Hatchling seems confused about eating?

[Bogertophis]

Hi I recently bought 2 new BPs from a local breeder. One was 9 weeks the other was 6 weeks. I have had them 2 weeks now, and the younger one hasn’t eaten for me. I am not new to BPs and really not new to picky ones. However with her being so young I don’t want her to go without eating too long. I verified with the breeder before I got her that she was eating well and had taken rats. He assured me she had taken 2 mice and 2 rat fuzzies so far. I gave her a full week in her new enclosure before I tried to feed her the first time. Then waited another full week before trying to feed her this 2nd time. She has been wandering around the last few days like she is hunting so I know she is hungry.

Here is the weird part for me, I am using fresh killed, she acted nervous so I set it down for her and walked away. She seems VERY interested in the rat, but not like she wants to eat it. She is smelling it and circling it. At one point she even laid next to it. She just seems a bit confused on what to do with it. At this point do I cave and try feeding her a mouse? Or hold out so she will eat a rat?

OK, first off let's clear something up: a snake (a BP) that's "wandering around" is not "hunting for food"- they are stressed & perhaps physically uncomfortable.

Stress comes from being in a frightening new place (snakes learn their way around, so no matter what you do, you & your home is scary to a new snake- & remember that baby snakes get eaten by predators, which is what we appear to be to a hatchling snake); stress also comes from handling -which I hope you know better than to be doing? Stress also comes from not enough cover (places to hide) in their home (it would help if you share pics or info about how you are housing them). A minimum of 2 hides are needed, one warm side & one on the cool side, & snakes feel safer with "clutter" (fake vines & deep substrate, etc). Stress/discomfort also comes from incorrect temperatures...what are they?

What time of day are you trying to feed? BPs prefer to eat in the evening- dim light- with people either not around or staying out of their vision as much as possible. Think "ninja"

Offering food too often also adds stress & reducing the chance of success. So if a snake refuses food, wait a week to let them settle in, then try again. Meanwhile, make sure they have peace & quiet, no handling, & as few disturbances as possible.

Another thing that could have helped your success would be to have set-up their new home to be as similar as possible to how the breeder had them. The amount of space is critical-going from tight quarters with the breeder to a larger home with you seems like a reward for the snake, but it's apt to just scare them- ie. make them feel insecure. But don't change anything now (other than to add "cover" & hides)- just be patient.

When snakes are used to eating live, & you try to offer fresh-killed, you might need to use feeding tongs to give subtle motion to the prey, until the snake gets the idea. Don't over-do it- they don't need to be break-dancing- just look like they're alive.

But again- feed at night- & when a BP is ready to eat, they're often looking out of their hide- waiting to ambush their prey. They don't actively hunt for prey- they're not fast enough to chase after it. They wait for prey to cluelessly get too close to where they're hiding, in safety from predators that would eat them too.

So if you're offering fresh-killed ("f/k") & using tongs- it's IMPORTANT not to approach the snake with it. You want to wait for the snake to be looking out for something to ambush, then slowly wiggle it past, not towards, where the snake is. You watch closely for the snake to show interest- tongue flicks & following. Move the prey slowly- let the snake feel like he's catching up to it.

If the snake continues to look out of their hide, but still won't take the prey, try leaving it (a short distance away) overnight. Turn off the light- do not hang around or cause any vibrations/noise. (you might be making the snake too nervous- remember, they're still learning how to be snakes, lol). Check in the morning- & toss out the prey if it's still there.

BTW- it's your decision about switching prey right now, BUT it's best to feed EXACTLY what the breeder did, & continue that for a while (like a month+) before trying to switch to another type of prey. A new home is enough for a snake to worry about- don't throw them any more "curves" than you have to, for best success.