F/T feeding help

[LOSTCOAST_BALLZ]

I have failed the last 2 days attempting to feed my snakes. They have been great eaters on a 5 day schedule. and now its been 7 days with no success with feeding i am heating them up with a dryer and shaking and attempting to entertain the feeding response in several ways with no success I plan on waiting till tom or the next day and trying again. but my main question is how long should i hold out on live? as i dont ever want to switch back to live and i have a full freezer of F/T. and when i have a thawed rodent and i heat with a dryer and the reject it can i just put it in the fridge? thanks

[fredanthony]

I would say two weeks. Maybe you'll have to keep trying. Sometimes it takes a while. Just keep trying every 4-5 days. If they don't take anything for two weeks or so and you notice a loss of weight. Try offering live and then back to f/t.

[LOSTCOAST_BALLZ]

ok thanks

[LOSTCOAST_BALLZ]

attempted to feed live yesterday my snakes all ate accept for my female pastel and male green ghost.... after deliberation i have come to think a possible explanation would be the cold front and drop in temp we have experienced. I turned of my room heater due to i was recieving ideal temps. we had the drop for a couple days and now I have corrected the temp issue. hopefully they both will eat with in the next couple days should I offer them still 3-4 days after my attmept? what would be ideal to not further stress them i am worried about my male GG it has been 2-3 weeks for him cause he was in shed the last feed.

[Stewart_Reptiles]

how long should i hold out on live?

It depends, snakes metabolism is very efficient and they can go weeks or months without food, however the real question is can you do that with the animal in question.

If your animal is old enough and has a good body weight tough love might be required and it could last weeks or months.

Important things is do not try everyday, if it fails try again the following week or even 2 weeks later, offering to soon after a refusal only lead to more refusal.

Trying thawing at room temps right next to your snake enclosure and than warm up the prey with the hair dryer (if you not doing that already)

You are offering the same type of prey correct?

Switching can be tricky patience is always the key.

[SlitherinSisters]

As Deb said, don't try offering food everyday. Since you are on a five day schedule offering every five days would be fine. Hardly any of mine will take f/t of thongs, it's only the really good feeders that will do that for me. What I do for f/t is put it in at night and leave it in all night. The part that sucks is that if they don't eat it you have to throw it. You could always put it in late and get up after a few hours to check on them, and put the rat back in the freezer. My rule of thumb is to only re-freeze once. I've wasted a lot of f/t rats, it's shameful, but it's life I suppose

As for how long to hold out. If they have some weight to them I say a month easy, but make sure you are only offering once a week so they don't get stressed out.

[LOSTCOAST_BALLZ]

he is only 600 grams now probably. but he wont even eat live now? its kinda freaking me out. i have read tons i mean tons of threads about non feeding snakes and well IT FINALLY IS HAPPENING LOL its stressful i hope he takes this next live rat and then ill try and switch after that. IS leaving them in the tank over night recomended? like will they know to eat it even if its ambient temp and non moving? THis was my ideal plan for future but dont know how to achieve this goal. I appreciate the response. do u think the drop in temps couldve caused the feeding issue?

[Stewart_Reptiles]

do u think the drop in temps couldve caused the feeding issue?

Yes, as well as various other factors.

Number one thing to do is to make sure the husbandry is spot on, if the enclosure is big you might want to downsize as well.

I know it is frustrating but it could last month which would also be the perfect timing for you to switch, animal coming off a long fast generally will eat anything.

Your BP could go several weeks even months without eating, just make sure you monitor him and make sure he is well hydrated.

Note: You can leave f/t overnight just make sure you dispose of it in the morning.

[TheWinWizard]

i hope he takes this next live rat and then ill try and switch after that. IS leaving them in the tank over night recomended? like will they know to eat it even if its ambient temp and non moving?

DO NOT leave live food in the tank overnight. F/T is fine to leave, they'll eat it because they tend to be scavengers anyway and a dead meal is easy work for them. I do it with mine and usually it's gone in the morning. If not, flush.

[Jeo123]

My girl was about 450g when she started giving me a hard time with eating. Didn't eat for 3 weeks straight. The only way I've gotten her to eat regularly now is to put the mouse in her hide with her and leave her alone for a few hours. When I come back, the mouse is gone. She won't strike out in the open.

I don't know if it's because of the temperature change or some other reason, but either way, I wouldn't suggest switching over to live to break her just yet because then you'll be dealing with the difficulties in trying to switch her back.

Don't reward bad behavior.