Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I got this juv dumerils a week ago and have not gotten him to eat. He was eating at the store (so I was told). He is currently being kept at proper temps and humidity. Has anyone out there have any tips on how to get these guys started? Also I have been pronoucing the name dumerils as (dumb-erils) I have recently been told its pronounced like doom-erils. Which is correct?

Leave the F/T in over night. Dums are notorious for not striking and constricting, yet when you leave the F/T rat or mouse in (on the cool side) over night, 9 times out of 10 its gone in the morning. I've even had some that were still there at 10am the next morning, but then gone when I checked back at lunch time!! Ha ha, pretty crazy for a nocturnal animal!
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Dumerils can be finicky eaters as juveniles but seem to grow out of it. What kind of substrate are you using? With my pair, I got more regular feeding after I placed them on aspen shavings which they can burrow under and hide. A good snug hide comes in as a close second. They like to feel secure and hidden. Of all my boas and pythons, the pair of dumerils I have are the least likely ones to be seen in the open - they are typically under their substrate or in their hides. Leaving f/t prey in the cage overnight is a good trick as well as it is usually gone by morning. It's best to leave the prey item in the cage and then leave them alone, preferably in the dark...even now at four years old my pair won't eat if watched. If you use a hide box instead of aspen shavings, place the rodent in front of their hide (providing they're in it) or near their heads if you use aspen (be sure to use tongs or hemastats as many will strike the prey when it comes near their heads). As for pronunciation, it is Doom-er-ells.

Good luck with your new addition, they're great snakes.
Raven

With mine I have lone tweezers and hold the dead mouse by the tail and jiggle it inside the cage. Move it towards and then away from your snake and it won't be long for a strike to occur. Mine is about 16 months and she comes up from where she is hiding within seconds of when I start jiggling the mouse. Also remember to heat the mouse up to body temp.

I'm having the same problem, although I'm not concerned just yet because the snake is question is fine in all other respects. However I have tried both those tricks without success. I've actually tried the overnight bit twice. She did move the mouse I gave her last night from where I originally deposited it. I've had her for a couple of weeks and I did originally get her to strike and constrict a FT rat pup doing the dancing rodent trick but when I got up the next morning she had not swallowed it. I thought maybe she was confused because it was a rat and not a mouse and perhaps because she apparently had only recently been switched to PK even though she is about 6 months old. This is not my doing, before you all decide to lynch me.
Anyway she is at proper temps etc. I haven't handled her much at all, in fact I haven't picked her up in over a week. I live alone so there is no "traffic" near her cage. She has two very snug hides and I decorated her cage with fake leaf vines so she can hide under the leaves everywhere in the cage. I often see her sitting with just her head sticking out of the leaves. Any other tricks I could try?
Thanks for feedback
On pronunciation (I used to tutor) think way back to elementary school and that stuff about vowels making other vowels say thier names as in Dumeril's the e makes the u make a long sound where as two m's would cause the pronunciation to be "dumberils"