Won't eat? Try feeding in the dark.

[MrStavros]

This likely won't be news for most of you, but for those who recently got their animals and are having a hard time getting them to eat: try feeding them with no lights on. This has worked 100% of the time for me (I'm assuming here that you've got all the basic husbandry setup dialed in: I've two hides, hot spot @ 88-90F, ambient temps at around 75-80F, humidity hovers around 60-65%). If you don't have the basics down then this might not be relevant at all - make sure the animal feels secure and has a warm spot to digest his meal after it eats.

I've a picky male Enchi who will only eat if I turn off all the lights (I use a headlamp with the red light setting on, which doesn't seem to bother him - I'm not sure if snakes can see all colors in the spectrum?). If any other source of light is on, he'll track the food (f/t) but won't strike. Leaving the food in the tub won't work either, even in the dark. If he really doesn't want to eat, then I just feed my Banana instead, who's a garbage disposal :-)

That is all, have a good day.

[AlyssaLu]

I need to try this, I have a bumblebee female who will not eat! I've had her for a while now and she will not eat.. I've tried everything, live, frozen, gassed, but she will not eat. So I'll give this a try, I don't know why this never occurred to me...Anyway, thanks.

[tyharp]

I exclusively feed my snakes at night. I have to use a flashlight though. A red light headlamp is genius!

[shadow reaper]

I'm pretty sure I saw somewhere that red and black light can't be seen by BP, only registers as heat.

The night feeding is accurate for me, as well. I've read to feed in the evening, but no specific mention of in low light. When I offered my guy his first meal with me, he was interested but wouldn't hit it. I had overhead lighting on behind me so I could see what I was doing better, but he just sat there for 10 minutes. My wife suggested we turn those specific lights off and BAM he hit it within 30 seconds of the lights going off. Every feeding since has been in low light and he goes from snug as a ball in a rug to hitting it to swallowing in just a few minutes.

My experience hasn't been in complete darkness though. I have a wood scene wrapping his cage to cut down on stress but it lets some light through from the kitchen and my TV is usually on for some added light. This is fine for him, just as long as the bright overheads aren't on.

[kath_]

This is a great idea! I'm a brand new BP owner and I've never owned a snake before so anything to make feeding easier is greatly appreciated. My first feed will be converting him from several weeks of live at the pet shop to his first F/T so I will definitely try this when the time comes. Thank you so much!

[MrStavros]

I forgot to mention I always feed at night (~11PM) so it's naturally dark.
The room where my rack stays has a large window so their daylight gets regulated by the natural day/night cycle.

I should also mention that if you've never fed your snake, I'd only use this 'method' as a last resort.
It's more convenient to be able to feed your snake with the lights on :-)

[Snizards]

Works on almost the all problem feeders I've ever had. Providing that your husbandry is correct, as stated. My first Rosy Boa was quite shy about eating in front of me lol soon I figured out that if I covered his tank with a dark blanket he would gobble down his food no problem.