Reptile & Amphibian Forums

YES!! I was so happy this afternoon when I tossed a live rat in the Burms. cage and he finally took it.. I have been trying frozen/pre-killed, and live for a while.. tomorrow would have been a full two months that he hasn't had a meal. So now that he will take live, hopefully I can get him on F/T probably going to try pre-killed first though since this was his first small rat. I am so happy he finnally took it so just had to post.. lol ; )

I'm glad you got your burm to convert, but by feeding live, you just took a few steps backwards.
Work...strive...concentrate your efforts on getting this burm to take f/t prey.
For the snake's well being, and your own safety.

I have been trying to get him on F/T prey.. That's the main reason I waited almost 2 months.. In those days I have tried pre-killed, and F/T. He ate F/T ONCE.. and that was after I shoved a F/T rat in his mouth after eating a thawed mouse.. but the second time I tried that he spit it out... You obviously didnt read my previous posts.. but I my whole point in feeding live is to get him on F/T he WAS only taking F/T mice. ; )

I did read your other posts...Two months of not eating will not kill your burm.
I have Ball Pythons that dont eat for months on end, ditto for some of my RTBs.
These snakes dont eat from Oct through March.
When Mother Nature designed these creatures, she did'nt come up with a design that would make them starve to death.
If your Burm continues to refuse f/t, let him.
He'll take it eventually. Hunger is a major motivator.
I stand by my earlier post...by feeding live, you've taken a couple steps backwards.
Not only that, it's plain cruel.

I do think getting them on F/T is a top priority.

That said, I tried the old wait them out way. Now I have a female a third the size of her brother, and she will now only eat live, I had her on P/K. I will still try to get her back to P/K and then try F/T again. You said your's was going from mice to rats so I'm thinking it's a young burm. I think at this age they are growing too fast to go with out food for long.

Will they die from waiting on F/T ? Probably not!

Will it stunt there growth ? So far yes, but she is eatting like crazy now and getting some size so we'll see.

This is just what's happening with my female.

Have a good day!

"Not only that, it's plain cruel." But breeding masses of rodents only to put them in a gas chamber and freeze them isn't cruel I suppose? Or maybe you think it's cruel out in the wild too? I was making a post telling my burm. ate a rat for the first time.. I wasn't really asking "was this the right thing to do?" but thanks! I've kept reptiles for a while (never a burm til now) and never had real problems.. I was just happy about him taking a rat and wanted to share is all. Good day, sir! : P

It's cruel while waiting it out to die...CO2 is rather quick.
It's also cruel to have a rat sink it's incisors into a burm, to have the snakes eyes ripped, face ripped. It may not have happened this time, may not happen next time...but why leave it to chance.
It's great you made the next step with your burm, now take it a bit further, and make the move to f/t.
You'll be thankful you did.
RuHigh...yes growth might be stunted if they are left to starve it out, so to speak...however, once they are back on feed,if fed sufficiently...their size will catch up.
Two things burms seem to do quite well is eat and grow. They are, or at least seem to be higly efficient at converting food into body mass.
Not criticizing, just trying to prompt you onto the next step.
All you need is patience....trust the people here on this forum, your burm will not die by waiting it out.
Yes, we all want to see our animals eat, see them thrive.
It's our nature...but work towards getting your burm to feed on f/t.
Imagine the enjoyment, that feeling of accomplishment when your burm finally does take f/t.
Then it will be you giving advice on feeding a burm...advice that you learned through experience...and patience.