Reptile & Amphibian Forums

how many people have successfully got a non-eater or a picky eater to start feeding regularly on F/T Rats??

I have a 1999 25% chance het albino girl that had been a picky mouse eater and was still not quite breeding size last summer. All of the sudden she started hammering rats so I figured she was trying to get to breeding size (biological clock you know). Put her with the male even though not in season and I got a clutch of 7 eggs in September and hatchlings right before Christmas.

This year I have a similar story with a stocky 2001 25% chance het pied female. Didn't think she was going to be big enough to breed this year but then she started eating two or three adult mice every week after only eating sporadically for years. She didn't manage the switch to rats but is a butterball at only 1,240 grams owing to not being a very long snake. I put her in with a male this weekend and she was locked up the next morning.

Perhaps you where talking about younger snakes but my experience is that some near breeding size females have this breeding imperative apatite surge when you least expect it. Wish they would all do it on my schedule though.

we had an adult male that did not eat for several months when we first got him. Not sure what turned him around but now he eats large f/t rats regularly.

EP
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Occupants not paying rent:
7 balls
2.2 corns(candy cane, creamsicle, ghost, normal)
1 pueblan milk
1 everglades rat
1 cal. king
1 gray band king
1 w. hognose
1 bearded dragon
2 fish
1 rat
1 mouse
5 cats