Reptile & Amphibian Forums

okay i dont wanna brag or make it sound like my snakes are perfect eaters because the truth is far from that. but when it comes to F/T compared to P/K or even stunned and kicking, not one of my snakes has a problem taking one over another... i certinaly have my issues Jake (cornsnake) reciently refused meal three time in a row i have no clue why but i wasnt too worried. they are all on a 2 week schedual so thats a month and a half without eating. Dixie (my red tail) refused last night only because she is in shed. and Bella (typical ball) was really picky at first it took me a long time to get her to eat only to find out she wanted a live Pinky, oddly enough i had a real hard time finding that!! but once i got they she had no problem at all.

but now... none of them care weather its P/K F/T or kicking. i buy live and allways offer P/K but they dont allways eat on schedual (like dixie last night) so instead of wasting that 6 or 7$ rat ill throw it in the freezer to try again next week and 9 out of ten times it pays off!! is that weird?
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-Stephen-

0.1 soon to be wifey (hopefully)
1.0 rotwiler/chow (Boomer-wifey's pooch)
1.0 norm corn (Jake aka grumpy old terdhead)
0.1 col redtail boa (Dixie-my baby girl)
0.1 ball python (Bella- wifey's baby girl)

hopeful for not to distant future:
--brazillian rainbow boas 1 female for sure
2 or 3? maybe a breeding pair?
-- bearded dragon for the wifey my list got to big...

more distant future hopefuls
1 or 2 of each maybe a breeding pair?
--anery boa (ooooh)
--jungle carpet python (love to have 1 or 2)
--dumeril boa (ahhhh)

slightly more wishful thinking
--hypo br rainbow boa (love em)
--anery br rainbow boa (oooh even better!!)
--motely boa (gorgeous!!)

Not wierd at all, most snakes will take F/T just have to "learn" that it's still food. When they are hungry, they eat!!!!

I've never fed F/T (freezer is off limits) so I feed F/K and make sure to work my way through the selected feeders in such a way as I always have one I know is hungry waiting until last in case there are "leftovers" I need to get rid of.
-----
Thanks,

Dave Colling

www.rainbows-r-us-reptiles.com

0.1 Wife (WC and still very fiesty)
0.2 kids (CBB, a big part of our selective breeding program)

LOL, to many snakes to list, last count:
26.49 BRB
20.21 BCI
And those are only the breeders

lots.lots.lots feeder mice and rats

Did just have a kinda wierd feeding week. Between holdbacks, new acquisitions, available and on hold I have around 70 or 80 2007's in the main room. Last week every single one of em ate for me!!! Including a 4 month old that took down her second meal ever. OK, I crammed it a good way down her throat but she did finish swallowing it!!
-----
Thanks,

Dave Colling

www.rainbows-r-us-reptiles.com

0.1 Wife (WC and still very fiesty)
0.2 kids (CBB, a big part of our selective breeding program)

LOL, to many snakes to list, last count:
26.49 BRB
20.21 BCI
And those are only the breeders

lots.lots.lots feeder mice and rats

okay thats impressive! after thinking about it... thats alot of rats!! how big is you rat colony? must be huge
-----
-Stephen-

0.1 soon to be wifey (hopefully)
1.0 rotwiler/chow (Boomer-wifey's pooch)
1.0 norm corn (Jake aka grumpy old terdhead)
0.1 col redtail boa (Dixie-my baby girl)
0.1 ball python (Bella- wifey's baby girl)

hopeful for not to distant future:
--brazillian rainbow boas 1 female for sure
2 or 3? maybe a breeding pair?
-- bearded dragon for the wifey my list got to big...

more distant future hopefuls
1 or 2 of each maybe a breeding pair?
--anery boa (ooooh)
--jungle carpet python (love to have 1 or 2)
--dumeril boa (ahhhh)

slightly more wishful thinking
--hypo br rainbow boa (love em)
--anery br rainbow boa (oooh even better!!)
--motely boa (gorgeous!!)

That's about 5 or 6 litters of pinkies.

