BP eating advice

[drezden]

I have a young BP and the first time I tried feeding him I dropped a small thawed dead mouse in a separate container with him and the second I dropped it in he struck, but he tried eating it sideways into of long ways so he couldn't fit it into his mouse and gave up. Now since I've tried feeding him 2 more times he shows no interest in it. Even when I jiggle it around and pre-scent the room.

Could this mean he is used to eating live mice? How long should I wait before trying to feed him again?

Thank you for any replies.

[VEXER19]

Well first what is your tank setup....humidity and temps? How long have you had the BP and how young are you talking about if unknown then what's the weight? Lastly is your BP moving around it tank a lot or hiding or possibly going into shed?

Other than that all I can say is to wait a few days and if your BP is hiding and doesn't seem stressed for about 3 days then try again and see where that gets you. Don't just keep offering, it will just stress your BP out more.

[DooLittle]

I would leave him be for a week. Then try to feed again. Double check all husbandry. Also maybe prey is not right size? How big is the snake? How long have you had it, and has it ever eaten for you? Finding out what it was eating before it came to you may help. Also are you moving it to a seperate enclosure to eat? Depending on your snakes size, you could get a rat pup that still has its eyes closed and put it in the tank with him, and just leave them be. Bps can be very picky when it comes to eating. You will have to figure out what works for him. Each of mine have their own "little things" that matter when it comes feeding time.

[drezden]

Wow, I cannot believe the grammatical errors and nonsense of my first post. I must have been really tired after work the other day when I posted it.

Vexer, I have a glass tank (I know that's not ideal), It's 4 feet long and a foot wide. The humidity is between 50-60%, I have an UTH on 1/3 of the tank, it doesn't have a temp gauge so I'm not sure how hot the pad itself gets, but under his hide on that side the temp is around 88 degrees F. on the cool side it's usually around 78-80 F He has a hide on both sides.

I'm not sure how old he is, I'm pretty sure he's under a year old. He's definitely not shedding, and when he comes out at night he actively moves around the tank.

DrDooLittle, I've had him for 3 weeks. I'm not sure of his length right now, I don't want to wake him up just to measure him at the moment, the mouse is the right size because I bought the snake and some frozen mice at the same time, so the store guy should know what size to feed him.

I move him into a separate container to feed and he actively moves around it but ignores the mouse. I even put a hide in the separate tank so he wouldn't be as stressed, but he just hid for 45 minutes.

[cmack91]

give him a week, and feed him in his enclosure, dont move him.

and dont always assume that the pet store guys know what to do, alot of times their guessing from what i can tell

[RestlessRobie]

First of make sure to check the CARESHEET cause the pet store guys do make mistakes from time to time. Second how old is your snake what size is he? a 40G tank may be a little big for him I would also try covering 3 sides of the tanks to make him feel more secure. But I would make sure your husbandry is spot on and give him a week with as little handeling as possible then attempt to feed him again. Hope this help and be sure to ask if you have any other questions

[drezden]

give him a week, and feed him in his enclosure, dont move him.

and dont always assume that the pet store guys know what to do, alot of times their guessing from what i can tell

I don't pretend to know the truth because I have no experience, but from what everyone tells me and what I read online it says not to feed in the tank because it could make him more aggressive whenever I take him out.

Have you found that that isn't true?

[cmack91]

I don't pretend to know the truth because I have no experience, but from what everyone tells me and what I read online it says not to feed in the tank because it could make him more aggressive whenever I take him out.

Have you found that that isn't true?

no, its not true. at least theres no evidence of it. as far as i know, feeding in the enclosure will not make it cage aggressive, and it will not associate your hand as food.

i fell for that myth too when i got my first snake, but almost everyone on here that has alot more experience than me will say the same

[jbean7916]

I don't pretend to know the truth because I have no experience, but from what everyone tells me and what I read online it says not to feed in the tank because it could make him more aggressive whenever I take him out.

Have you found that that isn't true?

I feed all 8 of mine in their tubs and none of them are "aggressive" because of it. My female pastel wont even look at a rat unless shes in her own hide.

sent from my EVO

[WifeOfSlasher]

With the finickiness known as the bp I have read that it's actually better to not mess with them at feeding time. We tried to tub feed our dude in a separate tub thanks to that advice and he was beyond stressed with this action. Put him back in his tank and he was good to go.