Reptile & Amphibian Forums

ok i have a few snakes that ive been trying to feed pre-killed. they are around 800 grams and out of the three 1 snake just eats it after i plop it in the cage and leave. the others however were eating live then for several weeks stopped eating. so i tried quite a few times and they didnt want to eat live. i tried leaving dead and no luck. so now im guessing they havent eaten for two months. they drive me nuts they look like they want to eat. but they dont. i have now decided to just stop trying for two weeks and then try with the pre-killed. my question is do you think by just leaving the dead rodent in the tubs with there heads poking in there hide will work? (im praying). also i dont take them out of there tubs and there set up is excellent. i know they just go off feed but i feel two months is long enough. they lost about 50 grams each. any suggestions or personal experiences is appreciated. p.s i feel that if i try moving the rat around and they dont go for it and i then just leavce the rat in the tub they may not eat it then. do you think its best to just try this way first or moving the rat around near them is a better way to go? and finally is two weeks enough time not to try feeding at all enough? or should i wait longer? thanks.

If I were you I'd just feed them live for the time being - until they are back on an established feeding pattern. They could possibly be on winter fast already so you may have to try switching them next spring - right now the important thing to do is to get them to feed if they will.

Try feeding them once a week do not leave the feeder in with the snake for more than 10-15 minutes you don't want to stress them out if they don't seem interested then pull the feeder out sooner. If they dont show any interest in feeding after several weeks - then they are most likely on a winter fast and you can try feeding them ever 2-3 weeks.

Once they get an established feeding schedule you can try switching them to f/t - I think I've already given you the steps that I use. Keep in mind that this is something you have to train them to do - it will require a little work on your part upfront - and there is a possiblity that they won't switch or it will take a long time. Most switch pretty readily but I have two girls that just switched after 2 years of work and one of them isn't fully converted.
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Tosha

"Nihil facimus sed id bene facimus"

thanks for that info. makes sence and thats what i will do. one snake that i bought was eating live from the breeder and when i got him he wouldnt eat live. he didnt eat period. than the breeder told me to leave a rat pup with hair and eyes still closed over nite and see if he eats. and he did. than i simply put a prekilled in and the next day it was gone. i didnt try that with my other two that are now off feed but i was trying live and prekilled and they just didnt eat. but i think i will try to see if they will eat live again. than maybe in the spring will try dead stuff. thanks for your help.

just to clarify you are talking about prekilled right not frozen thawed , please let the readers know some are confused.
Thanks David.

pre-killed. not f/t.

I would not be surprised if they don't eat until spring. It's that time of the year. Have these ever taken F/T? If not you may just have to give them live not all BP's will eat FT.
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John Vandegrift