after reading up the past week on the forums, i changed my perspective on taming my nile, and in a hand-in-hand decision also decided that the best way to go about taming him would be an immediate switch to p/k so i can feed him with the tongs. How do they take the switch? should it be immediate? if he refuses, how long can i safely wait him out? I'm assuming size makes a difference as far as waiting him out, hes rather younge, i really dont know his age, the shop i bought him from said he was aobut a year old, but im hoping they were either mis-informed or just didnt know much, as im pretty sure he was a hatchling, maybe a month old. he was about 11 inches snout to vent when i measured a week or two after i got him, and he was already growing insanely. i really dont know his size now, and hes not about to hold still so i can measure him. he hasnt come out since i put in plastic "burrows" anyways. i'd say hes doubled in mass since then tho, its been around 3 weeks since i measured. now am i best to start just placing the dead animal in there, and slowly trying to coax him to accept it off of the tongs, or should i immediatly use the tongs?
i'm also considering buying larger mammals, younge or older rats, perhaps even rabbits, chicks, chickens, etc... and using a blender or grinder of some sort, to save a bit on cash... anyone have any input on that? obviously i would be purchasing a blender purely for this purpose. i figure it would be utilizing the whole animal and so would be nutritionally complete, as long as i could stomach it. i would probably only make a "few days" batch at a time.
and a perhaps silly side question. is he eating and digesting the bones? I see him pooping out hair, but thats the only reminants of his mice i find. if he is, will he continue when he grows large enough to take animals with fairly thick hard bones, like say a rabbit?
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1.3 Dogs (max, tasha, kaya, screw)
1.0 Ghost Corn (Ghost Faced Killa)
0.1 Normal Corn (Tigera?)
1.0 Yellow Rat
0.1 Central American Boa Constrictor (Achilla)
0.1 Burmese Python
0.1 Rose Hair Tarantulla (Grumpy)
0.0.1 Usambar Starburts Baboon Tarantula
0.1 White Knee / Zebra Tarantula
2 ferrets (Otis, Milo)
1.2 Emperor Scorpion
0.0.1 Nile Moniter
0.0.1 Tegu
Jack Dempsey Tank...
I'm quite releived to hear that there isnt much of a problem switching, im used to trying to persuade my snakes that realllly, its alive... look at it jump while being attached to those um.. tongs... he's semi-shy about eating in front of me, he'll kill the prey if i leave hte lid open after dropping it in and am just watching, but i always mess it up by moving around and making him dart off. he did shred one up in front of me around when we first got him, thats right about when i decided to ditch the whole idea of using the disposable cardboard hides and using plastic tubes for him, haha. the lil bugger has already outgrown his 40breeder that looked so enormous when we first put him in. i have to hurry up and finish "altering" the 180 gallon for him, haha. (just to immediatly start building a full-sized permenant cage... arnt i glad my snakes dont grow this fast!)