Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I have 4 babes born in August - the two males readily take f/t rat pups - the 2 females are my problem. They will only take live mice. I've been trying to get them to take the f/t rat pups - as a result they haven't eaten anything since the end of November. I try every few days to get them to take the rat pup - but they ignore it or move away from it like they are frightened. Last night one rat pup had part of it's neck severed - I thought the smell of the blood would entice the snake - no luck; another unsuccessful feeding attempt.

What can I do to get them to take the f/t rat pup? I don't want them to be mousers; I have one adult as such and it's a royal pain since all my other adults take rats. How long can I play the game with them before they begin to starve?

Thanks for any suggestions, advice, etc.

Jim

I start my snakes on hoppers and progress to bigger mice as they grow. I haven't had any problems switching them from jumbo mice to crawler rats. Guess I've been lucky!
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Sed et serpens erat callidior cunctis animantibus terrae quae fecerat Dominus Deus...

Try to get them to take frozen thawed mice first. If that doesn't work for 6 weeks, try to get them to take live rats.

I start with live mice, then move to frozen thawed mice, then switch to frozen thawed rats. Works most of the time for me. If they snub the F/T rat after feeding F/T mice, then try a live rat. Make sure the rats are not too big. Sometimes they think that a rodent that looks too big will take too much effort and they will snub (ignore) it.

Some times a hide works to get them to take live rats, if they wont take live rats.

DON"T try ASF. I have had a NIGHTMARE switching my adults back to rats! I had a big supplier of ASF near by with great prices, and then one day he lost his job and ALL of his stock ended up starving to death. Needless to say, I didn't ever contact him again, and ALL of my snakes lost weight until I gave them ALL hides, and then they started taking live rats with about 6 months of rigorous effort. I still have 1 mouser that I don't think will ever switch back to rats.

So there is a couple of things for you to try, and I am sure there will be a handful of others that will give just as good or better advice then I. Good Luck!

If they won't take the F/T rat pup, try a live small rat pup to help them make the transition. If that doesn't work, you can allow the rat pup to crawl around on mouse bedding before offering it to the snakes. Remember not to try feeding too often. If they refuse a lot, go ahead and give them what they want and try again later.

When everything else fails...eating a mouse is better than eating nothing. I've raised a couple females to adults on jumbo mice, no big deal really. One female switched to rats after laying eggs.
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Dale....dgoins222@yahoo.com
www.LibertyReptiles.com