Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I have a Hog Island, 8 months old. I got her on 5/18 & she last ate on 5/11. She was eating rat pups before I got her. I can't find the pup size frozen locally, but have found fuzzy rats. She has refused the 3 rat fuzzies I've offered so far (each offered on different nights, the most recent being last night). How will I know when she's ready to eat? She's still hiding all the time, with the exception of coming out 2 nights ago (being excited to finally see her out, I took her out for about 10 minutes. I know, I probably should have left her alone ).
She looks good & is strong. Her temps are around 76 on the cool side, 90-94 on the warm side. She spends all her time crammed into a small cork bark log, which was on the cool side. However, since she was pretty cool to the touch, I moved it to the warm side & she's stayed in it. There are additional hides on each side, some climbing branches & a water bowl. Substrate is newspaper.
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0.1 Hog Island Boa Isaboa
1.3.0 leos, Yoda, Geo, Tang, Ginger
1.0 Blue Tongue Skink Indigo (Indy)
0.1.1 frogs Buffy the Cricket Slayer, Butrose Butrose Froggy
1.1.4 firebelly newts Wayne Newton, Isaac Newton, Fig Newton, Juice Newton, Olivia Newton John & Helmut Newton
1.1.0 cats Gus & Mena

the food items you are offering her are too large? Are the rat fuzzies bigger than the biggest part around of her? If they are bigger than the biggest part around of her, then they are probably too big for her. How are you offering them to her...off tongs or just leaving them in the cage with her, in the cage, in a seperate container, etc.?

If you aren't doing this already, I would recommend trying to feed her in a smaller container like a secure rubbermaid with some air holes punched in it. That way, the food item will be right in her face. I would put her in the container with the food item and place the whole thing somewhere dark and quiet (like in a closet). Just leave her alone and check back in 15 to 20 minutes. This may or may not get her to feed for you. Another thing you can try is to offer her mice instead of rats. She might just be wanting something that smells different. I hope this helps. Good luck and keep us updated on how she does!

Celia

>>I have a Hog Island, 8 months old. I got her on 5/18 & she last ate on 5/11. She was eating rat pups before I got her. I can't find the pup size frozen locally, but have found fuzzy rats. She has refused the 3 rat fuzzies I've offered so far (each offered on different nights, the most recent being last night). How will I know when she's ready to eat? She's still hiding all the time, with the exception of coming out 2 nights ago (being excited to finally see her out, I took her out for about 10 minutes. I know, I probably should have left her alone ).
>> She looks good & is strong. Her temps are around 76 on the cool side, 90-94 on the warm side. She spends all her time crammed into a small cork bark log, which was on the cool side. However, since she was pretty cool to the touch, I moved it to the warm side & she's stayed in it. There are additional hides on each side, some climbing branches & a water bowl. Substrate is newspaper.
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>>0.1 Hog Island Boa Isaboa
>>1.3.0 leos, Yoda, Geo, Tang, Ginger
>>1.0 Blue Tongue Skink Indigo (Indy)
>>0.1.1 frogs Buffy the Cricket Slayer, Butrose Butrose Froggy
>>1.1.4 firebelly newts Wayne Newton, Isaac Newton, Fig Newton, Juice Newton, Olivia Newton John & Helmut Newton
>>1.1.0 cats Gus & Mena
>>
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Celia Chien

