Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I'm really having no luck with this one. She won't eat for me. It's been 4 months since I got her (supposedly a hatchling at the time). A friend of mine talked to one of his herper friends who breeds these kids. I got a stern yellin' at for not keeping her housed properly. So they made the adjustments. (Darker/warmer) and we wait... and wait... and still she wont eat. Even they kept her for a while to no avail. Everynight though she comes out... wanders around... If we happen to watch her? She strikes at us. (Really sweet heart I tell you...) I'm sort of at my wits end. The breeder aquaintence said despite how traumatic it is, he'd used a pinky pump to give her something at least. So technically she ate -once- in 4 months. But really... I have no clue at this point.

If you think you can help me out please do... I really don't want to give up on her but I just might. See if someone else has any luck with her. I feel so lost. I've kept redtails before without a problem -at all-. I did my reading, researching felt I Was ready for her... now i'm not so sure.

I keep a lot of Nics and the first question I'd like to ask is what have you tried feeding it? I have several that only take live mice and I had another adult male that refused everything or so I thought. It seemed petrified of live prey and was increasingly becoming more aggressive towards me. Finally one night out of frustration I left a small f/t rat in the cage overnight and was surprised to see it gone the next morning. Like you, after three months of attempted feedings, I realized my impatience led me to not leave the prey in long enough for the animal to relax and take it. If you're constantly checking in on the animal or there's high traffic past the tank that can cause stress. As the animal got hungrier and hungrier the aggression only got worse. I've had more than one Nic do this so now I know better. My main problem now is how to get the live feeders on f/t. I hate feeding live mice to the stubborn ones that won't convert.

If your snake is not currently in shed, and it has a hide box to feel secure in, I would crank the room temp up over 90F, and make sure the cage is in a location where folks are not walking about. Then, I would introduce a pinky mouse nest at the other end of the cage for it to find. Get a handfull of mouse nest bedding and chips from the pet shop with a couple small pinky mice. Pet shops usually have little cardboard boxes (snake food take-out). Build a little nest with the bedding over the chips in the box, with the pinks in a depression, and leave one end of the box open. Turn off the lights and go to bed. I hope this helps.