I couldnt get my pair of baby Laticinctus to eat for the first 4 or 5 months in their life, and I've had to stuff them from time to time just to keep them alive. Now.....after trying voluntary feeding occassionally, and out of laziness, they're eating on their own, and it's kinda gross.
I put a f/t pinky in the cage, get them to snap a time or two out from underneath their bark hiding places. Then I leave the pinkies in the cage. 2 days go by while the pinkies get rotten and stinky (which blows the room up of course) and THEN on morning #3, the pinkies are gone. Sometimes they're only about 48 hours old, but sometimes it's gone about 60 hours or so.
PLEASE tell me they'll grow out of this. I cant stand the smell of full grown rotting mice and dont want to have to deal with this as they get bigger.
I've heard of snakes eating carrion, so I know it's not a HUGE deal or anything too special, I just wanna know that it's just a phase typically.
BTW, for anyone who'se concerned about the snakes, they've each eaten on their own 8 times for me so far and are doing just fine.
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Tom
TCJ Herps
"The more people I meet, the more I like my snakes"
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My laticinctus babies eat rotten pinkies
Replies (4)
Well....sound like you are in a stinky situation...hehe...I dont know if this is something they will grow out of, but I do have a couple ideas.
1st...let mouse rot else where (garage or back yard)then after a couple day drop it in and see if they take it.
2nd.... try to get a couple rotten mice...and rub them on fresh ones....over time they might start to take them....may take couple weeks may take months...may never work...
Just food for thought.
Chris
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0.0.2 Gila Monsters
3.3 Solomon Island Ground boas
1.2 KSB plus 7 babies (3-17-05)
1.0 Leopard Gecko -Dudly
1.0 Pacman Frog- Frigity
1.2 Rats - Twitch, Killer, and Flower (babies are food)hehe
Same thing was experienced with captive born pigs I had but they got over it a few weeks or scenting pinks with a frozen frog. Seems like they are for attracted to the dead stench and obviously attracted to their venom in the pink, and seemingly fearful of a moving prey so try scenting defrosted pinks with a frog. Oh, their relative, the cottonmouth, actually looks to eat dead stuff, so its perhaps not too far from their diet. I have seen cottons eating dead road kill stuff that has been smashed for days if not weeks.
Dan
Hahahaha...got to love problem feeders..what hoops they will make you jump through.
Be thankful they're eating... I have a Mangrove PV that insists on forcefeeding.
Al
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Save a Rattlesnake...Skin a Sweetwater Resident!
Had you tried lizards or frogs? I stuff my hard feeders with lizars and frogs for about 6 months and then throw in a runt hopper and its all she wrote for the rodent. Works all the time with runt hoppers after the vipers grows a few inches off lizards. Worked on captive trigons, hagens, jerdoni, wags, etc.