My rat colony is housed in 36 tubs (out of 48 total) Plus another 8 growout tubs for anything over weanling. I'm currently running 11 litters a week to keep up with feeding demands.

-----
Thanks,

Dave Colling

www.rainbows-r-us-reptiles.com

0.1 Wife (WC and still very fiesty)
0.2 kids (CBB, a big part of our selective breeding program)

LOL, to many snakes to list, last count:
26.49 BRB
20.21 BCI
And those are only the breeders

lots.lots.lots feeder mice and rats

I always have one I know is hungry waiting until last in case there are "leftovers" I need to get rid of.

lol well thats easy for you DAVE when you have a few hundred snakes!! no doubt you can allways get rid of the leftovers!! i have 3 lol

no usually its not too bad, i use to give leftovers to whoever would eat them. i once had dixie eat her lg rat plus 2 smalls, she was huge! but i dont ever do that anymore to avoid over feeding so all leftovers go to the freezer.
-----
-Stephen-

0.1 soon to be wifey (hopefully)
1.0 rotwiler/chow (Boomer-wifey's pooch)
1.0 norm corn (Jake aka grumpy old terdhead)
0.1 col redtail boa (Dixie-my baby girl)
0.1 ball python (Bella- wifey's baby girl)

hopeful for not to distant future:
--brazillian rainbow boas 1 female for sure
2 or 3? maybe a breeding pair?
-- bearded dragon for the wifey my list got to big...

more distant future hopefuls
1 or 2 of each maybe a breeding pair?
--anery boa (ooooh)
--jungle carpet python (love to have 1 or 2)
--dumeril boa (ahhhh)

slightly more wishful thinking
--hypo br rainbow boa (love em)
--anery br rainbow boa (oooh even better!!)
--motely boa (gorgeous!!)

LOL, I have never had a few hundred snakes, at the peak this last year with babies had just over 200. Of course I think that will change this year

But again most of those are either babies, in breeding trials or on feeding scheduls and not available to eat any time.
-----
Thanks,

Dave Colling

www.rainbows-r-us-reptiles.com

0.1 Wife (WC and still very fiesty)
0.2 kids (CBB, a big part of our selective breeding program)

LOL, to many snakes to list, last count:
26.49 BRB
20.21 BCI
And those are only the breeders

lots.lots.lots feeder mice and rats

my hypo took her first rat today it was a very small one I guess but I never leave food in the tubs overnight so if they don't want to eat right then and there than tough noogies. I put the rat about 5 inches from her after it was done twitching cuz she scares easily lol. Well she was about 3 inches away from it and shot away like she got maced. So I left food in her tub and went to go pick up my boy and when I came back she had a lump
On another note, you got mail
Bob

Stephen,
...What you are seeing is that if you set them up with right temp and humidity and not too much bothering them they are eating machines. But, if you were feeding every week instead of every other week you would probably have a few refusals. Out of 43 2007 BRBs here feeding every week this week I had two that refused frozen thawed mice and live fuzzy rats and tonight killed but did not eat live hopper mice. Most of the rest ate live fuzzy rats or frozen and thawed mice. Ten held out for and ate live hopper mice. On the other hand my one 2007 Campina Grande baby is over four months old and still has not eaten. Campina litters I had in 2005 ate pretty well. I am trying to figure this snake out. She is talking to me but I still do not understand what she is saying.
Jeff

