It took 8 years to switch her!

[Foschi Exotic Serpents]

I'm happy about this so I felt like sharing. I have a captive hatched female I got in 03'. From day 1 she has been an on & off feeder. Picky would be an under statement! First it was only mice. Then by her 3rd year she would take small rats but only white ones. Eventually she would take medium/large rats but only maybe 2-3 per month if I was lucky. After a long fast, I started giving her ASFs to get her fattened up faster after laying eggs so she got hooked on them. Oi... But she ate every week this way.

A couple more years go by. She decides she now only wants ASF or mice and maybe the occasional small white rat but only if I sneak a prekilled in as she coils the ASF. I had to trick her often and she still had her random fasts.

For the first time EVER last week, I simply put a medium, dark colored, prekilled rat in her tub and low and behold, she actually ate it! No hesitation!

I'm just shocked. Never before would she ever touch anything that wasn't alive or white. I hope this isn't just another of her phases. We shall see!

[dr del]

Heh heh,

They do it just to keep us on our toes.

My biggest gal was always a terrified feeder - it had to be shown to her from a distance of no less than two feet then laid gently on the floor on the other side of the tub and the tub gently closed.

Then she would sneak over and eat it as long as nobody moved or breathed.

Laying her first clutch was the solution to all that.

She would now strike your arm off at the merest scent of F/T and chase you round the room if you don't present it quickly enough.


dr del

[llovelace]

Congrats , waiting for mine to get with the program

[DellaF]

One of my good f/t eaters has started being picky. Yesterday he ate his first live since being with me. He acts like rats have the plague lol. Mice are so small for him. Hopefully his taste will change.

[oppie2005]

Nice.

I have a quick question though. the ASF's, ive heard them referred to as "candy rats", and then you said you dont want her to get hooked on them. Whats the deal with the ASFs?

[spitzu]

The deal is that BPs love them and often refuse to eat anything else once they've had a taste. The problem is that they're hard to find so most people don't want their snakes hooked on them.

[Foschi Exotic Serpents]

Sometimes a BP can get hooked on them but in my experience it's never forever. Most ASF eaters will also take mice. Plus you can do like I did and put a small or medium FT or prekilled rat in when the snake takes the ASF.