Reptile & Amphibian Forums

My little mexican bairds ratsnake that I got at the Mid Atlantic Reptile Show on September 12 finally broke his fast. The breeder said that he was eating live pinks when I bought him, and I tried him on a frozen/thawed pink on September 16. I had to tease him a bit by wiggling the pink with the tongs, but he took it like a champ. Then he started this fast. I tried deli cups, brown lunch bag, teasing, braining. Nothing worked. I was almost at the point of going out and buying a live pink, but really didn't want to do that, as the last time I bought a live pink, it ended up killing one of my snakes (I think there was some kind of pesticide on the pinky). So I borrowed a bottle of Lizard Maker and scented the pinky today. I put the snake and the scented pink into a deli cup and then held my breath. The snake stayed on the other side of the deli cup, which is not that easy to do, but he managed. I picked up the deli cup and tilted it a bit so he slid next to the pink. He then started tongue flicking. He looked like he was licking the entire pink. Then he calmly opened up his mouth and tried to eat the pink from the middle. Finally he managed to get to the head, and he ate the pink. HOORAY!!!! I carefully put him back into his tank and will leave him alone until next week, when I will try to feed him again. Hopefully, he will start eating unscented pinks soon.
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phflame

well, I just checked on little Juan and there was the pink sitting in the deli cup. He must have decided to spit it out after swallowing it. Sigh..... We'll try again next weekend.
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phflame

I'm a little confused...You said that you put the snake back in his cage, but then found the pink in the deli cup? Either way, sounds like he regurged the pink. Does not sound good. I know your snake has not eaten in a month, but you need to wait at least a week (minimum) before trying to feed again. 10 days would be better if you can. His little digestive system needs to build back up after a puke. Then...

Offer him JUST a pinky head (you may as well try squeezing out a little brains again to make it yummy). If he keeps that down, try again in a week. Then go to whole pinks (if the pinky-heads were accepted, you might put him in a deli cup with a decapitated pinky...head and body: 2 parts). Good luck. Like I said, it's sounding pretty serious, and the last thing you want is another regurge...so...try to be patient. Duffy

is to put the whole feeding container back into the regular cage and then let the snake crawl out on his own. That way I don't have to handle them at all after they eat. Sorry for any confusion.

I agree, I don't like this regurge at all. What I am beginning to wonder: is it possible that these baird's like a much lower humidity, the same as the trans pecos rats do? Because when you give a trans pecos rat higher humidity, you can trigger regurging, also.

Anyone have any ideas on what the baird's ratsnake climate is like? Mine is a Mexican Baird, but I know that there are some Texas Bairds out there, also.
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phflame