>>okay i dont wanna brag or make it sound like my snakes are perfect eaters because the truth is far from that. but when it comes to F/T compared to P/K or even stunned and kicking, not one of my snakes has a problem taking one over another... i certinaly have my issues Jake (cornsnake) reciently refused meal three time in a row i have no clue why but i wasnt too worried. they are all on a 2 week schedual so thats a month and a half without eating. Dixie (my red tail) refused last night only because she is in shed. and Bella (typical ball) was really picky at first it took me a long time to get her to eat only to find out she wanted a live Pinky, oddly enough i had a real hard time finding that!! but once i got they she had no problem at all.
>>
>>but now... none of them care weather its P/K F/T or kicking. i buy live and allways offer P/K but they dont allways eat on schedual (like dixie last night) so instead of wasting that 6 or 7$ rat ill throw it in the freezer to try again next week and 9 out of ten times it pays off!! is that weird?
>>-----
>>-Stephen-
>>
>>0.1 soon to be wifey (hopefully)
>>1.0 rotwiler/chow (Boomer-wifey's pooch)
>>1.0 norm corn (Jake aka grumpy old terdhead)
>>0.1 col redtail boa (Dixie-my baby girl)
>>0.1 ball python (Bella- wifey's baby girl)
>>
>>hopeful for not to distant future:
>>--brazillian rainbow boas 1 female for sure
>> 2 or 3? maybe a breeding pair?
>>-- bearded dragon for the wifey my list got to big...
>>
>>more distant future hopefuls
>>1 or 2 of each maybe a breeding pair?
>>--anery boa (ooooh)
>>--jungle carpet python (love to have 1 or 2)
>>--dumeril boa (ahhhh)
>>
>>slightly more wishful thinking
>>--hypo br rainbow boa (love em)
>>--anery br rainbow boa (oooh even better!!)
>>--motely boa (gorgeous!!)

your ear very close to listenlol

Bob,
....Our snakes are always telling us something. We just have to figure out what they are trying to say. After 44 years with them I am just starting to understand a little bit of it. I have been with my wife almost as long and the effectiveness of my communication with her is slightly worse than what I have with the snakes. Did anyone check out the chat friday night with Kevin from NERD? He was talking about eye contact with snakes and how it effected their behaviour. I thought I was the only one who recognized this and I must be crazy. It must have something to do with eyes being the primary sensory organ at the point of attack and defense in predator/prey situations. I have to go watch the dog whisperer on TV. The dog seems to be feeling left out of my conversations with the snakes.
Jeff

>>your ear very close to listenlol

thats pretty good jeff only 2 out of 47... now will the other ones eat both live and thawed week to week? or is it that a snake that refuses thawed will refuse thawed all the time, like its picky.

here is why i ask. ive read alot of old posts about snakes not eating, or not eating thawed. and there is usuall a long drawn out process to "trick" your snake into eating thawed. but i never saw anything like that with mine, because all three of them will eat frozen just as fast as live.

only like i said before when i first got my ball she wouldnt eat thawed pinkys at all, and i had the hardest time finding a local pet store that sold live pinkys. but once i did find one (like 4 towns over) there where no more eating issues plus now she will eat both P/K and F/T
-----
-Stephen-

0.1 soon to be wifey (hopefully)
1.0 rotwiler/chow (Boomer-wifey's pooch)
1.0 norm corn (Jake aka grumpy old terdhead)
0.1 col redtail boa (Dixie-my baby girl)
0.1 ball python (Bella- wifey's baby girl)

hopeful for not to distant future:
--brazillian rainbow boas 1 female for sure
2 or 3? maybe a breeding pair?
-- bearded dragon for the wifey my list got to big...

more distant future hopefuls
1 or 2 of each maybe a breeding pair?
--anery boa (ooooh)
--jungle carpet python (love to have 1 or 2)
--dumeril boa (ahhhh)

slightly more wishful thinking
--hypo br rainbow boa (love em)
--anery br rainbow boa (oooh even better!!)
--motely boa (gorgeous!!)

Easiest way to convert is to feed a small live one if you have too, then a pre-killed twitching one, then a pre-killed one not twitching, then just a f/t and you are home free. I can say that only my female hypo has refused food and that is her not trying to bite a rat for the first time and I don't leave food in there dead or not, if they want to eat they need to eat now or get skipped. She is the only one that has EVER refused a meal for me (brb's not bci). She would take a mouse or two without hesitation though. I guarantee you Stephen that your snakes have a stronger feeding response with twitching rather than f/t, just instinct cuz if that rodent moves then it is really gonna get the crap squeezed out of it The only time I don't feed is if it is feeding time and the snake has already went blue and has cleared up cuz they are just gonna crap it out with their shed so I save the feeder for a few more days and feed a day or so after shed
Bob