Ball won't eat Prekilled rat from Reptile Show

[kenzie]

Just wanted to see if anyone else has had this issue before. So 4 months ago I went to a Reptile show here in Columbus Ohio and bought like $20 worth of f/t hopper rats for our ball. It was so much cheaper than gonig to her breader and spending like $2.50 for each f/t rat. So get this, I have yet to be able to feed our BP one of those rats from the Reptile show.

So last week I did a little experiment . I've been feeding our BP live for about the last 4 feedings cause he went on, what I thought was, a 2 month hunger strike because he wouldn't eat the f/t I purchased from the Reptile show . Every week I offered him a meal and never would he take it . Frustrated I went to his breeder and he told me that maybe he was "bored" and wanted some action with a live prey item.

Anyway, my 5 year old son, the BP's "daddy", started getting attached to the rats so back to f/t for us. I took out one of the numerous f/t from the reptile show stash, thawed it and warmed it for him but this time I had also bought one of the f/t from the breeder too just to see which he would take. I offered the Reptile show one first. Wiggled it around just like normal. My BP came out of his hide but wouldn't bite for anything. I put the rat closer and he "ran" back into his hide. Then an hour later I offered the f/t rat from the breeders reptile store the exact same way. My BP snapped that rat up so freaking fast it scared me .

I went back and asked my BP's breeder what he thought and he asked if there was a smell to the rats from the show. I can't lie there is a distinct smell . He said, "I'll bet they gas their rats to kill em. There is a distinct smell to em. I don't gas mine but kill them then freeze them. Because the BP was raised on my f/t he may not recognize the gased ones as rats due to the smell." So to the garbage for the remaining, funky smelling, gassed rats I bought from the Reptile Show .

INTERESTING!!! Has anyone else ever experienced this? I guess I'll be supporting my local breeder by buying his f/t rats... don't have much of a choice. What do they say, "the customer, my BP in this case, is always right!".

[Schlyne]

It wouldn't surprise me if there is a distinct smell to different sources... The f/t rats I get tend to get sort of an almost sort of soapy smell to them when they're thawed (especially if the rat itself has gotten wet). It's very distinctive, but I have no idea if my snakes "lock on" to that more than others.

[mlededee]

a friend of mine has a bp that will only eat f/t rats that come from a certain source. nothing else she has ever tried has sparked his attention at all. interesting how that works sometimes.

[snakedon]

I went to the same show in Columbus this month. I got a new baby ball and two feeder mice. The new snake will not eat and my 7 month old will not the mice either.

[elevatethis]

I went to the same show in Columbus this month. I got a new baby ball and two feeder mice. The new snake will not eat and my 7 month old will not the mice either.

Are you keeping your snakes warm enough? 82-84 on one side of the cage and 92-94 on the other. If your temps aren't there, that's the most likely reason why they aren't eating.

[kenzie]

I went to the same show in Columbus this month. I got a new baby ball and two feeder mice. The new snake will not eat and my 7 month old will not the mice either.

Also, if it's a "baby ball" what size are the feeder mice? If you are in the columbus area I can tell you my breeders name and location. He has his own reptile store and is a great wealth of information. He will help anyone with free advise that walks in with a snake. He hasn't been wrong yet with me. And you can also try one of his rats, live or otherwise. Also, if you just purchased your BP he/she isn't going to eat for you for a couple weeks until he/she feels comfortable in his/her surroundings.

My breeder's name is Terry. His store is at the below location. He's a great guy and very involved in the reptile community.

Captive Born Reptiles
1259 Morse Road
Columbus, OH 43229
Ph: 614.267.8025
Fax: 614.267.8185

Store Hours:
Mon - Sat: 10am - 9pm
Sun: Noon - 6pm