Reptile & Amphibian Forums

An employee at the pet shop where my husband works tried feeding two 2.5' burms together in the same cage. One snake finished eating before the other and it struck the still-eating burm. Ever since then, the bitten burm will not eat. He curls up in a ball when a prekilled rat is put in front of him. Has he been traumatized?

My husband took the snake home with him last night to try and get him to eat without being stressed out. Is there anything we can try to make the process go smoothly?

First, please tell the pet store employees to never feed two snakes together. They can easily attach themselves to opposite ends of the same prey and one can continue to eat the other one. It happens. The Burmese may have been traumatized by the bite while he was eating but it could be anything else as well. Pet stores aren't known for providing the best conditions and forgive me if this is your pet store or if this one is better than average, but housing two snakes in one enclosure itself can be stressful for the snakes. While bringing the snake home shows effrt, you are only setting yourselves up for disappointment to expect him to eat right away. Moving a snake may induce stress. The best way is to leave the Burmese in a cage by himself for several days. Do not handle him or move him. Make sure his temperatures and humidity are appropriate and he has plenty of fresh clean water. Let him have a couple of hides for security. After a week introduce the same type prey he had been eating. If he's in his hide, jiggle it at the doorway. Make sure the prey has been warmed (if it was thawed). If he doesn't take it right away (and it is dead prey) leave it in overnight. If he doesn't eat, leave everything the same as described above and try again in two weeks. That should be enough if he is healthy and nothing else is wrong.
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Marcia Pimentel
Tango River Reptiles (Off-line Temporarily)
GiantFeeders

This pet shop is managed by a complete moron who doesn't even like snakes (he's actually scared of them!) and he will not make the neccessary habitat changes to ensure the reptiles are healthy and stress-free. My husband has repeatedly told him that housing the snakes together is stressful for them and to never feed them in the same tank, however, the advice goes in one ear and out the other with the manager and the other employees follow his lead.

With that said, we weren't expecting the snake to eat right away and we've got a wonderful cage set-up for him to stay in as long as he needs and can return to the store. Thanks for validating my fears that this eating incident has caused him to associate eating rats with being bit. I'll be patient