Reptile & Amphibian Forums

(although since i recently aquired them fro mthe wild, they problly all have a decent load, which i must get checked soon anyways)

but i believe I finially got them to feed..
by

1. giving them pre-killed mice as opposed to live

2. placing the food in/near the hide box..

When i left the room for a while, the food mysteriously (not really) dissapeard..
so they are definatley eating, but its very strange to me.. that
they will only eat when its "Safe" Do you think this is because they
are wild caught, and nervous? Will this ever change, and one day will
their feeding responses be different?

the reason i ask is because i have a captive-born northern copperhead
who will eat live or dead, as soon as i drop it in the cage..

I am hoping that one day the wild caught ones will be more trusting
as well, but does anyone with more experience have any thoughts on this?

thanks
AK

Yeah, that's pretty common. Many snakes will not eat if you are standing around watching. If you think about it, it makes perfect sense. No matter what your intentions are, the snake sees you as a potential predator. He knows that if he has a mouth full of food he can't bite you if you attack him and if he has a belly full of food he can't flee as quickly if that is the appropriate response. So, he's going to wait until the "coast is clear" to eat. I've seen many, many people make the mistake of "checking in" on a new acquisition every couple of hours to see if it ate yet. That just keeps delaying the snake's feeling comfortable enough to eat.

The best thing to do with a new captive is to set it up in a cage with adequate hiding options, proper temps, water, etc. and put it in an area that has no human traffic. Then LEAVE HIM ALONE for 3 or 4 days. At that point you can place food in the cage as quietly and unobtrusively as possible and get out. If he's hungry, he'll eat. If not, give him a couple more days and try again. Avoid handling him or disturbing him any more than is absolutely necessary.

Usually, after a period of time, they settle down and will perceive you as less and less of a threat until they get to a point where they will readily accept food.

For more information on the parasite issue and whether to treat, look in the KS.com Indigo Forum. There is a new thread in there covering that subject.

Not at all unusual.
That was an easy fix. A wild caught pictigaster that I've had 9 years refuses all food except hamsters (normals - it will not take those russian dwarf jobs). No it's not just stubborn - it refused food for 8 months at one point until it was once again offered a hamster. And it won't go for "scenting" either. Expensive to feed - fortunatly they have a fairly slow metabolism and don't eat a whole lot.