live feeding techniques

[Chappy4o]

anyone else have any more ideas?

[Chappy4o]

ok so its been about a month an a half and im getting worried. he still wont eat but he doesnt seem to be loosing any weight (my scale crapped out on me so im going by visual). does anyone have any other methods of feeding live? i dont really want to go to F/K because of the lack of feeding i feel ill end up wasting rats

[MD_Pythons]

You sure your husbandry is on point? You should give us some details on his setup so we can help you out if there's something incorrect.

[Ax01]

IMO it's ok to remove clutter (i.e. unoccupied hide, waterbowl, decor, etc.) prior to a feed but do not remove any hide that contains your snake. it's not necessary tho b/c if your snake is hungry and everything is ok, he would smell the live rat and begin pursuit; or ambush it when it gets close enough.

You sure your husbandry is on point? You should give us some details on his setup so we can help you out if there's something incorrect.

^ this. i think it's time to try troubleshooting your husbandry. what's you temps and humidity like? what's your enclosure like? is that lil BP next to the great big waterbowl in your avatar your snake? also what size "rat" are u trying to feed?

[bhsurf4]

I have a pair of forceps I use to hold the mouse/rat by the tail then dangle it about 6" in front of my snake. I let them put their front feet down on the substrate so they try and move around. I've been lucky that my girl has never refused a meal. The second I put the mouse in there, her head pokes out of her hide and she nails it!

[Chappy4o]

husbandry is ok, ambient temps around 78-80 deg F. hot side around 90 deg F. humidity is a little low around 50% (i cant seem to get it any higher) you think humidity could be a problem?

AX01, that is indeed my snake, it is an older pic but that is also a large dog bowl and i am feeding smallish mediums. snake is around 1k grams

[bhsurf4]

Just wanted to play proud papa today! I had been feeding a large mouse every 5th day, and my girl was eating great and growing fast. So today I decided a large mouse wasn't gonna do the trick, and I got her a small rat. I was a little worried it may be too large, but she took it down like a champ without a problem.