Reptile & Amphibian Forums

hey,
i just got my first rattler (a sub-adult pygmy) last week. despite 3 seperate attempts, he won't eat. some suggestions i've gotten are that it is an acclimation period and may take a while (i've heard of this, but have never had a problem with my other snakes), he may need to be placed in a smaller enclosure (he's in a 10g with a hidespot.), or he may be going into hibertnation (was told that if he does not eat for another month to put his enclosure in a dark room of not more than 50 degrees).
he's a fascinating snake and i'd hate to lose him because of my own ignorance about feeding habits. so, can anyone support the above suggestions or add new ones?

(note: the place where i bought him said they were feeding live 'crawler mice' once per week on a monday. i got him on the 20th, which means he last ate on the 17th. i've tried feeding both 'crawler mice' (which i assume to be about the same as a fuzzy) and pinkies.)

It sounds like your on the right track. First I would consider his enclosure. Make sure the snake has at least one hide spot if not more. The more secure it feels the better chance it will feed. Also be aware of cage temps. If it gets too cool he might shift into burmation mode and stop eating till spring. If you feel he doesn't have enough body weight to cool him off for a couple months you can try lowering his temps for a couple weeks and then rasing them back up to simulate a short burmation period.
Another thing I would try is making sure the mice you feed have hair. I've had many young crotes that refuse pinks but will not hesitate to eat something a little bigger with some fuzz. Sometimes they prefer darker fuzzies that resemble mare natural prey items but they might be harder to obtain.
I wouldn't worry too much if the snake looks like it has good body weight. Hopefully whomever you got it from was being honest about the snake feeding already.
I'm not sure if your feeding frozen-thawed or live but try both. Live mice will probably be slightly easier to get him started on but it's nice to be able to switch them over to F/T at some point.
Good luck and Happy Thanksgiving!