Reptile & Amphibian Forums

i got 4 baby carpet hatchlings left that will not eat. there housed in a boaphiles first philips bby rack with a water dish a lil hide thigny and two diff kinds of perches. now i have tried f/t pinky mice f/t fuzzy mice and f/t weanish sized mice along with live pink rat and live all of stated above sizes. i have tried all of wich off of tong left in box in brown bag ticken them off slightly and am fresh out of ideas they were born on july 13 and these 4 have not even eatin once for me unlike there 12 clutch mates. tips ideas anythign is more than welcome thanks alot guys.

I have found that #1 thing to do with problem feeders is to try your best to have patience. I KNOW how stressful it is, and how pissed off you can get when they just won't eat...but be patient and just keep on trying and eventually most of them will take off for you and never be a problem again.

Second, what I have found to be the best way to get my baby carpets to eat has been live fuzzy mice, or live pink rats. So, if they won't eat for weeks for me, I just offer a live fuzzy mouse or pink rat about once every two weeks. If you have been offering once a week, or even more frequent than that...STOP and give them at least a couple weeks to relax and then slip an item in at night when it is dark and leave and don't check on them again until the next morning. I would keep doing that (live every 2 weeks or so) until they eventually take, or you get to the point that you feel assist feeding is needed (VERY rare with carpets in my experience). Let us know how it goes, and if you have any other questions. GOOD LUCK!!! And I for sure feel your pain!!!
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Ben
www.australianaddiction.com

thanks i was doin about once a week one of them strikes like a SOB at it just constantly just wont grab it he actually killed one of them from striking it so many times. what do you think would be the safe time before having to try assist feed (wich i hate) with the 3 corns i had problem feeders with i half assist fed them just got there mouth open and put the pinky in there and once i did that the feeding responc took over and they were fine feeders since. i like fake assist better than force feeding

For the assist feeding like you explained, I don't think I can give you a really good answer except that for me it has depended a lot on the individual. Some I have assist fed much earlier than others just depending on how well they maintain their weight, and if they start getting weaker. It is a tough call because although some of them are alright with assist feeding, for others it is worse than just starving because it stresses them out so much. Hopefully others will chime in with their experience, but for me it just totally depends on the individual.
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Ben
www.australianaddiction.com

I just got my last baby that hatched out the last week in April to take its first meal this past week. I was a little worried at first, but followed bhmorrill's advice on letting them take their time. After giving the snake more time between feedings, it finally latched onto a lg f/t fuzzy mouse. Hatch date was 4/30, first meal was 8/12...talk about taking its time!

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"He who would stifle debate rather than engage in it, does so at the expense of his integrity and credibility"

Mike Curtin

Wow...that hatchling looks incredibly healthy for not having eaten in 4 months. Must have had a very ample yolk sac absorption. Coincidentally, I also had a JCP clutch hatch on the same date (4/30/07). Only one of my hatchlings has steadfastly refused to eat, no matter what tricks I tried (live, F/T, overnight in bag, chicken scenting, etc). Anyway, I have now force-fed him twice a mouse fuzzy, because he was starting to look a little thin. Isn't wasn't pretty, in fact, quite a struggle (stressful), and I'm not sure it was worth it. I keep hoping he will like the idea of food in his gut and start eating.
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Sloop John B
MORELIA TROPHY CLUB
moreliapython.googlepages.com/

Sorry for the confusion, that was not the one that hadn't eaten for 4 months. Just one of my faves. I'll post the slow starter soon. There was no point in stressing it trying to pose it for pics until there were a few meals in it.
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"He who would stifle debate rather than engage in it, does so at the expense of his integrity and credibility"

Mike Curtin

thanks alot im deff tryin his advice the one baby i have i think will be the first to eat out the 4 left not eating that thing litteraly strikes the mouse to death.

I also had 3 Womas and 2 JCP's this year that would not take live hoppers or fuzzies. Nor would they take from tongs. Dead rat pinks on the floor of their shoeboxes were the ticket.
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"He who would stifle debate rather than engage in it, does so at the expense of his integrity and credibility"

Mike Curtin

i have only been tryin once a week twice a week who showed strong intrest in them and all but 4 of the 16 ate but i have litteraly tried all shapes and size rats and mice in brown bags with tongs on floor of there shoe box everythign lol i think they decided since there was a perfect hatch rate of 16 out of 16 and perfect 8.8 ratio they had to tick me off some how lol im givin them 2 weeks then tryin more rat fuzzies sux they sell for $1 each at the pet shops here. but no biggie

I know exactly how you feel! Just try your best to remember that patience is what it will take. I have found that just leaving them alone for a couple weeks really helps sometimes. If any still don't take after that, then maybe you will want to try putting them in a more "secure" feeling cage. We have some in opaque cages, and some we put hides in with. Amazing what different scenery will do sometimes as well, but I would try the waiting 2 weeks first. Once again, good luck, and keep us updated!!!
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Ben
www.australianaddiction.com