Picky eaters, share your horror stories

[Kinra]

I have at least 2 ball pythons that like to keep me on my toes.

One of my female pastels is a real pain. When I first got her she switched from f/t mice to f/t rat pups for me without issue. This was going great for a while until she decided she didn't like them any more. She will take the f/t rat like she is going to eat, she even tries to kill it again, but then she will not swallow it. She will eat live rats just fine though.

Then there is my female cinny. She couldn't get more annoying if she tired. When I first got her f/t rat pups were the bomb, she would take them like a child does candy, then like my pastel she mysteriously started hating them. Unlike my pastel she would only take live white mice (they did have to be solid white too). Now she is back on f/t rats. I prefer to feed f/t rats so I will offer it even if I think it's going to get refused and then feed live a day or two later if I am refused.

So what are your horror stories of picky eaters and how do you handle them. Do you practice tough love? Do you cater to their moods?

[aldebono]

My fiance will NOT eat vegetables. He cooks and dinner is a meat, seasoned rice, and usually baked beans every night. This is definitely going to become a horror story!

Oh you mean snakes!

My 2010 female het pied is as big as my 2011 babies. She is an EVIL thing who ate f/t for months until she decided it wasn't for her. I tried to wait her out but finally gave in and she gets live now. She is a witch, aptly named Akasha.

[Mike41793]

What I dont understand is when people say their snake only likes solid white mice how that is possible? Like a ball python cant see it i thought they just saw heat?

[Kinra]

My fiance will NOT eat vegetables. He cooks and dinner is a meat, seasoned rice, and usually baked beans every night. This is definitely going to become a horror story!

Oh you mean snakes!

My 2010 female het pied is as big as my 2011 babies. She is an EVIL thing who ate f/t for months until she decided it wasn't for her. I tried to wait her out but finally gave in and she gets live now. She is a witch, aptly named Akasha.

It's so much fun when they change their minds isn't it.

What I dont understand is when people say their snake only likes solid white mice how that is possible? Like a ball python cant see it i thought they just saw heat?

I don't know how it is possible, only that it actually happened to me. She seriously would turn her nose up to anything that wasn't solid white and not eat it. I've heard of snake refusing prey based on gender too, but those probably smell a little different.

[RobNJ]

I have a late 09 female cinnamon that's a very sporadic feeder. Sometimes mice, sometimes rats, sometimes nothing at all. She's 625+/- grams. It's frustrating, but at the same time, I don't sweat it though because she doesn't lose weight...or anything significant.

I have a couple mouse/ASF only as well, but consistent feeders. Though not crazy about mousers, I don't get all up in arms over them either since I breed all my own mice, rats, and ASF's. I have been getting tougher on my younger snakes though, and more persistent in switching them over to rats.

[Slim]

What I dont understand is when people say their snake only likes solid white mice how that is possible? Like a ball python cant see it i thought they just saw heat?

BPs can actually see pretty well.

[ReptilesK2]

I got in a male pied and 3 late 2011 female het pieds around late December. They were all around 100-125 grams.

The pied and 2 of the hets eat live rats on a regular basis..
They are around 225-275 grams. The 3rd female het is only 90 grams.

She only likes to eat pinkies and anything bigger than that she will regurgitate.

[KatStoverReptiles]

I had a female normal juvi who ate rats like there was no tomorrow until one day she up and decided she only wanted mice. Nice to know that she's not the only weirdo who changes their mind. I did finally get her back on rats by scenting them with mice. This is my standard procedure for switching mice eaters to rats.

Other than my male pastel who's been fasting for 90+ days now, everybody's eating pretty good. I have a few who are nearing the 1000g wall so I'm bracing for that.


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[ballpythonluvr]

My male normal is currently off feed for 33 days now. I have tried f/t rats and mice and even live rats and mice. He will eat live mice real well for about three weeks then he decides that he does not want to eat anything again. My female 100% het ghost used to eat f/t rats like candy and now has decided that she only wants live white mice. My male pastel is still going strong on f/t small rats and my new female normal takes f/t small rats like a champ.

[notmyfault]

My normal male was a great f/t eater up until he just decided to only take live for a 2 months. Now that he is much bigger and shed, I attempted f/t again and what do you know. He took it almost instantly. There was one point when he only took mice. It amazes me how much he can change his mind.