Reptile & Amphibian Forums

ok big breeders--- you're up.

How long do you wait before you attempt to force feed? We have a very small BP -- late 07' I believe. We've had her since the end of feb. We let her settle for 2 weeks, offered food- no luck, got diff. food 5 days later- still nothing.

She acts afraid of it. When she gets near it, then touches it-- she recoils and hides her head.... *oooh scary pinky*

She has struck a few times recently- i've been hand/tweezer feeding her... attempting to feed her anyway...

She has eaten before, because she's pooped--- twice. Once the day we got her and again a few days ago...

how long is too long for a baby to not eat is what i'm gearing for....

I know "if shes not skinny" then don't worry...or "check your temps" they're perfect- so is my humidity. She has fresh water. Shes on paper towels. She has hides, she even has TP rolls with the end covered- uses those a lot...

just don't know how long to let her go with no food.... She is actively cruising the cage as well.

Beth
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The rescue site: www.freewebs.com/okreptilerescue

I'm in this same situation with a baby I hatched right at the start of the new year. All of her clutchmates started eating, but of course my favorite would have to be the one that won't eat...

I am in no way a big breeder, but by last week she was skinny enough to worry me, so I assist fed (not force fed) her.

I am going to try switching her bedding and finding a different kind of hide for her - maybe she doesn't like papertowel? Same exact set up you've got, *should* be perfect, but for some reason that little snake thinks it isn't.

The assist feed was pretty easy - took me a couple tries to get the mouse fuzzy in the mouth and for her to not spit it out right away, but she started swallowing it in less than five minutes.

This baby has passed only one poop, the one I'm assuming was from her yolk being digested.

That's my situation. I've taken to leaving my baby alone and offering food once a week - if she ever takes it, I'll go up to every 5 days.
Good luck!

~jenny
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"We call them dumb animals, and so they are, for they cannot tell us how they feel, but they do not suffer less because they have no words."
- Anna Sewell (1820-1878)

I'm not sure if you are trying pink mice or rats, but neither of them is the best choice for a stubborn feeder. Try a SMALL hopper mouse. Make sure the mouse is not hungry, leave mouse food and water in the cage so the mouse doesn't try to eat from the snake.

How much does the snake weigh?

You never I mean never !! Leave a rodent larger than a pinky or small fuzzy in with a reptile unattended !,not even if you give them food and water . Here are some pic.s of a snake brought in to my Rescue 4 weekends ago by some one that thought it was ok to do just that!!!! And I think you will find that this is what any experienced keeper will tell you . Thanks David of DS Reptile Rescue , Removal & Rehabilitation

N/P

N/P

David, although I agree with you on this to a point, that pic is of snake that was most likely left with a mouse/rat for an extended period unattended. That's negligence on the keepers part, not the fault of the rodent. I've got a near eight foot BCI that has only ever taken live rats it's entire life,about five years, and now they're in the 300 to 400 gram range. He's been bitten once because he wrapped to low. I never leave a live rodent with a snake more than twenty minutes. If it's not dead and half way down by then it goes back till next time. Mind you I have a small collection, so this is a simple thing for me to do.

Whenever you can switch a snake to F/T or P/K it's certainly preferable to feeding live, but the horror stories are simply negilence on the keepers part. JMHO.

Quig

All I can go by is what the owner told me and she said she left the weaned rat with food and water and had been doing this for about 4-6 months without any trouble until this time ,and she was only gone from the room for about 2and a half hours . All she could keep saying was it has never happened before . Like I told here if there is the potential for it to happen then why take the chance . I have seen a snake killed in less than five min. by a mouse at a friends house , he put the mouse in and he went to get a glass of tea and he came back to a snake with half a head . He couldn’t be leave his eyes . David

I'm going to agree with Mike - forget the pinkie - go for a hopper/small adult or even a rat pup (depending on her size) - if she is afraid of it kill it an leave it in the tub outside her hide overnight. I've found that babies usually prefer a bigger meal than pinkies of fuzzies.

Also with f/t or p/k - you can control the movement of the feeder - just enough for them to key in on but not enough to intimidate them.

Good luck.
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Tosha
JET Pythons

I only feed rats-- its all i can get cheap. I pay 1$ for rats from 1 day pink up to xl --- 2$ for huge-o retired breeder rats...

I will try a rat hopper-- and see if she'll take it.

Thanks
Beth
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The rescue site: www.freewebs.com/okreptilerescue

Quite a few ball hatchlings are not all that crazy about pinkies. They show a definite preference for food items with hair.
Grant