Celia Chien Photography
My Snakes

www.ExoticsByNature.com
www.BallPythonMorphs.com
www.CornsnakeMorphs.com

When I bought her, the previous owner said "she is not an aggressive feeder", that she always ate for him, but didn't go for her meals right away. He said he always left the food in the cage overnight & it would be gone in the morning. I've been doing the same thing. Placing the food directly in front of her in the evening before or right after the lights go out for the night. She is a good size snake, considering she's less than a year old. She's about 3 feet long & as big around as a fifty cent piece. The rats I'm feeding still have their eyes closed, but have developed fur. They don't look at all too large for her. The first week I got her, I tried to feed her a mouse fuzzy, but she didn't eat, so I thought maybe it's because she's used to rats (as told by the previous owner), so since then I've tried rat fuzzies.
Should I put her, her log (she's crammed in there, I wouldn't want to try to take her out) & a rat in a small container, as suggested above? Or should I just leave her alone & wait until she comes out looking for food? Should I be taking her & her log out a few times a week to get her accustomed to handling, or should I just leave her alone?
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0.1 Hog Island Boa Isaboa
1.3.0 leos, Yoda, Geo, Tang, Ginger
1.0 Blue Tongue Skink Indigo (Indy)
0.1.1 frogs Buffy the Cricket Slayer, Butrose Butrose Froggy
1.1.4 firebelly newts Wayne Newton, Isaac Newton, Fig Newton, Juice Newton, Olivia Newton John & Helmut Newton
1.1.0 cats Gus & Mena

you might want to try teasing her with the food. All she might be looking for is a little movement since you are feeding frozen/thawed. What you may want to try is getting yourself some feeding tongs and grabbing the food item either around the mid/back end or nape of the neck. Put the nose of the rat right in front of her and move it slowly and slightly from side to side. This may entice her to strike at the food item.

Also, I forgot to mention, make sure you are thawing the food item all the way through. I generally recommend to people that they use hot water from their tap and put the rat in it for about 10 to 15 minutes. Since you are only feeding fuzzy rats and they are still small, it shouldn't take them too long to defrost. So just make sure that the food item is warm when you offer it to her so that she can feel the heat coming off of it and can smell it as well.

If you want to try feeding her in a smaller container, just put her in it with only the food item. I wouldn't recommend putting the hide log in it. Rubbermaid shoebox containers work well for this. Just make sure you snap the lid on securely and that you punch some air holes in the box.

As for handling, you can handle her on a regular basis but just take her out. I would not handle her the entire day before you try to feed her and you might want to just handle her minimally or not at all until you can get her feeding regularly for you. However, after she starts feeding regularly it should be okay to handle her on a more regular basis.

Hope this helps. Let me know if there's anything else I can help with!

Celia
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Celia Chien

Celia Chien Photography
My Snakes

www.ExoticsByNature.com
www.BallPythonMorphs.com
www.CornsnakeMorphs.com

>>When I bought her, the previous owner said "she is not an aggressive feeder", that she always ate for him, but didn't go for her meals right away. He said he always left the food in the cage overnight & it would be gone in the morning. I've been doing the same thing. Placing the food directly in front of her in the evening before or right after the lights go out for the night. She is a good size snake, considering she's less than a year old. She's about 3 feet long & as big around as a fifty cent piece. The rats I'm feeding still have their eyes closed, but have developed fur. They don't look at all too large for her. The first week I got her, I tried to feed her a mouse fuzzy, but she didn't eat, so I thought maybe it's because she's used to rats (as told by the previous owner), so since then I've tried rat fuzzies.
>> Should I put her, her log (she's crammed in there, I wouldn't want to try to take her out) & a rat in a small container, as suggested above? Or should I just leave her alone & wait until she comes out looking for food? Should I be taking her & her log out a few times a week to get her accustomed to handling, or should I just leave her alone?

I wouldn't handle her til she is eating reliably. Was she eating F/T before? I would try exactly what she was taking for the previous owner. If it isn't what you want to feed you can change her over later.
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Sonya

Haven't we warned you about tampering with the structure of a chaotic system?
Mrs. Neutron

n/p
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0.1 Hog Island Boa Isaboa
1.3.0 leos, Yoda, Geo, Tang, Ginger
1.0 Blue Tongue Skink Indigo (Indy)
0.1.1 frogs Buffy the Cricket Slayer, Butrose Butrose Froggy
1.1.4 firebelly newts Wayne Newton, Isaac Newton, Fig Newton, Juice Newton, Olivia Newton John & Helmut Newton
1.1.0 cats Gus & Mena