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I had to cave in and buy three fuzzy mice to get her to do so.

I "brained" one of the mice... not with a syringe or a sharp tooth pick as had been suggested but with a large, dull, tablespoon... because sometimes, even with the small matters... you just have to make a big statement. I then scented a rat pinkie for stuarti #1. He has taken pinkie rats before but not consistently... he had the mouse scented rat pinkie in a death grip while he was still in my hand.

The fuzzy mouse was given to stuarti #4... reviewing my records showed that yesterday was two months since she last ate... the fuzzy mouse is now a pleasing little bump in her belly just barely visible where wrist meets hand... next I'll be feeding both #1 and #4 get scented pinkie rats. Older photos also showed that #4 sat comfortably in the palm of my hand when I first got her... as did all the others... despite my worries, two months without eating at this early point in life doesn't seem to have effected her much.

And of course...

Why this is given the common name of Calico Pennant is beyond me... Valentine Pennant would be a more appropriate name.

Gerry

Let me ask....

Why is it so important, for YOU, that these snakes eat rat pinkies?

" Caving in ", the term you used to demonstrate feeding what THE SNAKE wanted, is being used with a negative connotation. Why?
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Genesis 1:1

It is important to me because I have plenty of rat pinkies for the 5 stuarti... no mouse pinkies or fuzzies. I do not wish to buy mice at this point in time because one single snake steadfastly refuses rats.

Let me ask this... if I scent a few rats and #4 comes around and starts taking unscented ones on a regular basis where's the harm... other than the fact that in this matter I have made it all about me and not the snake?

And yes I caved in and did so gladly because I want that little girl to eat. Not eating doesn't seem to have effected her when I compare her to the others but it would only be a matter of time... so I made it about the snake and not me.

Gerry

If she ends up eating the rat pinkies in the long run, then that is great!

What I find strange is that you said, when you checked your records, and realized she had not eaten in 2 months, was that because YOU didn't give her mice for 2 months, knowing she would eat mice, but only trying to get her to eat rat pinks, while remaining adamant in trying to get her to eat something she at first was not wanting to eat, for 2 months?

If I am not reading that right, please forgive me, but if I am, that is really disturbing.
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Genesis 1:1

I don't think anything can be said that would leave you less disturbed concerning events but...

Was I holding out on offering her mice again in hopes she'd start taking the rats on her own... yes. Did I do it with the attitude "you will eat rats or nothing"... no.

You know as well as I do that 2 months isn't really that long a time period for a snake to go without eating... if this were spring time and I had said it's been eight weeks since she ate due to having been in brumation and the preparation period needed to purge waste material before brumation... would you have been concerned at all?

I understand your concerns and why you might be disturbed. If I were in your place I might think the very same thing when reading something like this... all I can say is I'm here with her, seeing firsthand how she's doing... go back and look at the photo of her I posted... does it look as if she's starving, suffering any ill effects? Despite the two months of not eating she is still larger than two others that have been constant feeders... she's alert and active... feistier in fact than all the others... which is no small task given #5 seemed possessed when he first arrived here.

Despite what you may think from these posts I assure you I take better care of them than I do myself.

Gerry

Good feedback my friend!!
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Genesis 1:1

Nicely done gentlemen. It's nice to see a debate end in a civil manner on here. Very adult and mature.

Joe

that's because this is the milksnake forum, not king snake.

So very correct you are Brian. Actually did not even notice that when I posted as I go to several forums on here. My bad.

Joe