Reptile & Amphibian Forums

i have had him for one month now and he has only eaten one rat pup. i have tried everything and every combo to get him to eat. i have a pair of dwarf tigers and they are doing great, no problems what so ever. i feel that i know how to take care of them and that my husbandry peramiters are right. i also hve a collection of balls that i breed with great success. all the balls i have gotten to eat frozen thawed.i cant figure it out. when he did eat i had to leave the pup overnight and it was gone by morning.i always though that retics had great feed response but i am having trouble with this one. please any info or advise you can think of would be appreciated.

thank you

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Spider

I've kept many retics.. and albinos always been poor feeders for me at the start..it changes as they close in on a year old..Some keepers may not like this but.. live mice work better for me(can leave alone without to much trouble,they always seem to feed once you leave the room) and just switch over to small live rats..then f/killed,they also seem to feed better at evening time..misting before seems to help also..best of luck!

>>i have had him for one month now and he has only eaten one rat pup. i have tried everything and every combo to get him to eat. i have a pair of dwarf tigers and they are doing great, no problems what so ever. i feel that i know how to take care of them and that my husbandry peramiters are right. i also hve a collection of balls that i breed with great success. all the balls i have gotten to eat frozen thawed.i cant figure it out. when he did eat i had to leave the pup overnight and it was gone by morning.i always though that retics had great feed response but i am having trouble with this one. please any info or advise you can think of would be appreciated.
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>>Spider

I have a new albino lavender female. She was a little tricky to start. Here's what works for me.

Make sure you have the right set up. A baby should be in a relatively small enclosure, equipped with a hide, in a quiet, dimly lit area. I don't like a lamp on top of an enclosure as I think snakes equate overhead light with being exposed which makes them feel insecure. Make sure the new acquisition has had a minimum of five days (a full week is better) to settle in...no handling, no feeding attempts. Check on the snake each evening about half an hour after dark. If the snake is starting to leave the hide and explore the enclosure, it is ready to feed.

For the first feeding, bring a f/t rat pup up to live temperature. (the rat should feel warm to your touch) Using tongs or forceps, dangle the rat near the snake. If the snake ignores the rat, bump the snake with the rat. DO NOT smack the snake in the face with the rat. You want to entice, not intimidate. If, after a few minutes, the snake does not take the rat, leave it near the snake, close the enclosure, turn out the lights, and leave the snake alone with the rat over night. If the snake has still not taken the rat by the next morning, remove the rat and discard.

Wait a minimum if three days before attempting to feed again, using the same method above. It took me thee attempts to get my girl to feed. Since then she has not missed a meal and is showing a stronger feeding response with each susbsequent feeding. At her latest feeding she nearly came out of the he tub after the rat!

Good luck with your baby. It is the rare retic that starves itself.

I have had finicky eaters inlcuding one Retic last night and I tried a bit of rat blood on the rat pup and it drew alot of excitement.....good luck.

just wanted to update you all on my baby. he has since turned on his feed response and is an eating machine. he has takes 2 rat pups since my original post. he is acting more alert than he used to. i guess he just needed to adjust or something. the best part is that he is as tame as my ball pythons. i am actually please with my retic collection, in that they are all very tame. i have the lav alb male and a pair of dwarf tigers from steve gooch.