Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Just got a children's python 2 weeks ago. 10-1/2" in length. Supposedly he has eaten live pinkies. Did not try too hard last week with a thawed pinkie and he did not eat. This week I used a live pinkie. 1/2 hr in the light then 1/2 hr in a darkened room. No luck. Rubbed the pinkie on a lizard and tried light then dark again. Third try I split-brained the pinkie, rubbed the blood on the snake's mouth and let his tongue lick the blood. Same 1/2 hr light and dark. Absolutly no interest. I was using a small deli container as an enclosure for this. Temperature has been kept in the low 80's. Ideas anyone?

>>Just got a children's python 2 weeks ago. 10-1/2" in length. Supposedly he has eaten live pinkies. Did not try too hard last week with a thawed pinkie and he did not eat. This week I used a live pinkie. 1/2 hr in the light then 1/2 hr in a darkened room. No luck. Rubbed the pinkie on a lizard and tried light then dark again. Third try I split-brained the pinkie, rubbed the blood on the snake's mouth and let his tongue lick the blood. Same 1/2 hr light and dark. Absolutly no interest. I was using a small deli container as an enclosure for this. Temperature has been kept in the low 80's. Ideas anyone?

If it were me and they said it was eating live pinks I would offer one overnight. Don't peek or bug him til morning. Another thing that seems to work for babys I have started was to have a burrowable substrate. Last year I used Carefresh (light fluffy rodent bedding) this year I am using long fibered moss. Again, leave them alone for longer than a few minutes. I wouldn't panic about trying more involved stuff just yet or you may have to do a song and dance just to feed him every week. Worse you might try is braining but I wouldn't fuss with that till you tried overnight a couple times. I also wouldn't try to feed him any more often then every three days.
-----
Sonya

Haven't we warned you about tampering with the structure of a chaotic system?
Mrs. Neutron

Give him a chance to settle in undisturbed. My friends Childreni would not eat for 3 weeks following the purchase, then all of a sudden she ate! Now she eats like a champ every week. Leave the mouse in the tank over night and give the snake time to settle in.

I have a few Childrens. I've noticed that as babies they are very shy and stress easily. I agree with the others to give him time to settle, make sure your setup is correct, and leave food in overnight.

As adults, they are just the opposite, and can be very curious and undaunted and voracious.

Also, in the wild the babies would feed on lizards, so if nothing else, you could try lizard scenting, but I would wait quite a while before resulting to that. Some breeders have baby childreni that don't feed for months and then just turn on.
-----
Mark G

"Sweaterboxes are boring"

I had the same problem with C8s , my ball python when I first got her. She didnt eat for 2 weeks and I tried just about everything you've tried. I finally had to open her mouth a little just enough to get the mouse's head inside. Then , she realized it was food and she swallowed it. Now she eats fine. Sometimes they dont eat for quite a while anyway, it shouldn't be a reason to panic if they dont. Also, if you dont want to try my earlier suggestion, you could try putting the snake and the food item in a paper bag and see if that helps. I hope I've been some kind of help to you. Good luck.

~Maria~