Reptile & Amphibian Forums

i got some rats from the same breeder i bought my burmese from, and at the time the rats looked a little funny, (frozen rats by the way) they were all kinda skinny and thier coats had yellow stains, urine i'd assume? but i bought them anyways he told me to give the burm a couple a week ( they are not that big)
the first feeding he approached the rat and then kinda backed off. I was thinking the rats might be no good? but i left the rat in there overnight just to see what'd happen, and he took it overnight.
i went to feed him again 2 nights ago and the same thing happened so i left it in there, and he didn't eat it, tried again yesterday and same thing, approached the rat then as soon as it got a good smell he stopped in his tracks.
my question is this, are the rats bad?? they do seem to smell a bit funny but he did eat the one? i'm confused, i also noticed his stool after pooping the first one out was runny, i thought it was because he was in a new home, but maybe not?? i plan on getting some rats from gormet rodent tommorow ( petco sells em) and see if i have any better luck

i do not know what the burm was eating because the breeder did not produce him, he said he had gotten him from a guy who couldnt take care of him any longer, so it's possible the burm is on live rats, would that account for any of the behavior?

any help would be greatly appreciated
James
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1.0 savannah monitor "cringer"
0.1 coastal carpet python "lola"
0.1 dumeril's boa "porter"
1.0 burmese python "arnie"

If you live in Southern California I know of some great rodent breeders that raise their rodents with the reptile's health in mind. They also ship frozen and have the best prices around. Drop me a line at BrianSmithReptiles@hotmail.com if you are interested in this.

>>i got some rats from the same breeder i bought my burmese from, and at the time the rats looked a little funny, (frozen rats by the way) they were all kinda skinny and thier coats had yellow stains, urine i'd assume? but i bought them anyways he told me to give the burm a couple a week ( they are not that big)
>>the first feeding he approached the rat and then kinda backed off. I was thinking the rats might be no good? but i left the rat in there overnight just to see what'd happen, and he took it overnight.
>>i went to feed him again 2 nights ago and the same thing happened so i left it in there, and he didn't eat it, tried again yesterday and same thing, approached the rat then as soon as it got a good smell he stopped in his tracks.
>> my question is this, are the rats bad?? they do seem to smell a bit funny but he did eat the one? i'm confused, i also noticed his stool after pooping the first one out was runny, i thought it was because he was in a new home, but maybe not?? i plan on getting some rats from gormet rodent tommorow ( petco sells em) and see if i have any better luck
>>
>>i do not know what the burm was eating because the breeder did not produce him, he said he had gotten him from a guy who couldnt take care of him any longer, so it's possible the burm is on live rats, would that account for any of the behavior?
>>
>>any help would be greatly appreciated
>>James
>>-----
>>1.0 savannah monitor "cringer"
>>0.1 coastal carpet python "lola"
>>0.1 dumeril's boa "porter"
>>1.0 burmese python "arnie"
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"Half of my enemies are dead.... I have yet to meet the other half." [Ghengis Kahn]

"He was such a sweet boy, always so nice. He used to help me take out my garbage every Friday." [Jeffery Dahmer's neighbor]

"Sure,... you say that now. But what will you say when you are looking into my dark, merciless eyes." [Walter Wego]

"Charlie won because we never knew where he was. We had superior numbers, but he had stealth, patience, and sheer determination to prevail. We lost the moment we decided to engage, only it took us 10 years to lie down and die." [General Enevi Tability on the Vietnam war]

My burm used to eat several adult mice a week. I would thaw them, then warm them up and as I dangled the mouse in front of him, he struck and coiled within seconds. Then about a month and a half ago I switched to rats. I defrosted and warmed them the same way, and for some reason, he would sprint towards the rat really intersted then sniff it, and leave. So I left it in over night and he ate it. I have been doing this for the past month and a half and he never strikes at it anymore or coils it, he wont even eat it if im in the room. I dont know what caused this, probably just the scent. But as long as he eats it im happy.

I dont know if the rats are bad persay, My jumbo rats looked that way as well, but my burm will not eat a frozen one unless I warm it up for her. She was a very picky eater, she once ate a pre killed that I left in there for her and came back and it was gone never did it again, but people in here told me to warm the rat up in a plastic bag, leaving it in water, and she nails it all the time. She flys up to it and smells it and if it is not warm will leave it, and then I have to warm it more and then she nails it, its kinda of a pain but ya know what, she is eating and thats all the matters.
My Boa did the same thing use to eat all the time from tongs, then stopped I left them with her and left the room, eat them, then all of a sudden stopped, and would not eat for 8 weeks, she finally ate last night two live rat pups, so now its back to the basics with her.
Plus I was told trying to feed them to ofen or different types of foods only confuse them. Marcie, told me that, and it worked wonders with the burm, if it does not eat, give a it a week try again. But snakes are funny about eating for some reason???