed, so make sure they're warm and squishy even in the middle, lol. Don't just plop the mouse in front of the snake and expect it to eat, either- dangle it in front of her nose, maybe even dance it around a little to get her excited.

I would change the enclosure up a bit, also- make sure there are multiple secure hides like others have said, they like them tight! I would also get rid of the heat lamp, it's not bad per se but I've found that an UTH alone on the 'warm' end is plenty to get the right temperature and the lamps tend to suck a lot of humidity out of the tank. If you're using those little round thermometers, try to get a digital one with a probe; they're much more accurate and easy to read. On the warm side, remember you want to measure the temps on the ground, not in the air, so if you have the thermometer stuck on the side I would peel it off and at least set it on or even buried in the substrate for a while to get a reading, you might be surprised how warm it is down there. The temps on the glass *bottom* of the tank should be around 95 or a bit lower, any higher than 100 and you run a definite risk of burns.

Hope she eats soon!

[BlueCinder]

ok so i went and got two ccaves, huges plants to cover the tank and i moved the red light bulb to the side where she always is, she is always on the cold side. and i just tried again i even did the live mouse in a container and pre scent thing and she wasnt even intreseted in the mouse.
im starting to get frustrated the breeder hasnt even contacted me back.

[dr del]

Hi,

Every time you change the tank she has to get used to it again and feel secure. Even if the change is for the better it's still a change.

Just remember no handling or uneccesary interaction for a week then try another feed.


dr del

[BlueCinder]

Hi,

Every time you change the tank she has to get used to it again and feel secure. Even if the change is for the better it's still a change.

Just remember no handling or uneccesary interaction for a week then try another feed.


dr del

Oh ok, thanks. yah its been like two days. I will try next week.
But because she has lost so much weight compared to last time, what should i do if she doesnt eat ... ps. her tongue is going constanly so she cant be very unhealthy right ?

[dr del]

Hi,

Well that depends on her weight drop - you say she was a well started hatchling and that she seems to be losing weight every week but you don't give us a starting figure or a current one so it's really hard to judge where she is at.

You've only had her 4 weeks and the breeder says she was eating well.

Assuming he is telling the truth then she has only missed 4/ 5 meals which isn't generally a problem - but without the weight differences it's hard for us to judge reliably.


dr del

[Foschi Exotic Serpents]

Like everyone else said. Raise the temp. Clutter the tank. Give more hides that are small and tight. Drape a towel over the front of the tank so she feels more secure. Warm the food well right before offering it. Stand very still when offering it so she doesn't see your movement and get distracted or scared. Try warming the mouse in hot water from the faucet. Wet mice always work better. They put off more scent. I have a hatchling that doesn't eat well for me that Ive had to assist feed a few times but im not about to try to explain that since you're new to this. If you try all the right things she should eat for you soon. If she does not and starts getting dangerously thin you may want to consider finding someone in your area with experience assist feeding balls. If the temp is not high enough she will not be able to properly digest either so get those temps up. Keep us informed.

[CoolioTiffany]

I'm curious on what your using to control that UTH?

[stratus_020202]

Are you giving her hopper mice? Maybe try to change the prey size. I have an May 09 Pastel, and she is already on small rats. She could eat two adult mice, but she may be larger than yours, since she has had the weight drop. Try and get her weighed.

With my baby i purchased back in Febuary, I tried pinkies (nope) then fuzzies (nope), finally tried a hopper and she loved it. He was only about 125 back then. My probelm was that I wasn't feeding big enough.

I feed live though. I have fed frozen before, and when i did i ran the rats head under hot water in my bathroom. By the time I got to the snake room it was cool enough to eat, yet still hot enough to sense. It worked for some of them. It is worth a shot.