Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I recieved a gtp from a frien about 4 months ago. THe snake seemed to be a little on the thin side when i recieved him. now 4 months have passed and the snake has eaten a total of about 5 times. i cant seem to get this guy to eat. i have tried feeding in the dark, but he just seems to stalk the mouse but continues to do nothing.the cage stays about 85 on one end to about 75 on the other end and at night drobs to about 75 inside the whole enclosure. i have a habba mist system on the enclosure that sprays every 12 hrs so the humididty stays high. any suggestions on how to get this guy eating more regularly would be appreciated. thanks

steve

I guess if I were in your shoes I would have a couple of options (wait I am in your shoes). Try feeding some off things, like a hamster, or go to petco and buy the cheapest small bird (whatever that would be, parakeet?). Then try small lizards, and maybe even a wild mouse. I know many people say thats no good, but maybe catch a wild mouse and put it in the same cage as the domestic mouse, to make it smell like the wild one (I hear pythons have an affinity for wild mice). Its pretty easy to catch one, put out those harmless compartment traps with some cheese in it. I was able to catch 3. You can also get the domestic mouse, and knock it really hard, til death comes. But you have to make sure its dead, so you can leave it in the cage overnight. The next step is to go to the vet. Snake could have an internal disease, you would never know. If you go to the vet, have some feces though. Right now one of my adult carpets is like yours- she eats every now and then, but mostly no dice. If she starts to lose bodyweight, Im headed to the vet. They treat you like a dog but your only human!
My GTP never gives me problems though... but good luck and have a ball.
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Regards feeding neonates there is a few simple ways of getting them feeding, Firstly making sure the prey is warm before being offered and by saying warm i mean by ethier placing the head of the pinky in very hot water or placing the head against a light bulb, secondly im not sure but i got the opinion that your placing the prey in the enclouser rather then othering it directley to the snake,When you have it heated up place the pinky in front of the snake if u dont get a response gentely anoy the snake by touching the prey against its tail and sides as to wind it up and it should with any luck bite out usually they will then coil around it if not keep trying but keep warming its head when it cools down

All the information regarding the care and feeding of GTPs you will find on greg maxwells website i suggest you take a look its full of detailed imformation and all you will need to know will be there! follow this link www.finegtps.com

Good luck
stu74

how large /old is this snake, hard to answer without that info, older snakes sometimes wont eat but once in a couple of few weeks, so in a short 4 months 5 times aint terrible, they are totally opportunistic feeders, to often can be as bad as well, the average is every 10-14 days, they wont hit if its not good cage condition, it sounds like your temps good, humiditys ok, i would get it a bit higher at night, get a cheap humidifier from your drugstore, put a timer on it. do you have cross vents in the cage or is it an aquarium(bad), all of these things should be looked at, tummy piching works sometimes, tail poking(the snake) try not to touch the snakes face as it can scare it, just keep it a few inches in front of its face, annoying the snake enough almost always does the trick, i have some little neonates that are a project to feed, go to http://www.bigappleherp.com get a pinky pusher in the husbandry section if forcing the food is a must,d

thanks for the info. on wednsday i tried feeding him a freshly killed black mouse. i used the methond of tapping him in the tail to envoke a stirke and it worked!! he ate. he is about 3 years old as i was told by the previous owner. One more question though. will he ever be as opportunistic as lets say my macklotts pythons or my spotted pythons or do i have to always tease him to get him to eat? again thanks for all the info!

steve

Sorry i had assumed it was a neonate,Its quite common for males to fast for up to months on end unless the snake is under wieght or is isnt showing any since of possibale illness and the the temps and humidty are right i wouldnt be to concerned,i would just keep offering food once every 14 days or so,Never be tempted to change from dead to live if ate dead it will eat again!!

stu74

yea the age says alot, i dont feel its a prob, its a spookable snake, new environments can cause issue, he ate, good start, worse case enticement,could be worse,d

get an Anole lizard. It worked for me big time.