Ugh..help?

[Stewart_Reptiles]

I painstakingly agonize over the husbandry. I lose sleep at night because I worry that my husbandry is not up to par. I wake up multiple times per night to check the conditions of the tanks. I'm super anal about the way I care for my snakes and so far it has really paid off for one of them. He shed in one solid piece, he eats every time I offer him food, and he acts like a typical BP. I did buy a live mouse, i cleaned the tank and everything in it so that nothing smelled like the snake's pee or poop, and I am planning on dropping the live mouse in there and watching it so that the snake doesn't get hurt.

Next thing you may want to try since it is a very small animal is to keep her in breeder setup condition since this is how it was kept until very recently and do so until she eats for you a few times consecutively.

I have seen a few times with some of my customers, they receive the snake have it in a small tank and it just does not work, once they set it up in the conditions I keep my hatchlings in , their animals start eating for them and once the animals feeds with consistency they move the animal back in the tank.

If that is the case and it's still a no go when it comes to food try this

6 quarts tub
Aspen bedding to allow the animal to burrow
6 inches plastic flower pot saucer
88 on the warm side

No handling for a week, and a week later live mouse (small adult)

When you offer the food do it in the enclosure drop the prey and move away (remove if un-eaten after 15 min)

[Reed12321]

Next thing you may want to try since it is a very small animal is to keep her in breeder setup condition since this is how it was kept until very recently and do so until she eats for you a few times consecutively.

I have seen a few times with some of my customers, they receive the snake have it in a small tank and it just does not work, once they set it up in the conditions I keep my hatchlings in , their animals start eating for them and once the animals feeds with consistency they move the animal back in the tank.

If that is the case and it's still a no go when it comes to food try this

6 quarts tub
Aspen bedding to allow the animal to burrow
6 inches plastic flower pot saucer
88 on the warm side

No handling for a week, and a week later live mouse (small adult)

When you offer the food do it in the enclosure drop the prey and move away (remove if un-eaten after 15 min)

That's how she was kept before me. I've had her for almost a month at this point in the 20G tank. I'm going to bring her to the vet sometime soon for a general exam and to see if she's sick or something.

[Stewart_Reptiles]

That's how she was kept before me. I've had her for almost a month at this point in the 20G tank. I'm going to bring her to the vet sometime soon for a general exam and to see if she's sick or something.

If you have money to waste go for it but I can tell you that it will be a waste of time most likely and that depending on how honest and qualified your vet is you could be taken on for a serious ride anything from blood work to x-ray etc.

Again it's a simple and common problem for new owner with limited experience with a very simple solution

[Dave Green]

That's how she was kept before me. I've had her for almost a month at this point in the 20G tank. I'm going to bring her to the vet sometime soon for a general exam and to see if she's sick or something.

Try what Deborah said and forget the vet. Taking her to the vet will create stress which is the opposite of what she needs. Some babies will thrive in a 20 gallon but many won't in such a "large" tank. I have customers that try a larger tank and the snake is stressed and won't eat. Switch to a small bin and that fixes the problem most of the time.

[Reed12321]

Okay. She ate!!! it's the first time she's done this since the middle of november. I put the mouse in the tank with her and watched very closely. I put a towel over the tank so that she couldn't see outside, but I peeked over the top to make sure the mouse wasn't attacking her. Then she was sniffing around for a loooong time, and the mouse was hiding in the fake plants that I have. Eventually, the snake went into her hide. So i took the hide away, and took the fake plants away and dangled the mouse in front of her face. She didn't seem interested, so I put the mouse down. I looked after about a minute, and the mouse was snuggling with the snake. I just covered the tank and was actually messaging my breeder, and while I was saying, "She's not eating....ugh" I heard squeaks coming from the tank and she was wrapped around it. She finally swallowed the mouse and has a somewhat noticeable bulge. I'll try a f/t in 4-5 days and see what happens.

[JaYdEd]

So you have a live feeder on your hands. Not the end of the world. At least she ate!

If I were you, I'd offer her live again in 7 days or so, and repeat for about a month or so. She needs to put some weight on and feed on a regular basis. Then try f/t again in about 6 weeks.

[Reed12321]

So you have a live feeder on your hands. Not the end of the world. At least she ate!

If I were you, I'd offer her live again in 7 days or so, and repeat for about a month or so. She needs to put some weight on and feed on a regular basis. Then try f/t again in about 6 weeks.

Well she ate the live mouse. But I'm going to try a f/t in a few days because I have a ton of them and my guy Akeda will eat the f/t if she doesnt. I'm hoping that this sparked her interest in eating so maybe a f/t will be more appetizing. This was my first time ever feeding live, and it wasn't as bad as I had thought. The mouse was really young and it barely knew what was going on. It looks like the mouse barely had its eyes open. I thought that I would have felt bad about "killing" an animal, but I don't feel bad at all. I feel relieved that my snake ate and finally has a full belly.

[Foolish1]

Yay! Glad it all worked out.

[calmolly1]

Great news! I was told ; correct me if I'm wrong) that 4 days is minimum between feeds. I have one who strikes and wraps f/t but won't actually eat it unless you cover tank with towel and leave the room. But ice just moved her into a tub in a rack and she is much more confident . Understanding why folks use tubs now. So much easier on snake and owner


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[angllady2]

I am very glad she ate.

Now, ignoring all the rigamarole bashing of each other done by so many on your thread, the next step is to try and get her to eat f/t.

I will let you know I've never had any luck getting a snake to eat a dripping wet rodent. A big problem is also not thawing completely through.

Here is how I do it most of the time: Select the rodent to be thawed; if you have time, let it stand at room temperature in the same room with your snake for 4 - 5 hours. If you don't have the time, place in a small container and run a thin stream of hot water into the container and over the rodent for 10 - 15 minutes. If you had to wet the rodent, use an old rag or towel to blot off most of the water and then use a hair dryer to dry it completely. If you did not wet the rodent, you can use the hair dryer to just warm the rodent all over. It is best to do this right near the snake tub, if possible blow the air in the direction of the snake tub. The warm rodent scented breezes should have the baby good and ready to go. Carefully remove the hide, and if necessary any decor in the way. Grasp the rodent with tongs just behind the head. By the scruff of the neck and hit just the head with the hair dryer for 15 - 20 seconds. You want that rodent putting off a massive heat signature. Gently offer the rodent to one side of the snake's head, and not too close. Chances are good she'll hit it right away. If not, gently wiggle the rodent back and forth a little bit. We call this the "zombie dance". The goal is not to make the rodent into a Rockette, but to fool the snake into thinking it's alive. If a few good wiggles doesn't entice a strike, you can try re-heating the head an offering again in much the same way. You want the rodent close to the snake, but not right on top of her. If she still refuses, you can gently lay the rodent down nearby, cover the tank, turn off the lights and leave the room for about 20 minutes. Most of the time when you return the rodent will be gone. If not, you can try re-heating the head one last time. If this fails completely, and it sometimes will, trash the rodent or feed it to another snake if you can. Wait at least 3 or 4 days before trying again.

One last thing. These guys can really key in to your mood. If you are anxious and nervous and " What if she doesn't eat ?" I can just about promise she won't eat. Calm yourself down before you go into her room. Breathe deep and tell yourself, if she eats that's good, if she doesn't no big deal. And MAKE yourself believe that. I've stressed out more than one snake to the point of not eating, just by being worried they would not eat. They can sense your moods and they will react to them.

I wish you and your baby all the best.

Gale