My new buddy has eaten for the 1st time.

[amrakweno]

I brought my new guy home last Sunday the 2nd. The breeder said it would be ok for me to try to feed on that following Tuesday. Also after talking to the breeder he said if I wanted to switch to rats I should try sooner than later to get him switched. So on that Monday I stopped by and got 5 pinkie rats and 5 hopper mice, thawed out 1 of each together on that Tuesday thawed them out in warm water then hit them with a hair dryer, the mouse first and it was a no go, seemed really curious but no bite. So then after reading several methods I tried "coating" the pinkie rat in mice fragrance!!! Still no go , then afterward I tried with the mouse and still no go , I felt he was SOOOOOO close to striking but didn't take the bait. So I waited till today 7 days from the day of getting him 5 days since I tried to feed. I have since realized I probably should have just waited the 7 days or so before I tried the first time..... Only did it cause the breeder said it should be fine, also tried the rats since he said try next time ,better sooner than later. Well after getting a second opinion from a BP.net member, he said for now, from the move and all the commotion of settling into a new home to stick with what he knew and feed mice until later on, then worry about changing. Well I agreed fully and here we are tonight my first official week with my new guy having seen him about 5 times in this week only to change the water and make sure he wasn't laying in waste. I thawed him out a hopper mice then hit it with a hair dryer. I've also read endlessly about what time of day to feed blah blah blah (seems its all opinions and its whatever works best as all snakes are different). I liked the idea of turning the lights out for about an hour with the mouse in the close vicinity. So I did just that thawed it out room temperature for about 2 hours then turned off the light for about 45 mins to an hour with mouse still in range thawing. I then hit it with a hair dryer for a min or 2 got it nice and warm . Opened the lid with closet light off but background bathroom light on, and danced the mouse in front of the hide for about a minute. I was sure he was in the warm hide as he was yesterday.... But nothing so I lifted the hide and he kept his head close to the ground and almost like a young child that is afraid of the parents friends he hides behind moms leg, well his body was moms leg. So I dangled and danced the mouse around without touching him and he stayed there face hid not coming out for anything. So I started lightly touching his side with the mouse and I got a response he went from hiding to what the hell does this mouse think hes doing getting so close to me... His head came out and started to dance and get REALLLY curious as to what this mouse thought he was doing so close to him. Then for the first time of a BP owners life as im sure most of you can relate .... He struck at it ..... and missed.... Son of a gun. So I said ok I know he is willing to strike and I feel like i can get him to eat. Which is my main concern as im sure most first time owners that their snakes haven't eaten for them. So I take it back and warm it back up thinking maybe the heat has faded and he could lose interest. I take it back in there and nudge his sides again and he raises and gets really close to it and stares and finally strikes and hits it. I release the tongs and step out of the closet to let him have a little peace swallowing. I go and get my fiance and daughter so they can see him for the first time while he is side tracked swallowing his food. They come in for a second then leave. I watch from the distance with door cracked as to give him his privacy. I left for literally 30 seconds and came back and hes standing up the mouse mainly down his throat and just the tail bit sticking out. I watch again from afar outside the door. When he seems to have finished I scare fully went back over not wanting to stress or scare him and take his hide and put it back over him. The only scare I have now is please don't regurgitate . I know I know I overthink most everything when it comes to pets and I will look back on this and say boy did you overthink everything.... But I just want him to be healthy and comfortable so we can get to our hands on relation ship which hopefully can start sometime later this week after he has had at least 48 hours to digest. Thanks for reading all my rambling !!!!! right click open image in new tab. His picture on the way home last Sunday. I will take more but this past week was a no peek zone for him !!!

[jbzapanda]

Good to hear he ate for you! I probably missed it, but did you feed him the pinky rat or the mouse?

[amrakweno]

Good to hear he ate for you! I probably missed it, but did you feed him the pinky rat or the mouse?

Only tried hopper this time. I just wanted the guy to eat. Then maybe once he gets to eating multiple I can try the ol second mouse /rat swap on him. But for me I will sleep a little more sound knowing he has eaten regardless what it was. I assume first time feedings concern a lot of first time owners and just wanted to put it out there for all to read as I'm sure soon to be owners , new owners (me), and long time owners can relate to it on some level. The joy of the first feeding oh what a relief!

[jbzapanda]

Only tried hopper this time. I just wanted the guy to eat. Then maybe once he gets to eating multiple I can try the ol second mouse /rat swap on him. But for me I will sleep a little more sound knowing he has eaten regardless what it was. I assume first time feedings concern a lot of first time owners and just wanted to put it out there for all to read as I'm sure soon to be owners , new owners (me), and long time owners can relate to it on some level. The joy of the first feeding oh what a relief!

Getting him started is what's important. Some tricks I do to get my little buddy to get into feeding mode is to blow dry near his enclosure. That usually gets him up and about. Also I've noticed that his feeding response is much quicker (he strikes almost immediately) if the mouse is heated to at least 95 degrees, especially on the head. I've never done any special tricks with the lights being on and off, he usually doesn't care as soon as the scent hits him lol!

Keep us updated. They grow like weeds once they get started!

[amrakweno]

Getting him started is what's important. Some tricks I do to get my little buddy to get into feeding mode is to blow dry near his enclosure. That usually gets him up and about. Also I've noticed that his feeding response is much quicker (he strikes almost immediately) if the mouse is heated to at least 95 degrees, especially on the head. I've never done any special tricks with the lights being on and off, he usually doesn't care as soon as the scent hits him lol!

Keep us updated. They grow like weeds once they get started!

Really good to know. I know everyone has their tactics and I'm sure some work better than others for them. I could not find anywhere the temperature they got their f/t too. Bp.net member told me he gets his in the 90s to 100's. As I'm wondering if maybe that was part of my guy not feeding the first time cause I hit it with my infrared gun and I was only getting it up to high 80's, in fear of over cooking the food. Last night I got it to over 100 then took it over to the guy.

[jbzapanda]

It truly is dependent on you and your snake. Just keep experimenting with it and you'll get it. You won't cook the rodent as long as it's just a short blast of hot air.

[cletus]

Glad to hear he's eating for you! Congrats!

[amrakweno]

Glad to hear he's eating for you! Congrats!

Thanks, just got home checked in and no regurgitation, Slowly I'm finding that every worst case scenario I had pictured in my head that could go wrong are being checked off the list one after the other by not occurring. I just hope most bp owners overthink everything like me before owning lol. I could never imagine just going to the local pet store and walking out with everything same day. Hell I had my tub setup 2 weeks prior to ensure proper parameters were met. Cheers

[cletus]

Thanks, just got home checked in and no regurgitation, Slowly I'm finding that every worst case scenario I had pictured in my head that could go wrong are being checked off the list one after the other by not occurring. I just hope most bp owners overthink everything like me before owning lol. I could never imagine just going to the local pet store and walking out with everything same day. Hell I had my tub setup 2 weeks prior to ensure proper parameters were met. Cheers

Yeah I think a lot of people overthink things, myself included. Having said that, sometimes bps are just picky eaters. If you do your part and keep your husbandry right, you give them the best chance to be good eaters. it doesn't have to be so nerve wracking but sometimes we make it that way. lol It's been a while since I kept snakes but I do have years of keeping them under my belt and this new little bp has me at times feeling like a brand new father. lol hang in there!