Hi everyone,

This is my first post here, so I'd like to say hi to everyone!

I have a 2 part question on feeding my baby normal bp.

First, a bit of background.

I got her on Sept. 27th from a breeder at a local reptile show. The breeder said she was 2 months old at the time, and had eaten a p/k fuzzy that day. This was confirmed by the bulge in her.

I brought her home, and got her setup in her tub. Husbandry was a bit of a challenge in the beginning (getting stable temps, and humidity, hides, etc.), and as a result, she didn't want anything to do with eating for about 3 weeks. I tried offering p/k fuzzies weekly with no result, until finally on Oct. 24th, I offered a live fuzzy. That was what she was waiting for! She wasted no time in striking the mouse, but took a long time to eat it (she moved it just right, then did a lap or two in her tub). Finally, I covered the tub, turned out the lights, and left. A 1/2 hour later, the mouse was gone.

The following week (Oct. 31st), she refused a live hopper.

The next 2 weeks (Nov. 7th and 14th) she took live hoppers, albeit slowly, and with no audience.

Finally, last Friday (Nov. 21st), I tried offering a p/k hopper and she kind of half struck at it, and then realized the lid was off her tub, and was more interested in that.

In all cases where a p/k was offered, the prey was left in her tub overnight, and in all cases, the prey wasn't touched at all.

We weighed her on Nov. 4th, and she came in at 68 grams. She'll be a wee bit heavier now since she's eaten 2 hoppers. I'll weigh her again next week.

So tomorrow is feeding day again, and I'm undecided on what to try. I'd really like to get her eating p/k or f/t for all the obvious reasons. At the same time though, I want her to eat. The way I see it, there are a few reasonable options:

1) Offer a p/k hopper and hope that she's hungry enough to take it.

2) Try a f/t hopper heated up nicely. I've also got some old shaving from the last live hopper. I could run the f/t through those to scent things up.

3) Offer a live fuzzy, and then a f/t fuzzy chaser.

4) Offer a live hopper.

Of all the options, I really don't want to go with #4. The hoppers a really jumpy, and I'm afraid that she's going to get hurt.

It;s also worth noting that she's quite active almost all the time, and is quite ok with being handled. At first we thought her active pace was a sign of stress, but she seems happy, husbandry is ok, and she's still always on the move.

So what are your thoughts? Am I missing the obvious next step in her feeding routine?

Thanks for your comments!

- Jeff