BP acts weird when feeding/won't eat

[Moose84]

Thank you for reading everything! I used to feed every week when he was actually eating since he didn't move up to appropriate sized rats but now that he's stopped completely I just offer whenever I go to feed my other snake which is every 10 days.

I've considered feeding live but I really hate having to do that. I'm going to try what you said with the f/t but if I'm not able to get him to eat after all of this I'm going to try live.

I see this all the time on here... "I don't want to feed the animal live prey..." May I ask why? In your situation, outside of the fact that the prey you are offering is undersized, I would imagine the animal was fed live prior to you owning it... That being said i'm not surprised you have had issues.. What I have the biggest problem with in that statement is that you continue to let a younger snake go hungry and noticeably lose weight because YOU don't want to feed it live.. That's not fair at all to the animal.. What's even slightly more insulting is that we attempted to help you and you have apparently not taken any of our advice because it isn't what you wanted to hear.. I feel bad for the animal in all honesty..

[RyanTheNoodleMan]

We provided you with an answer of what we feel the main problem is. You are attempting to feed the snake too small of prey. We also informed you, (our opinion) to leave the snake alone until he eats.. I don't really care if you haven't touched him in a year I would continue to tell you to leave him alone until he eats. We don't need an answer from you.. You asked for our opinion and we gave it to you. If you want to try and continue feeding the snake something way too small you will probably get the same results you are getting now. With all due respect, don't ask people for their opinions and then say "I need actual help..."

In closing and in basic terms you aren't feeding the animal an appropriately sized meal. I would try and feed the animal what is appropriately sized for its age and weight..

I didn't mean to sound rude, some people just skimmed over what I wrote. I'm not giving him something bigger because he is still a small snake. Fuzzy rats are the same size as the largest part of his body. I fed him pinkies when I first got him because he would always refuse fuzzies and I'd rather him eat something than nothing. Every time I go to feed him now I offer a fuzzy.

[RyanTheNoodleMan]

I see this all the time on here... "I don't want to feed the animal live prey..." May I ask why? In your situation, outside of the fact that the prey you are offering is undersized, I would imagine the animal was fed live prior to you owning it... That being said i'm not surprised you have had issues.. What I have the biggest problem with in that statement is that you continue to let a younger snake go hungry and noticeably lose weight because YOU don't want to feed it live.. That's not fair at all to the animal.. What's even slightly more insulting is that we attempted to help you and you have apparently not taken any of our advice because it isn't what you wanted to hear.. I feel bad for the animal in all honesty..

Because I don't want an animal to be killed for no reason when I feel like something else is causing him to stop eating. No, he wasn't fed live before I got him. If I have to feed live then I will but I want to know the reason why he isn't eating what I offer now before I start offering live.

[Moose84]

"I have another bp in the exact same kind of set up, the only difference is her tank is bigger and she has never refused a meal."


What type of enclosure is this snake is now?

What type of enclosure was the snake in when you bought it?

Also, how much does the snake weigh?

On top of the prey size, if the enclosure is too big it will also cause a lot of feeding issues..

[Moose84]

Do you feel like what you are feeding him now is an appropriate size? I feel like you might have you head in the sand with that one a little bit. There has been 3-4 people who have told you that what you are trying to feed him is too small and you are still saying "I need to figure out why he is doing this..."

Ok, you haven't handled him... Fine... Ok you try every 10 days... That's all fine and well... It doesn't correct the fact that what you are attempting to feed him isn't working and is too small... In my opinion I would have already went to a live mouse because that snake is young... It's not a 1200 gram, 3 year old female who can handle longer fasts..

[Craiga 01453]

At this point I have to double check...

OP- are you sure you're offering rats and not mice?

If you're sure they're rats, then the size is fine and that eliminates that as a potential issue.

If you're mixing up rats and mice and offering mice they're definitely too small.

[Moose84]

I didn't mean to sound rude, some people just skimmed over what I wrote. I'm not giving him something bigger because he is still a small snake. Fuzzy rats are the same size as the largest part of his body. I fed him pinkies when I first got him because he would always refuse fuzzies and I'd rather him eat something than nothing. Every time I go to feed him now I offer a fuzzy.

That snake is 9 months old and the widest part of his body is the size of a rat fuzzy? To make sure we are on the same page, you are telling me that an adult mouse, 20-30 grams would be too big for this snake?

Can you provide us with a weight on the snake and what size aquarium/enclosure he is in?

[dr del]

Hi,

I'd also like to know how much he weighs and if he has managed to grow much since you have had him? A picture of him might be handy to judge his size better so we can be more aware of what might be the best alternative prey to try.

I've found the key to a good feeding response with mine is for them to know food is going to be offered - this is what the dry defrosting near the cage does - the hairdrier just slams the message into overdrive as it spreads the warm prey scent around.

I know you may not want it to be a long term solution but I would definitely try mice or african soft furred rats of the same size.

Your temps don't sound too bad but it depends on how and where you are measuring them - is it with a probe inside the hides orsomewhere else? If the temp inside the hide ( where the snake hangs out ) is lower than the 79f you think it might be worth bumping those temps up until the hide is the right temp.

But good call on stopping the handling when the problem started.


del

[RyanTheNoodleMan]

"I have another bp in the exact same kind of set up, the only difference is her tank is bigger and she has never refused a meal."


What type of enclosure is this snake is now?

What type of enclosure was the snake in when you bought it?

Also, how much does the snake weigh?

On top of the prey size, if the enclosure is too big it will also cause a lot of feeding issues..

He's in a 20 gallon tank. The breeder didn't mention what he was kept in before.

He's normally between 110-120 but since the fast he's gone down to 98.

[Moose84]

At this point I have to double check...

OP- are you sure you're offering rats and not mice?

If you're sure they're rats, then the size is fine and that eliminates that as a potential issue.

If you're mixing up rats and mice and offering mice they're definitely too small.

That snake should be 300-400 grams by 9 months... Most fuzzies are 15 grams on a good day... He's saying that a fuzzy rat is as big as the biggest portion of the snakes body... That is slightly concerning.