Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I have been feeding Sagira RUNTY small rats for a few weeks after I got her in June from FIRE in Orlando. She seemed to be doing well with them until about 4 weeks ago. She would not take the rat at all. They have not bitten her or done anything to give rise to such behavior from her, so I let it be and tried again the next week to no avail, and then she was in shed and when finished she still refused the rat. I got to thinking and instinctual (if that's a word) thinking kicked in...what if she is afraid of it? Maybe it is intimidating her? So I bought a live adult mouse and a prekilled one to chase it with to make up for what she would be lacking in size by not having a rat. She took that mouse in 5 min. The supposedly 'dead' chaser mouse had come to lethargically and lazed in the corner and Sagira took that one too. Is she scared of the rats or what?

Zoe
Zan's Den

Sometimes the 'bite' which causes the snake to stop eatting the specific rodent is one you may not see... I have seen my older female go into a constriction where the mouse/rat has a good bite going, which leads me to assist in the kill so she isn't hurt too bad... I finally switched to F/T to avoid this problem. You can't necessarily 'blame' the rodent, because this is how it is in the wild. Sometimes the meal inflicts damage that can get infected and becomes fatal to the herp... BUT, since this is MY snake, and we aren't in the wild, this AIN'T happening... I chose f/t, which worked well for me...

Hope that helps....

This Happens with a few of my snakes.
Instead of going with the two adult mice, I usually prime with 1 small mouse then they're in feeding mode.
I follow this with a rat. This work for me about 75% of the time.
If you give them the mice you will make switching them to rats much harder. they will hold out on you LOL.
Good luck
TomChambers

I never thought about that...enticing them with a mouse, then feeding the REAL food. I will try that one next week. Thank you

Zoe
Zan's Den

Yup, I just used that trick last night.
A female I have, ate rats for three consecutive feedings, then refused them for 2 weeks.
Last night she ate a rat without hesitation, after a mouse primer.
Good Luck
TomChambers