Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Nick,
. Did it eat?
Jeff

Sorry, I haven't had much time to post.

Unfortunately, no. I waited a few days to make sure I wasn't stressing him out. He did shed on Saturday. I tried a live adult mouse last night and he didn't eat it.

I put him in the shoe box size plastic container with the mouse with only enough light that I could see their shadows in the box and waited. After 45 minutes he didn't show any interest.

I'm out of ideas at this point. I have tried F/T and live pinkies, hoppers and adult mice. I also tried a rat pinkie. He appears to be healthy. I saw him drink again last night before I tried to feed him.

Any more ideas?

Nick,
. I owe you a beer. This is a perplexing situation. It seems to me that when a young BRB will not eat it is because of one of three possible reasons. Either there is something wrong with the snake or something wrong with it's environment or something wrong with what or how it is being fed. You have covered the bases trying different feeding methods and things to feed to it. You should however, keep trying every few days by offering it food. Sometimes a snake just decides to eat after it has refused for no apparent reason. I would go back and look at the environment. You wrote that you are using a moss substrate. What kind of moss is it? You might try switching to damp newspaper or papertowel substrate just in case there is something in the moss that is causing a problem. You had questions about where in the cage to measure the temprature. You might try backing off on the heating and just heat one small corner or just the last few inches at one end of the cage. This way the snake will still have access to a wam spot if it really needs it.
Jeff

>>Sorry, I haven't had much time to post.
>>
>>Unfortunately, no. I waited a few days to make sure I wasn't stressing him out. He did shed on Saturday. I tried a live adult mouse last night and he didn't eat it.
>>
>>I put him in the shoe box size plastic container with the mouse with only enough light that I could see their shadows in the box and waited. After 45 minutes he didn't show any interest.
>>
>>I'm out of ideas at this point. I have tried F/T and live pinkies, hoppers and adult mice. I also tried a rat pinkie. He appears to be healthy. I saw him drink again last night before I tried to feed him.
>>
>>Any more ideas?

Thanks Jeff,
I have a strange feeling that this snake just isn't comfortable yet and the environment has something to do with it. The breeder didn't use any type of moss, so I am going to remove it. I also noticed the last couple of times I checked on the snake that he was hiding on the cool side under the newspaper that is under the moss. I have a hide on the warm side, but not on the cool side. He may feel more comfortable if he had a place to hide on both sides (That's what I do with my ball). As far as the temps, I think I am ok, but I will double check them again. I will try the moss and second hide first and see if he adjusts. If not, then I will play with the temps. I don't want to change everything at once.

Nick

>>Thanks Jeff,
>>I have a strange feeling that this snake just isn't comfortable yet and the environment has something to do with it. The breeder didn't use any type of moss, so I am going to remove it. I also noticed the last couple of times I checked on the snake that he was hiding on the cool side under the newspaper that is under the moss. I have a hide on the warm side, but not on the cool side. He may feel more comfortable if he had a place to hide on both sides (That's what I do with my ball). As far as the temps, I think I am ok, but I will double check them again. I will try the moss and second hide first and see if he adjusts. If not, then I will play with the temps. I don't want to change everything at once.
>>
>>
>>Nick