Gregz,

I feel your frustration--my female speckled drove me crazy for over a year. Even though she came to me as a rescue, I figured that since she was wild caught, the whole captivity thing was stressful. So, I took her to the vet, treated her for gut parasites, and then let her settle into her environment for several weeks before even attempting to feed her. She tends to be very shy, so I give her a substrate of aspen to burrow in and several cork bark pieces to hide under as well as a fake plant/log combo. I've found an ambient temp of 78 to work well with a warm belly heat spot of 90, as well as misting the tank every morning. Then, as now, I keep handling to a minimum.



Scenting didn't work, so I just kept trying different types of rodent food items until she became hungry enough (and skinny enough) to make a choice. Three years later, she now eats 5-7 f/t pink rats every seven days, and is healthy. The lack of fur and the pinks offered at room temp seem to be key.



I hope this helps. It was just a process of trial and error before I found what works for her. I wish you the best--this is a cool species.

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