Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Success!

I finally got my JCP to eat! It has bin 8months since she had gone after food and eaten it her self. She usually gets F/T mice (I wish it were rats…) and my sores was all out so I gave her a mouse I had killed…poorly killed and it bit her in the chin. After it abscessed I went to the vet and we gave her antibiotic shots and in two months you could not detect any injury. I tried to feed her but she seemed afraid of the mice. I tried everything; F/T of every size, live of every size, rat pinkies- smalls. I tried changing teps and humidity and hide boxes and still nothing (I didn’t do all these things all in one month, it was over 8).

After tube feeding her a small meal she ate a mouse pinky 5 days later. It was hardly a meal; it’s like me eating a jellybean for dinner. I did it more for confidence. She took all night to eat it. That was about 40 days ago. She just hisses and runs from all mice and rats now.

Last night I brought home a huge baby chick; this thing was some kind of fryer and twice the size and ½ the price of the egg layers. I put it in with her and she immediately went over for a sniff, it ran to the other side with snake in hot pursuit. WAM! What a reaction, that is the best feeding response she has had since she was a hatchling! She looks fat and happy!

My question is how nutritious are chicks? For me, they are cheaper than mice and bigger too. I’m thinking of giving her two more feeding of them and maybe try two next time just to get her back on track. I will try to sent rodents with the chicks to convert her back after that.

I had a similar experience... I talked to my vet (a huge reptile keeper)about it, and he said that there is no problem with feeding them chicks... many snake species in the wild only feed on birds. They are a good source of protein and calcium, chick are also heavy on fat! He also told me he had a client leave him a WC Green Tree Python that only liked to eat parakeets!

The only "problem" I've heard with snakes eating birds is their stool is a little runnier and smellier...other than that, It should be no problem. In fact, its probably better for arboreal snakes than rodents (more natural anyway).

I was just so surprised how aggressive the feeding response was, she was a good eater before the accident but this was incredible! I was also a little surprised how big the chick was. I don’t know how much was puff and fluff but I’m going to put one on the scale and compare it to a large mouse. I was feeding her 4 to 5 mice every 10 days or so. Man I wish I got her on rats earlier!

I only pay $1 per chick and they don’t charge for ones that are bigger and getting feathers. The one she ate had no feathers yet and looked like a small rat in size.

My IJ was loose in the room and I let it come across the box I had the chick in and it started madly looking for it! I guess they like birds.

I remember someone saying that chicks weren’t as nutritious as rats. If so and she stays on them, should I supplement her and with what.

-Thanks