Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I have 32inch w/c bp who has only eaten 1 pinky since i got him 3 months ago. I have tried live and fresh killed Gerbels, mice, and pinkys. Anything that moves too fast scares my bp. Thats why I think he ate the pinky. Since he ate the pinky a month ago he has not eaten again. I was reading a post that maybe a bigger size animal like he was used to in the wild might work. I have not tried a "rat pup." How old and what size are rat pups? Could he be "Hibernating" and how can you tell?

>>I have 32inch w/c bp who has only eaten 1 pinky since i got him 3 months ago. I have tried live and fresh killed Gerbels, mice, and pinkys. Anything that moves too fast scares my bp. Thats why I think he ate the pinky. Since he ate the pinky a month ago he has not eaten again. I was reading a post that maybe a bigger size animal like he was used to in the wild might work. I have not tried a "rat pup." How old and what size are rat pups? Could he be "Hibernating" and how can you tell?

There are so many things you could or might try that I REALLY recommend the Barkers BP Manual.
That said. I would try a f/t rat, maybe a medium small overnight in front of his hide (But NOT on the heat...or it will be really nasty in the morning) No peeking, lights out, let it go.
Then, if he refuses that I would work to the harder stuff like Gerbils. Since he has refused a G already I would wonder a couple of husbandry things. One, don't handle him. Mellow as they seem they are stressed by it and it will take longer for him to settle in and eat. Heck, my WC girl who is 3 or 4 you and been with me a couple years will still go off food for a month or more if I change her hide, or her other living arrangements too much. Amazingly the only time something has changed and she ate anyway was when she and the boy were together and I would have to separate them to feed them. She took it very well even though any other time she will not eat out of her cage and takes all night to do so.
Two, are his temps good and does he have nice tight hide all over?
If you have had him out I would not even offer food for a week or so with NO handling.
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Sonya

...Sonya has a lot of good advice but don't overlook offering a fresh-killed adult mouse, preferably dark-colored (brown) overnight. Learning to kill rodents is something one must learn sooner come later. I hold the mouse/rat near the tail base and then whack it on the edge of a table quite firmly. No pussy-footing around here, a nice firm whack. End of story.
As far as rat pup goes, a live one (12-18 days old) overnight is another good item to try.
Be patient-these techniques don't always work the first time. It could be that depending where you live warmer summer temps, summer rains (barametric changes), etc may turn your snake on.
Scott J. Michaels DVM