Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Mojo is a 2 years old normal... not the strongest feeder in the world, but he has his charm.

>>Mojo is a 2 years old normal... not the strongest feeder in the world, but he has his charm.
>>
>>
>>

One of my BP's is also not a great feeder. I have been trying different things. Everytime I think I have found the right answer, I get disappointed. Most recently, I though scenting mice with gerbil scent was the answer. However, it doesn't work all the time either.

I am almost tempted to start gerbils and then follow the gerbils with rats (ie place rat as the tail of gerbil is swallowed). However, I probably won't do that, since I don't want to get him hooked on gerbils. I have never fed any gerbils because I am afraid of gettting him hooked. I guess I just have to be patient and let the snake feed on his own schedule.

What tricks have you used to get him to feed? Is it just mostly waiting until he decides when he is hungry enough to eat?

I would like eventually breed my BP and would like to find practical ways to get him to eat more.

cheers.
-----
Longtang. I like snakes and rats.

This snake will NOT take fresh kill or f/t mice... live only. He took f/t once when he was a baby, but not since, and believe me, I have TRIED.

I have found that the best trick to get snakes to eat is patience. Mojo fasted for 8 months this winter, and once you realize that thats just what they do, its easier to deal with. Frustrating, but true.

Te fact is, if your temps are right, and the snake has a secure hide on each side of the cage, and he is not sick or stressed, he will eat when he needs to.

The best trick besides patience is being obsessed with how good your cage setup is... thermostats, indoor/outdoor thermometers etc...

HTH

>>This snake will NOT take fresh kill or f/t mice... live only. He took f/t once when he was a baby, but not since, and believe me, I have TRIED.
>>
>>I have found that the best trick to get snakes to eat is patience. Mojo fasted for 8 months this winter, and once you realize that thats just what they do, its easier to deal with. Frustrating, but true.
>>
>>Te fact is, if your temps are right, and the snake has a secure hide on each side of the cage, and he is not sick or stressed, he will eat when he needs to.
>>
>>The best trick besides patience is being obsessed with how good your cage setup is... thermostats, indoor/outdoor thermometers etc...
>>
>>
>>HTH

I try to stack the deck as much in my favor as I can. There was a time when I thought scenting with gerbils did the trick: because one day, I scented three mice and the BP strangled three in one day. However, just when I thought I had found the holy grail, he proved me wrong in the very next feeding session!

I bring up scenting only as another tweak that I do. Scenting certainly wouldn't hurt.

With tough feeders, I try to do every little tweak I can to entice them to eat.

I have not started feeding gerbils yet. But let me tell ya: I have the gerbils all bred and ready to go. What I mean is: boy, have I come close to crossing that line of no return. So far, I have had the patience to just wait the BP out. I can just see, though, that if I were a commercial breeder, I would be so frustrated. If I were a breeder, I may well end up feeding gerbils as appetizers and just follow with rats (place rat head in mouth as last part of the gerbils go down). However, since I am just a hobbiest, I patiently wait him out.

cheers.
-----
Longtang. I like snakes and rats.