Need F/T tips...

[AT6CL]

Need a little help. I just offered Daisy her first F/T small rat. She was fed live rats by the breeder, "right before they opened thier eyes", he said. She seemed interested, but not terribly. I covered the front of the tank, but it's been 30 min. now and nothing.

She has been kept for a week in the ideal environment with minimal handling. The rat was thawed at room tempurature overnight and put under the CHE for half an hour prior to offering.

Was the rat too big? How long should I leave the rat in there? Should I have dangled the rat?

TIA
Tony

[lillyorchid]

The breeder is saying that she has eaten live rat pups who are 14-18 days old.
http://www.rodentpro.com/images/size_r_pups.jpg

Is that the same size the f/t rat is? If not it may to big for her.
Also I take it you have only had her for a week? You may want to give her another week with no handling or anything and just let her completly settle in to her in home.

Also check your temps and humidity. 90-94 on hot side and 80-85 on cool side with 50-60% humidity. You can easily measure the temps by dropping by Walmart, Target, Lowe's and picking up a thermometer .

Another thing, did you just plop that f/t rat in there? You will probably have to make it do some kind of "dance". Get a pair of tongs and wiggle it in front of the snake. It may take a few minutes. Also remember snakes are nocturnal, so they do hunt at night. Some of my snakes will only eat at night while others have no problems eating while it's day light out.

Last but not least there is nothing wrong with feeding live as long as it is done responsibly.

[Sausage]

Dangling it with tongs can help. The rat shouldn't be bigger than the snake's midsection. You can leave the rat in there overnight but should just throw it away the next day if it's still there.

Good luck!

EDIT: augh, Allison beat me to it!

[AT6CL]

I played puppetmaster, and she struck and coiled...let's see...

[Sausage]

Awesome!

[AT6CL]

Now she's acting like it's not even there...ARGH!

[Stewart_Reptiles]

Need a little help. I just offered Daisy her first F/T small rat. She was fed live rats by the breeder, "right before they opened thier eyes", he said. She seemed interested, but not terribly. I covered the front of the tank, but it's been 30 min. now and nothing.

She has been kept for a week in the ideal environment with minimal handling. The rat was thawed at room tempurature overnight and put under the CHE for half an hour prior to offering.

Was the rat too big? How long should I leave the rat in there? Should I have dangled the rat?

TIA
Tony

Has your BP ate for you before or was it your first feeding? If you recently got him and this was a first feeding I would recommend to feed him the same type of prey that the breeder was offering for at least 3 feeding and then try to switch. I found it easier to switch them after they have settle down good and ate at least 3 meals with me before trying to switch, I did that for all of mine and it worked a charm.

Now if your BP was eating rats that barely had their eyes open then a small rat is too big and not what he is use to.

Should you dangle? You probably need to specially since you are trying to switch him it will take time.

Also keep in mind it can take time to switch them and that some will not switch so you need to be prepared to feed live if it is the case.

[Stewart_Reptiles]

I will add this do not insist too long if youdon't see any result just quit and try again next week, in the evening this time (when it is dark) and if then you still want to try F/T and he does not take it leave it overnight.

[AT6CL]

Thanks Deb..it is her first feeding with me. Where am I going to find live weanlings? F/Ts are pretty easy to find, but live...I'm not sure where to get those. Not too sure pet shops 'round here carry them.

On the first strike she knocked the rat into the water bowl (Actually, the first strike scared the hell outta me and I dropped it), could that be a problem?

[lillyorchid]

Give her a week and try again.

Call up your local pet shops and ask if they have any live ones. In most cases most pet shops do not separate males and females so there are always babies here and there that pop up.