Assist Feed

[DarrinLowe]

I was suggesting we do that with the 3 sides to my girlfriend earlier, but we did not have any dark paper to use. I will try to get some.

I have never heard of that news paper thing being done before, but as it appears you are a breeder I will attempt that.

Wouldnt the removal of that paper after he becomes comfortable just cause further stress, as it is changing his environment.

[steveboos]

Well it will confuse him for a second, but as long as you have tight fitting hides and the space is not wide open in the tank, he will still feel secure and will continue to eat.

Basically your trying to get him comfortable enough to eat on his own consistently. When i rescued my girl from PetSmart, i put her in a 12 quart tub with a 4 inch diameter cereal bowl and a large water dish. I left her alone for 1 week, only going into the room to make sure the Ranco was working and nothing was out of the ordinary.

I never turned any lights on and kept it as dark as I could, she felt very secure being that there weren't a bunch of people walking around the tank and she could just relax. Then i assist fed twice and she had no problems.

Then i tried to just leave a pre killed rodent in the tank with all the lights off and left her alone for about an hour. I came back and she ate...every time for over 2 weeks. Then i started to offer her live rat pinkies, then live rat pups.

I know i posted this before, but your going to follow a similar path i feel and this worked very well for me. If you have a closet or another more secluded room you can stick him in where they is little to no traffic, that would be ideal.

[steveboos]

Huh?

Sorry i should have elaborated. She was rescued from PetSmart where her and her other cagemate were not eating. They were separated and taken to the vet to get help either assist feeding or force feeding. They took to assist feeding for about 5 times over a few weeks, but then the vet gave up and it was left up to petsmart pet care assosiates to try and get them eating.

I personally was not allowed to assist feed or change their enclosures, so we just had to wait for corporate to approve adopting them out. Eventually, the other ball python died and was skin and bones, he would never eat. I finally convinced PetSmart to adopt the last surviving one out, so later that week I took "him" home. "He" turned out to be a "She" and she is growing faster than any other snake i have owned.

[rabernet]

I was suggesting we do that with the 3 sides to my girlfriend earlier, but we did not have any dark paper to use. I will try to get some.

I have never heard of that news paper thing being done before, but as it appears you are a breeder I will attempt that.

Wouldnt the removal of that paper after he becomes comfortable just cause further stress, as it is changing his environment.

The newspaper trick is a Kevin McCurley (NERD) trick that many of us share with new keepers. We share it because it works.

You slowly wean your snake off the paper by removing a piece or two every few days.

[DarrinLowe]

Hmm, well I wont be in there today and we are going out of town tomorrow, so I prob wont get the chance to do this until Sunday, but come sunday I will try your suggestions, and take a picture of the setup. right now both the hides are facing out towards the front, they do fit fairly well. The only really "open" space is between the two hides in the front. Both hides and the water dish are against the back.

[FatBoy]

Steve hit on a good point there...move the tank to a room that has very little traffic. The paper trick has helped tons of people help get animals eating, like I said it just boost security. In the wild in Africa this same snake would spend it's days in a hole in the ground that he could barely fit in. After the snake has started eating regularly and it in better health removing the paper wont be a great deal. You wont be taking the paper out next week...you may need to leave it for a year, changing it of course when you clean the tank.

[FatBoy]

The newspaper trick is a Kevin McCurley (NERD) trick that many of us share with new keepers. We share it because it works.

I am definately not taking credit for the paper trick. I learned this from the breeder that took me under his wing when I first got started...he probably learned it from Kevin. I wouldn't be scared to say that 90% of the advice we share on here came from Kevin!!! I have saw the paper trick work though, first hand several times. I do leave the paper in a bit longer than I was taught...no need rushing things.

[DarrinLowe]

Okay, well then we will do this as soon as we can. There isnt really many places without much traffic in her house though, so that could be problematic. We will try to find something to make it work.

What about cleaning up fecal matter and stuff, should I only do that when I clean the cage, or should I take out pieces to look around?

If so, how often?

[FatBoy]

You can spot clean the cage once a week and do a good cleaning once a month. Go in as little as possible.

[DarrinLowe]

One last question, before we do this (I did end up at her house today, so we will not have to wait til sunday)

Do we still spray the cage regularly?
Also is it necessary to feed him live with this method? We are very hesitant with this aspect.

I understand you guys are breeders, and at that you are very knowledgeable, it is just a very strong personal preference that we feed f/t mice.

Most pet stores I encounter only sell frozen mice as it is.