Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi everyone,
We have a clutch of IJ's that are doing well except for three. They will not start eating. The three are now 63 days out of the egg and still nothing. mice/ rat/soft fur, live or F/D still nothing. They look good still, am I going to have to lizard scent? Any suggestions are greatly welcome. We are new at Carpet pythons, in the early learning curve.
Thank you ahead of time.
Amanda

I would recommend that you keep them separately if you haven't already, in small shoebox sized cages with little space. Too much space can make babies insecure and not feed. Also, I fill my cages with toilet paper tubes for trouble feeders. Then I offer PK items inside one of the tubes overnight. If they don't eat, I just pick up the tube, rodent and all, and throw it away. In my experience, they nearly always come around and especially with IJs, they can be quite shy. Just keep them calm and very quiet, offering meals perhaps only 1-2 times weekly...too high of a frequency of offering can keep them in a defensive mode instead of a feeeding mode. You can also try braining your pinkies but I haven't had to do so with any of the carpets we've ever hatched. Usually the tricks you are trying work for me.
If they begin losing too much weight, you can slip a piece of rat tail down them quite easily and sometimes that'll kickstart their digestive systems and perhaps their hunger will spring into action.
SPITFIRE REPTILES

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Hi
We are housing them separately in smaller container. I am not trying any more often then once a week, and they are in a quiet corner. I'll try the tp roll trick, maybe that will help. Our dog Tiki loves tp rolls so I will have to deprive her a few. I would be more concerned if they had drop weight by now. They came out of the egg fat and happy. I will keep at it.
Thank you for your tips.
Amanda