Vote for BP.Net for the 2013 Forum of the Year! Click here for more info.

» Site Navigation

» Home
 > FAQ

» Online Users: 565

0 members and 565 guests
No Members online
Most users ever online was 47,180, 07-16-2025 at 05:30 PM.

» Today's Birthdays

None

» Stats

Members: 75,912
Threads: 249,117
Posts: 2,572,189
Top Poster: JLC (31,651)
Welcome to our newest member, coda
Results 1 to 10 of 22

Threaded View

  1. #4
    BPnet Lifer Bogertophis's Avatar
    Join Date
    04-28-2018
    Location
    USA
    Posts
    20,803
    Thanks
    29,383
    Thanked 20,576 Times in 12,296 Posts

    Re: My BP is afraid of her F/T food?

    Quote Originally Posted by Shadowy View Post
    Ive had her for about a month. She’s about 7 months old. The breeder didn’t tell me much about her feeding record, other than she was taking f/t mice. I had offered her mice initially but ended up refusing the ones I offered. That’s when out of desperation I tried that rat fuzzy and she ended up eating it after leaving it with her for a little while. But now she’s even refusing those. I will admit she looks way more interested in the rats than the mice.
    Maybe I'm reading too much into this, but how many times have you offered her food in the month you've had her? Have you handled her at all?
    Snakes get too stressed to eat when we keep offering them food (with or without handling): if they refuse a meal, do NOT offer again for at least a week.

    For best results, it's recommended to do no handling until a snake has fed 3 times at normal intervals. And it's also best NOT to offer any food for the first week or 2
    while they are settling in. It seems possible to me that your initial failure (to get her to take f/t mouse) was because she still had NOT "settled in" yet.

    She was then hungry enough to chance the rat you offered, but she still has a preference* for mice. (*feels more comfortable pouncing on) So now she's confused,
    and if you've offered repeatedly (& too soon), it's only adding to her stress.

    For best results, you always want to be offering what a new snake has successfully fed on before, and only after giving them time to settle in. Sure, some snakes will
    eat right away...and some of us with years of experience may short-cut these "rules" because we can deal with whatever happens, but when you're new & your snake
    is new, it's best to follow guidelines.

    I know how badly you want her to eat & thrive & be a great pet for you, but you'll need to be patient...snakes are living creatures that can easily stress & frustrate you.
    Sometimes the best thing you can do is ignore them for a week...remember they live solo in the wild, & they're usually quite shy.
    Last edited by Bogertophis; 02-06-2019 at 05:51 PM.

  2. The Following User Says Thank You to Bogertophis For This Useful Post:

    Luvyna (02-06-2019)

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •  
Powered by vBadvanced CMPS v4.2.1