Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I posted earlier about transitioning rats and I tried getting my jcp started on rat pups, but when I bought a few last week she wouldn't eat them. I tried putting them in a seperate container in the dark for a while and nothing. I haven't tried scenting the rats yet, but I will try. Does anyone have any other suggestions, or should I just keep trying until I get her to eat them? If she just won't eat them will she eventually get hungry and have no choice but to eat them? That's it, time to starve this [bleep] out! Does anyone know the proper way to put a jcp in a choke hold?

My snakes don't eat. It drives me f'ing crazy. I have my few that eat like pigs every time, but for the 4-5 that eat every 10th time I try I hate it. I waste so much time trying to piss around wiggling the rat or other stupid things I found sometimes work. Can you "starve" them until they eat? My most common thing said while feeding is "All right thats it all you MF are sold tomorrow". And I almost mean it, at this rate they will be full grown in 10 years. Any help would be nice I guess. What do you guys with a ton of snakes do?? do you just drop it in come back in an hour and if they didn't eat just say oh well?

I feel your pain. I have a Florida King that will not refuse anything. I have chopped up quail, and he will eat the bloody mess. My male IJ will not touch a rat, I have tricked him, and he will bite and realized I was messing with him and let up. I have twice gotten him to constrict and kill the rat and then will not eat it, all this over 3 year time frame. He will eat mice, chicks or quail no prob. Then my female IJ is the frustration. I got her in Daytona last year, and I think she is exactly the same size as when I got her. I got her to eat 2 rat pups in a feeding two weeks in a row. Then she won't eat for 2 months, then she might eat 3 pups in a feeding and not eat again for 2 months. She pisses me off. I think she will be an adult in about 10 years. WOuld love to see your adult carpets in 10! lol I have tried every trick in the book, on the messege board, made up sh!t, you name it. I love IJs but they drive me crazy when it is feeding time. Glad I have a shaved head or I would have pulled my hair out by now.

Matt

I feel your pain, Its not my Carpet that refuses, my BP's do it to me all the time.( No suprise)I not only spend tons of time on trying to get them to eat, but also a Sh*t load of money as well. I feed them F/K rats, so when they dont eat, in the trash they go...My male went 1 1/2 years w/o eating, and it never fazed him health wise, he's a beast now.

'

You guys are making my day! I am a middle aged mother with a modest collection of 14 snakes. When one won't eat I go crazy! The 5.5 months of non-feeding by my hognose this winter was horrible. So, here comes the confession: My 5.5 ft JCP will not consider consuming a rat- she almost ate a scented one once but discovered that it was not a mouse, so rather than fight it , I buy jumbo frozen mice and feed her 4 at a time. The smaller IJCP has always been a slightly picky eater, so I have stuck with mice because I know he will eat them. I suppose that I could take tranquilizers and try to starve them into taking rats or just continue to feed a pile of mice! I always thought that it was a "mom" thing that I can't tolerate a missed snake meal--I see it is not!

You guys are making my day! I am a middle aged mother with a modest collection of 14 snakes. When one won't eat I go crazy! The 5.5 months of non-feeding by my hognose this winter was horrible. So, here comes the confession: My 5.5 ft JCP will not consider consuming a rat- she almost ate a scented one once but discovered that it was not a mouse, so rather than fight it , I buy jumbo frozen mice and feed her 4 at a time. The smaller IJCP has always been a slightly picky eater, so I have stuck with mice because I know he will eat them. I suppose that I could take tranquilizers and try to starve them into taking rats or just continue to feed a pile of mice! I always thought that it was a "mom" thing that I can't tolerate a missed snake meal--I see it is not!

So I guess just try scenting the rats until it eats or I get too frustrated and give in to feeding her only mice? Is there any big advantage to feeding it rats other than the fact that they are cheaper than mice when my JCP gets full grown?

I've found that a small dosage of metrodiazonole(Don't know if the spelling is right) works... It's commonly sold to treat fish, Product name of Hex-a-mit.. or for Canines it called Flagyl (Prescription only)..
It's commonly used as a dewormer, but I've found putting small doses in the water, or injected into the prey, sparks their feeding response dramatically, ...
Of course you don't want to keep treating the water, maybe once or twice is good
I have one female that has gone from 150 grams (July 2001) to over 2100 grams to date,
COri
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Best Regards,
Cori
www.snakeroom.net

Have you considered the possibility that your snake had some sort of worms? That might explain the improvement in its health and feeding after you gave it the Flagyl. Either way, I don't think I'd make a blanket recommendation for Flagyl to everyone who had feeding problems with their snakes.

Jake

You're right,I probably shouldn't speak of that much.. It can do harm if not done right... I read somewhere that a breeder treated once a year with flagyl, I by no means use it to enhance feeding... but, I've had some problem feeders (fecal is clean) and a bit of metrodiazonole has worked well to get him going again.. usually I wait 4 weeks,
I do wonder if metro.. is used improperly to dramtically raise feeding levels, everything I've read about it has always spoken of appetite levels, ...
Cori
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Best Regards,
Cori
www.snakeroom.net

How much (many drops) of that medication to you place in the water dish. I have a good size (10 inch diameter) water bowl. I am thinking of trying it with my female IJ. I got her Daytona, and ws told she was CB, but I am really thinking the contrary. THe people I bought from will not respond to my emails when I ask them about it. And I know IJs are commonly imported from New Guinea. Maybe she does have some sort of parasite. Does this medication create an appetite or harm the parasites?

Matt

25 to 50 milligrams per KG of snake... I would go with the lower doesage.. Hex-A-Mit Product seems to be the easiest way to treat them, it is water soulable, and each capsule is measured in milligrams, so you know how much to dilute your soulition,
Let me know how it works for you,
shoot me an email if you have any questions..
Cori
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Best Regards,
Cori
www.snakeroom.net

Here's what I did.

I recently got a small yearling female JCP that had been fed only mice. The breeder offered a f/t rat pinkie before I bought her but she wasn't interested.

Anyway, I got her and she looks great but she's a nasty little sh*t. Bites like crazy.

I resolved that the next meal she'd eat would be a f/t rat pinkie. Or she'd eat nothing. I was not going to appease her by giving in and offering mice. Period. She eats the rat or she doesn't at all.

If she didn't eat them I'd wait a week then try again. And again. And again week after week until she ate the rat.

I waited a week, then placed two f/t rat pinkies (that I had defrosted in the same water as some mice) in her cage at dark, intending to leave them in there overnight.

The next morning they were both gone.

I'll do the same a few more times before I start offering rat pinkies to her on forceps.

Perhaps you could try it that way. Let her get hungry then leave one or two f/t rats in her cage overnight.

Bill