Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I just picked this guy up from a breeder as an adoption. He's had him for a while but the burm has trouble feeding. The cause of this is that the breeder (Jason Baylin) got him also as an adoption from someone else, and that owner would go for even ten months without caring or feeding for the poor guy. Now he goes about 5 weeks without eating and Jason just6 didnt have the time to work with him anymore. He's about 6 years old and 9 1/2' which is way too small. A lot of times he will wrap the prey up either a rabbit or rat and just leave him in the cage. I was also told he doesnt go for rats much anymore but the rabbits work. I'm going to let him settle in for a few days then begin working with him, any adive is greatly appreciated. Plus, no I'm not making the mistake of housing the 2 burms together, the new guy was much bigger than expected.

While obviously the original owner was neglecting the snake, it isn't unusual for some snakes not to feed as heavily as others. As long as the snake has good muscle tone, I wouldn't worry too much about him only wanting food every 4-5 weeks. Often we keepers feed them much more heavily than they really need, and sometimes more so than what is good for them. While I agree he is lean, he doesn't look terribly thin in the picture you posted - though I do agree he could use a bit more weight. A proper environment and some TLC should help turn things around. FWIW, my female albino is almost two years old and only about 5 feet long. It took over a year to get her switched to rats and she would never eat more than 2-3 mice per feeding regardless of how many I offered. She's been feeding on small rats for a couple of months now, usually one every two weeks, but will only eat one (roughly the equivilent of 2-3 mice) per feeding. She usually won't even strike at the second one I offer, or if she does strike & coil, she doesn't eat it. She's growing and healthy, but she eats on her own schedule.

Raven

I replied to your other thread about this. You should quarantine the new snake, not introduce it with your other male. This is doubley important now that its apparent he wasnt taken care of. He could have parasites or RI or any manner of things. Again, keep him separate from your established animals until he starts eating and shows that he isnt a danger to the rest of your collection.

>>I replied to your other thread about this. You should quarantine the new snake, not introduce it with your other male. This is doubley important now that its apparent he wasnt taken care of. He could have parasites or RI or any manner of things. Again, keep him separate from your established animals until he starts eating and shows that he isnt a danger to the rest of your collection.