Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I purchased a baby blood 2 weeks ago at a reptile show in Toronto. After letting it settle into its new environment for a while i attempted to feed it a frozen thawed mouse. After a few strikes at it he finally constricted around the mouse as if he were going to eat it. Instead of eating it, he let it go and moved away from the mouse. Do most young bloods prefer rats over mice? My enclosure,temp,and humidity levels are all to spec. Oh ya. His name is The Lone Ranger. Thanks.

Hi
I have had a similar situation with a Borneo, I think it is because these snakes are so shy especially as babies. They are very vulnerable when they have a mouth full of food. I have done a couple of things to rectify the situation, you can just leave the thawed mouse in front of the snakes hide box and the snake will usually just eat it sometime after the lights go out. Or you can try dangling the mouse in front of the snake in the dark, this usually will require a flashlight, but if he strikes and wraps the mouse take the light off right away and he should swallow it in the dark when he feels safe. Just make sure you have a hide box of some sort. I doubt that the Lone Ranger prefers rats, he should eat a mouse if he thinks it is safe to do so.
Good Luck
Chris

They tend to prefer mice when smaller. I have had similar situations when feeding. Alot of times they will strike it and constrict it and then just loose interest. At this point I usually just wiggle it in front of them again and they will hit it and constrict again. I'm not sure if they realize its not alive and then dont want it or what but they always eat it by the second time. I've found wiggling it a tad after they've constricted tends to help a bit. Another one of my larger girls wont eat it if she sees that I'm holding it (even with tongs) so I have to sneak up from behind with the prey and hope she grabs it without her seeing me (this tends to get very interesting). Hope this helps a little.

J
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"It's my snake, I trained it, so I'm going to eat it!" - Mad Max, The Road Warrior

One other thought I have been feeding frozen thawed for a long time and I have found that bloods (and others) REALLY rely on their heat pits therfore it somtimes helps to have the pry on the warm side (not cooked) but actually body temp to alittle warmer

just an Idea just somthin' else to try

Picture really doesn't have anything to do with post it is just the best picture I have taken of her and couldn't resist sorry

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Kevin
I am lost w/o spell check
"Learn from the mistakes of others. You can't live long enough to make them all yourself."-unknown