Striking but not eating??

[kris88]

Latly having trouble with my little het.. she goes thru hot and cold spells feeding (normal enough for royals) but the last 4/5 feeds shes striking straight away... constricting and when i go back to check on her... sure enough shes dropped the rat and left alone.. iv lifted it out again and offered.. sure enough she strikes again... but same result in end.. leaves it at her behind lol anybody experiance this before? Any tips? Cheers

[Cowtipper]

Besides the usual, temps and habitat being correct, if you haven't already, try feeding in the late evening and leaving it in there overnight, as long as the prey is not alive. Sometimes some of mine just move around it, smelling it, then eat it later.

[kris88]

I know i used to leave it in for a bit with a male of mine.. he was in transition between live feeding and thawd.. but hes now striking... but my het female (the one in question) has never needed doing this... not really worried at all... just more curious... nothing has changed (that i know of) i still feed late evening and in very low light. Shes a we rascle....

[SlitherinSisters]

If she's striking and constricting she should eat. I have a female that will only eat smaller rodents. If I feed her something size appropriate she does the same thing, strikes, constricts, but doesn't eat. You could try feeding her something a bit smaller and see what happens. That's my first thought, otherwise, if it's f/t make sure it's fully thawed/warmed before you offer.

[kris88]

Shes pushing 400g and shes oj small weaners... from my observations of those around me.. thats nowhere near too big for a snake of her size... and i attempted her with rat fluffs.before that... about 3 occassions strikes consticts and again doesnt swallow...
My temps are good i feel all steady and nothing has changed to my knowledge.. as i said above (i think) iv recently gotna male to strike feed as he was previously a live feeder.. and my others are feeding well.
So i assume my conditions are ok..
Why always the females are picky eaters lol

[NH93]

Just for fun, what are your temps at, and how do you measure and control them?

Also, do you leave the rat in there after she strikes - like say, overnight?

[Velrys]

I had a girl that did this for a while. I found that getting a hold of the tail and continuing to "stimulate" (shake) the food while they were constricting made a difference. Nothing crazy, for like 30 seconds seemed to do the trick.

[kris88]

Temp always around 90ocF in the hot end.. and i measure with lazer thermometer.. so very accurate. I have left it with her for an hour or so... but came.back to find her in her hide and not paying any attention to the lifeless rat. but hav not tried over night.. i didnt want to risk it starting to smell bad...