Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I've had a w/c mojave green in my possesion for six or seven weeks now. I can't get it to eat anything. I've tried lizards, live mice, dead mice, and even splitbraining but there seems to be little interest. Anyone got any ideas? anything would be great. I've looked for caresheets and such on the internet but not much is available for this species. Any links to a good website would be greatly appreciated. Thanks

Try emailing Brad's World Reptiles. They have a mojave venomiod, maybe they can help.

I have had several w/c crots that were a bit slugish to start to feed, with both mojaves and spec's I've found that if they will not try mice, give a rat pup a try, or even a rabbit pinky if you can get them, and as another last resort that also works well with chondros or crots that feed on nesting quail try diping a dead rodent in chicken broth to get a bird like smell. Good luck.

hi,

that's an awfully short amount of time to start worrying about anorexia, assuming it's a recent acquisition. hey, you have a wc snake, they do that sometimes. sometimes they're not great feeders for a couple of years (and some eat anything from the get-go...). you could keep trying various items - rat pups, wc mice, dwarf hammies, lizard-scenting, whatever - every week or so through fall, and if no luck, then brumate the snake. it might well eat in the spring. just make sure the snake's comfortable and don't bug it too much.

whatever you do, don't freak out and try to force the issue too soon, especially considering the taxon, and repercussions from a slip-up on your part. odds are, it's a frightfully hot snake.

might interest you - i just enjoyed some success with a wc 24" or so molossus, collected 10/03. (molossus in my experience are usually a pain in the ass to get started). she refused all efforts until recently. i did hibernate her from 12/03-03/04. she took a couple of fuzzy mice on her own last week, and then an adult mouse this week. note - i did tube-feed her a couple of small fuzzies in may and june - she came thin last october, and lost some weight since then (but surprisingly little). anyway, i guess maybe she prefers to eat on her own, rather than take the handling. quite a little tigress. anyway, give it time before you touch the snake, you have plenty.

best of luck,
jimi

Thanks alot for all the feedback. This is my first post on Kingsake and I can't believe how helpful everybody is. I's great to see there are people out there that share the passion for this hobby and are willing to take the time to help others out. I really appreciate it, and thank you all again for your help.

thought I might add a couple things. You didn't mention a size or age. Young scutes feed primarily on lizards and gradually switch torodents as they grow, but I have seen many large adults that still relish lizards, especially the larger species like spinies and leopard lizards or desert iggy's which are easy to find as roadkills. Once they eat SOMETHING you have broken the ice and it's just a matter of time till they switch to something easier for you to obtain. Also try some roadkill wild rodents. I take care to pick them up with an inside out baggie (like dog poop) and freeze for a week to avoid Hantiviris. Good luck!

Rich

the first time I read your post.

That I picked up in whitewater the other night, which is a big step. But now you have me curious about the hantivirus... care to explain? Thanks for the feedback, though. I have not tried any larger lizards, and may try this if I can't get him on lab mice.

hi,

congrats on the successful food input. since you have a snake that eats rodents of some form or other i wouldn't mess with lizards. too much hassle. you should be able to switch him to lab rodents of some type (if not mice, then dwarf hamsters, gerbils, rats, something of the right size) within 0-3 feedings or so. like a previous respondent said, you've broken the ice with a voluntary feeding, that's usually the light at the end of the tunnel. maybe you could clip hair off a roadkill for a couple of tries at scent-transfer. try both pre-killed and live, sometimes snakes are shy of live animals, sometimes it gets them hot for the kill, who can tell what temperament yours has (yet, anyway). oh, if you do big meals, you could feed the snake every 3 weeks or so, no problem. i think most people overfeed their vipers, maybe you can avoid that.

uh, hantavirus is a nasty bug carried by deer mice (Peromyscus), and maybe some other genera. don't think many (if any) other taxa carry it; i'm pretty sure Mus does not. it's an airborne-transmitted thing that's pretty scary. first now-recognized cases were in the '50s i think, but it was not recognized for what it was until the early '90s or so. occurs in about every state but most prevalent in 4 corners region - hence old name navajo flu. it moves into your lungs in "dustified" urine & feces, or so the thinking goes. the fatality rate exceeds 50% (definitely not just babies and old folks), and there's no treatment other than basic supportive care (keep you hydrated, sublethal body temp, etc). so anyway, think about that when you're flipping trash and boards for herps and see all the mouse pellets and smell pee; don't breathe deep!

you can buy hantavirus-free breeder Peromyscus but they're not cheap, i hear. but you shouldn't need that.

cheers,
jimi

p.s. careful with that snake, i can tell you're a newbie, and that's not really a starter animal i'd say (way too high-consequence, do some reading)...but there's no experience like actual experience. good luck.

Hey thanks alot for the feedback. You really seem to know what's going on. I know it sounds funny but I've had sixteen years of experience handling hots in the field, but have just recently had the ability to retain captive specimens (mom, landlord, girlfriends, etc.) And I just like talking on the website, too. It gives me more input as well as something to do when I get off work at two in the morning. I currently have the mojave, two sidewinders, and a speckled, a well as a bunch of nonvenomous. The speckled is new to my collection to so I can't wait to try these tactics on it. Anyways, thanks again, and hopefully I won't get bit, but like you said I've gotta start somewhere...

hi,

glad to hear you've handled them plenty in the field, that will stand you in good stead when you have to deal with stuck sheds, wood chips in the teeth, and all the other goofy stuff that eventually comes up with any captive snake, vipers included.

keeping them is different though. outdoors, fresh caught (or not quite caught) snakes can be high-spirited, and you're usually pretty pumped too so tend to pay attention to the bitey bits. the problem back in the snake room is simple complacency, on your part and that of your captives. they'll mellow way down, or most will, as the years pass. you get to thinking you know them, and you actually do for the most part, but they can surprise you with out-of-character behavior. just be sure you aren't exposing yourself to needless risk on a routine basis (or ever) because you think you know what they'll do; you just don't, you have a probabilistic notion of what will happen. what are the odds of things going bad fast? what's the payoff? a saved second or two? what's the price? life's the limit - a pretty unbalanced pot. best to drive the odds as low as possible, and watch yourself so they stay down there.

i still catch myself doing stupid things now and then, and am lucky enough to have not paid, but it's a constant effort to stay focused. i suspect anyone reading this would agree with me if they're honest with themselves. i find that occasionally feeding live meals, and sticking around for the entire show, keeps me humble if i start slacking.

cheers,
jimi

Thanks Jimi, I'll keep it in mind. THe last thing I want is a ride to the hospital. But they're so much fun! late