Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I have had my brb for about 3 months now and she is about 9 months old. I have been feeding her small f/t fuzzies until 5 weeks ago i fed her, her first f/t adult mouse which she ate with no hesitation. The adult fuzzie is the last meal she has eaten (5 weeks ago). I have tried to feed her at least 6 or 7 times since then (adults and small fuzzies) but no luck. I did change the bedding I use from repti bark to aspen but don't think that has anything to do with it. Humidity is kept over 80% and temp is around 75. Any suggestions? thanks brandon

Not typical for a BRB to stop eating but also 5 weeks is not alarming. Any signs of shedding, sometimes my babies will refuse a feeding while shedding (more often than not will eat anyways).

Did you feed away from the substrate, could she have ingested some?

Has she defecated since last feeding?
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Thanks,

Dave "Rainbows-R-Us"

0.1 Wife (WC)
0.2 kids (CBB)
4.12 Brazilian Rainbow Boa
2.1 Hypomelanistic BRB
0.1 Het for Hypomelanistic BRB
0.1 BCI "Elvira" normal from 1989
1.0 BCI albino / het-anery
0.1 BCI Hypo / het-albino
0.1 BCI Anery / het-albino
0.1 BCI Hypo (possible super)
1.0 BCI albino het stripe
1.0 BCI salmon hypo
0.1 BCI ghost

lots.lots.lots feeder mice and rats

75 is too cold if this is the warmest part of your cage. I'd bet money that this is your problem. Give your snake access to an 84 degree basking area and try again in a week.
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Mike Lockwood
www.tooscaley.com

...I know that most good keepers only feed frozen and thawed meals to their snakes However, these animals have it hardwired in their little brains through eons of evolution that their food is supposed to be alive and run around. I nearly always get a stronger feeding response feeding live prey. If you feed live make sure the rodent is not large enough to harm the snake. When feeding frozen and thawed or fresh killed they are more likely to eat if the dead rodent is warmed to a little over 100 degrees rather than just to room temperature. They are also more likely to eat at night in the dark. If your rodents have been in the freezer very long they may not be as attractive as when they were fresh.
Good luck,
Jeff

>>I have had my brb for about 3 months now and she is about 9 months old. I have been feeding her small f/t fuzzies until 5 weeks ago i fed her, her first f/t adult mouse which she ate with no hesitation. The adult fuzzie is the last meal she has eaten (5 weeks ago). I have tried to feed her at least 6 or 7 times since then (adults and small fuzzies) but no luck. I did change the bedding I use from repti bark to aspen but don't think that has anything to do with it. Humidity is kept over 80% and temp is around 75. Any suggestions? thanks brandon

My young BRB was eating f/t fairly well, although not enthusiastically. And then suddenly started refusing the f/t mice altogether. I thought for sure since I'm fairly new to snake keeping it had to be the conditions I was keeping him in, even though I pay attention to detail and strove to keep things just right. However, after trying small tweaks here and there and more time passing by with him refusing food, I looked at what I had tried and hadn't.

I tried every trick with the environment and the f/t mice... different sizes, colors, warmer, cooler, puncturing the skull, making it move with forceps... with no reaction. But I hadn't tried live. So I drove into vegas to pick up a couple live fuzzies and sure enough, I had never seen such a strong feeding response in my snake! And since then, he's taken his f/t prey just as quickly and enthusiastically.

I really recommend you try it. But as Jeff said, make sure the mice aren't big enough to injure your snake.
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Dani

Thanks everyone for your quick responses!! I do not remove her from her cage when i feed her but i do feed her in her empty water bowl to prevent her from ingesting any substrate. I believe the temp is fine, it reads about 80 on the warm side but i never find her on the warm side, she is always in the hide on the cool side. I tried to feed her a f/t adult again today but no luck so I am going to try a live mouse this weekend. Thanks again for all of your help. Brandon

Brandon,
....Your snake may be talking to you. The fact that you always find it in the hide on the cool side may indicate that it wants a cooler temperature. I use a Raytek temperature gun to check on my snakes and cages and I usually find the BRBs in the part of the cage where the temperature is around 73. A few years ago I kept BRBs that had been born in the summer in the high 60s and very low 70s for 5 weeks during their first winter. They ate and digested and grew while being kept that cool. I do not recommend this because even though I had no problems with those snakes there was the obvious increased risk of respiratory infection with the temperature in the 60s. On the other hand, if there is no place to hide on the warm side of your cage it may be that your snake is prioritizing security above temperature preference and staying on the cool side because that is where the hiding place is.
Good luck,
Jeff

>Thanks everyone for your quick responses!! I do not remove her from her cage when i feed her but i do feed her in her empty water bowl to prevent her from ingesting any substrate. I believe the temp is fine, it reads about 80 on the warm side but i never find her on the warm side, she is always in the hide on the cool side. I tried to feed her a f/t adult again today but no luck so I am going to try a live mouse this weekend. Thanks again for all of your help. Brandon