Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I bought this gtp from a show about a month ago. It was CBB and was told it was eating F/T pinkies. It was about a month or 2 old. I was told to just bump it in the back with the pinkie and it would strike. A week after I got it home, I tried it and sure enough, it ate like a champ. It's been 3 going on 4 weeks since that meal and it hasn't eaten since. I also don't believe it passed the pinkie it ate. I keep the enclosure at 80 degrees F and about 60-70% humidity. It just sits in a ball and moves a little bit at night. I'm worried sick! I called the seller and he told me to crank up the heat to about 85-95 degrees. Any other thoughts out there?

hey.
I would agree with the guy you bought him from. I keep mine at 84-85F and they are doing fine. I would think the 95F is way to high. unless there are room to make a big temp. difference.
Dan Binderup

Thanks!
It's my 1st GTP and I may have bitten off more than I can chew. I have 7 other snakes and after the heavy research, I figured it wouldn't be that different. Boy was I wrong!

I just bought a bigger heat pad and hopefully I can bring it at least up to 85-90F. I misted the enclosure with warm water and it shed overnight. I tried feeding again last night and it's still crawls away from the F/T fuzzy. It dosen't even try to strike at it.

you know what they say "If it ate before it will eat again"
give it a couple of days. but if it still wont eat after a few weeks try to rub the pinkie in to a chicken.
Dan Binderup

The temps were definitely on the cold side for it. It wouldn't hurt to raise the humidity a little bit, either (around 80%).

I also have a feeling that you just aren't being agressive enough with the feeding. Bumping it on the body once or twice probably just isn't enough. You really need to chase it around the enclosure, bumping it on the head and tail, for 5-10 minutes before it'll latch on. The first few times I had to do this (the advice is actually straight from Greg Maxwell's new book), I was a bit afraid of scaring the snake too much...but after 4 feedings in my care, it's still as docile as ever and the feeding response is really starting to pick up.

If all else fails, get some chick down and rub it on the food beforehand. You'll also want to make sure the food's warmer than your body (run it under hot water for a few minutes). That'll make it extra appealing!

You're probably right. I'm always afraid to stress out the snake. I actually got a response from Greg Maxwell about her. He suggested that the enclosure was too large and she was scared to death. I moved her into a small 2qt rubbermaid container. the temp is about 85F and the humidity is about 80% now. Now I'm going to chase her around the tank and see where that gets me! Thanks for the tip!

Wing