new diet for my female.

[dr del]

Hmmm,

I take it you tried not offering food for a couple of weeks then offering a small rat?

My normal male is a fussy little beggar on occasion and will refuse his rat but will take a couple of mice. Since that doesn't fill him up however he will eventually take the rat (though it can take a month of mice feedings ) and be fine for another couple of months.

I will feed skinny hatchlings every three days on occasion but I'm happier with slower growth and a 5 day schedule - and anything over 500g I stick to a 7 day schedule as I think having a set feeding timeline actually helps them eat better.

Plus if they know when feeding day is it makes it a little less stressful for me to stick my paw into the tank on the other days.


dr del

[mainbutter]

The obvious "best case" solution here is to stop caving in to the snake's voiceless "demands", and start working hard to convert her to eventually feed on (preferably f/t) medium rats.

[Lolo76]

The obvious "best case" solution here is to stop caving in to the snake's voiceless "demands", and start working hard to convert her to eventually feed on (preferably f/t) medium rats.

One of my snakes just went through a 9-month fast, since she only wanted to eat ASFs this year (which are illegal here, but I eventually found a bag of frozen). So it's nice to suggest tough love, but those BP temper tantrums can last a LONG time!! So I just try to meet their demands, since I don't breed my own prey... and it doesn't matter what I buy, once I'm at the pet store or on RodentPro.com.

To the OP, I would agree with Dr Del on not feeding so often... it's gotta be hard on their digestive system, unless it's a really small or high-metabolism snake (like a baby corn). I give my large mouse-only eaters 2-4 adults per feeding, and they're growing at a nice rate. If they only take 1-2 in that feeding, I might offer 5 days later instead, but otherwise I assume that filled them up. If you're really concerned, maybe you should try finding larger prey? My regular pet shop sells adults that are practically hopper-sized, but there's another (more expensive and less convenient) store with LARGE adults... so if I'm really motivated to give them a more filling meal, I'll try to get to that shop instead. Do you breed your own mice?

[rabernet]

One of my snakes just went through a 9-month fast, since she only wanted to eat ASFs this year (which are illegal here, but I eventually found a bag of frozen). So it's nice to suggest tough love, but those BP temper tantrums can last a LONG time!! So I just try to meet their demands, since I don't breed my own prey... and it doesn't matter what I buy, once I'm at the pet store or on RodentPro.com.

To the OP, I would agree with Dr Del on not feeding so often... it's gotta be hard on their digestive system, unless it's a really small or high-metabolism snake (like a baby corn). I give my large mouse-only eaters 2-4 adults per feeding, and they're growing at a nice rate. If they only take 1-2 in that feeding, I might offer 5 days later instead, but otherwise I assume that filled them up. If you're really concerned, maybe you should try finding larger prey? My regular pet shop sells adults that are practically hopper-sized, but there's another (more expensive and less convenient) store with LARGE adults... so if I'm really motivated to give them a more filling meal, I'll try to get to that shop instead. Do you breed your own mice?

And their heart - studies show that a python's heart expands right after a meal, thought to aid in digestion. That can't be good for her all the time.