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does anybody out there know a trick to get these snakes to eat? i have a pair of elaphe taeniura ridleyi and the male will only eat when i force him to strike agressively at the pinky (thats not a big problem because at least he eats). the female however dosn't seem to be interested in anything! she wont strike at the pinky and ive tried live, frozen and brained pinkies, even overnighting her in a deli cup with them. what else can i do?
thank you for any help!
It could be defensive stress. Some snakes just don't feel secure enough to eat in public. Try the hidebox trick. Place a pinky in a hide box overnight so they can enter and find it. I have often been sucessful with that.
Frank
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"The luxury of not getting involved departed with the last lifeboat Skipper..."
I have found hatchling ridleyi to be very shy feeders. The more you disrupt them, the less likely they will be to eat. When I feed mine, I scoop up the snake and set it in a deli cup with a thawed (but warm) large pinky. If the snake gets active before you get the lid on, the chances of it eating go down. The trick is to scoop them up and set them down again while they are still coiled. I set the deli cup back into their shoebox (or whatever enclosure you have), turn off the lights, and leave the room. I come back 30-60 minutes later, and the mouse should be gone. After a 4-5 feedings like this, they seem to lighten up a little, and are more receptive to disruptions while feeding.
If you use live food, the smaller the better. Hatchling ridleyi seem to get stressed out by the movement, so a small pinky that doesn't move much is preferred over a small fuzzy that will crawl around.
If you can't get the snake into a deli cup without disrupting its resting position, then I'd use a pair of forceps to sneak a pinky into the snake's hidebox. Set it right next to the snake's head, then leave the room for 30-60 minutes. Again, the key seems to be minimal disruption.
Good luck!
Ronda
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Ronda Van Winkle
Northwest Herpetoculture
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