Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I had a quick question. I was wondering if there was any way possible I could get my adult female Irian Jaya to eat f/t rats instead of f/t mice. I tried putting rubbing the mice on the rats, kept them in the same bag while frozen, etc. any suggestions will be greatly appreciated. thanks for the time..

santho t..

If the animal is an established feeder, it will eventually take rats. Ive heard of people washing the rat with soap and then scenting, but if it is a healthy ltc a little patience and persistance on your part is all it takes.
Good luck and dont worry cause pythons are tuff, albeit a little cranky sometimes.
Jason

Some adults are very difficult to switch over no matter how long you've had it and/or how healthy it is. My advice is to give it an extra week or two between feedings. My adult jungles will go up to several months without food during the breeding season....this is where the "healthy" and "patience" parts really come in. As long as your snake is healthy and you're patient enough to walk away for another week after a refused meal, you shouldn't have any major problems.

Keep scenting in a ziplock, but rinse the rat first. I've washed them in the past, but lately I've noticed that washing makes them harder to get used to the rat scent. Here's a couple pics of my "washed rat eater"...at least now he's taking them rinsed!

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

Mike Curtin

thanks for the insight. I will definetly give it a shot. She will be fine going an extra week without food. I usually feed her 2-3 adult mice every week and she takes mice no problem. Thanks again. your jungle looks awesome...

Thanks. I know when I'm hungry, I don't care what my wife makes!
-----
"He who would stifle debate rather than engage in it, does so at the expense of his integrity and credibility"

Mike Curtin

me ont he other hand will wait till the next day and go mmm hamburgers lol keep posting good pics of your carpets i might have to make you send one of your big girls this way lol dont i wish lol and lol you know how i said that my evil jag was spoken for in a trade well i might be backing out well more than likely since he cant hold his end of deal up on part of the trade but wants to replace with somethign else form some1 else
anywhos i snapped a quick pick of her after she shed last night she looks alot better in person and her temper has improved some well when my girl holds her lol she gets bit once evry so often when holding the jag i get nailed like crazy lol

I'm actually trying to figure out where my Bredl's project is going right now....Ever notice how snake rooms tend to "shrink"? LOL
-----
"He who would stifle debate rather than engage in it, does so at the expense of his integrity and credibility"

Mike Curtin

specialy when your computer is in same room along with your bed lol i just thank the creator of rack systems and stacking cages lol come tinley show my room will be shrinking even more lol and even more when i order my new 4' cages for the boas and one extra to up my big male jungle i feel he needs a bigger cage one day ill find out what im gon do with the bredli jag one day here is a better pic i just tokk it shows her real color better

she really looks great, and I love the head pattern....loking at her's torture for me! LOL
-----
"He who would stifle debate rather than engage in it, does so at the expense of his integrity and credibility"

Mike Curtin