Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi all! I've been lurking and salivating over all the gorgeous morphs! I'm still learning all the lingo and hope one day to breed, but first, I just want to get my first male normal BP eating.

He was hatched in late May, and was reportedly eating live hoppers each Sunday. I got him early July and he has not fed for me. I've left him alone and made sure his temps were constant (low 80's on cool side, low 90's on warm).

I first tried offering him a pre-killed small mouse, but he just slept on it all night after I had placed it in his hide with hopes he'd eat it.

Tried a live fuzzy next, but he had no interest, so I humanely killed it.

I have a live small mouse ready to go and am waiting for him to get active this evening and will try that with supervision. I plan to give him 30 minutes to decide if he wants to feed, then put the mouse back into the Kritter Keeper (if he isn't already in Kashmire's belly).

My question is really this: He's approximately 17-18 inches and weighs 74 grams. He's been drinking water each evening (pretty cool to watch his throat as he swallows). He's stayed hydrated, but looks a little thin to my untrained eye.

How long at this young age can he safely go without feeding? Do you think he needs more time to acclimate? I switch to a low wattage infrared bulb at night to maintain temps at night since I have a screen top on my aquarium and a small thin towel on the other side to help keep heat in.

Here's a few pics of him, does he look thin to you? I plan to take him to the vet for a wellness check in the next week. This vet also consults with Zoo Atlanta's reptile collection.

Robin

That would be like you eating a jelly bean for dinner.

I had another one as well to give him if he took that. I'm just trying to get him to start feeding on anything. As soon as he got active tonight I put a live small mouse in with him. He knew it was there, but just kept on cruising around his enclosure, going right past him as if he didn't have a care in the world. Is it possible that he's just not hungry?

Robin

Try a small adult mouse for an actual meal a fuzzy often will not initiate a feeding respnse. And yes it can eat it easily, I start hatchlings on them.

so whats your IPA of choice? I like the sierra nevada the best. I brewed a batch once, need to do it again. Much cheaper that way. can you tell Im bored.

ep
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Occupants not paying rent:
1.1.5 balls
2.1.8 corns(candy cane, creamsicle, ghost, 4 normal,
4 anery )
1 pueblan milk
1 everglades rat
1 cal. king
1 gray band king
1 w. hognose
1 bearded dragon
1 fish
1 mouse
3.3 cats

He actually was offered a live adult mouse this evening, in fact, I have another 10 minutes before I take it out (been in for 30 minutes already). He's just not showing an interest. It's a white mouse, think I should try a brown mouse to see if that stimulates him more?

Robin

As it's been stated before - that fuzzy mouse is too small to attract that size ball - pick a mouse that is about the same size around as the thickest part of your snake a small adult mouse usually works the best! Hope this helps!
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Tosha

"One of these days i am going to wake up..look around...and realize my place looks more like "Ace Venturas"s than my own." Coldthumb

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0.0.1 Dessert Tortoise (Pope John Paul "JP"
2.2.1 Fish (1,2,3,4)
0.0.2 frogs rescued from pool skimmer
0.0.1 lizard rescued from vicious feline

Tosha,

I've had a small adult mouse in with him for 1/2 an hour this evening, and am going to give it another 10 minutes, but he just keeps on passing by it with no interest. I asked in another reply, could it be that he's just not hungry?

I've had him 8 days and have not been handling him. Temps are constant.

Robin

If he doesnt eat tonight. Dont mess with him for the next week. Then try another mouse.

Thank you, I'll try that. I figure sooner or later he's got to get hungry. He didn't seem like he was trying to avoid the mouse or was shy around it, just showed no interest at all in it.

Robin

Next time you might want to leave it in there longer. Just keep an eye on them.

I recently picked up a baby ball. I couldn't get him to eat his first meal for almost 4 weeks. He'd had his first shed but refused to eat. On May 1 he weighed 67 grams. He would crawl around and over the meal rather than eat it. I tried everything, pinkies, fuzzies, small adult, etc. I even took him to a vet to make sure he didn't have parasites. The vet recommended a live fuzzy rat. He said they would often go after that more readily than mice. I don't feed my snakes live mice/rats, but decided to give it a try. I also covered the front on his cage with a towel to provide a little more privacy. Within about 20 minutes, the fuzzy rat was gone! He's been pretty steady ever since (f/t). On July 1 he weighed 168 grams. Good luck and be patient.

Thank you for that suggestion! I just took the mouse out for the night, and decided while I was in his cage anyway, I'd take him out and weigh him again. He's still maintaining at 74 grams, so he hasn't lost any weight. I also had to velcro his Acu Rite to the side of the cage, he kept knocking it over!

Although his eyes have not turned blue, he definitely has a pink tint to his belly and and the skin there does look a bit tight, and his nose and top of his head have had a blue translucence to them, so I suspect he may be getting ready to shed.

Don't a lot of balls not feed right before a shed?

Robin

In general they don't feed at all during the shed, but there are always exceptions to the rule. I'd wait till two or three days after he sheds then try a mouse again.

Quig

Cover the tank with a towel. Turn off you bulb so you dont get a fire. Keep trying live prey once a week. Make sure your ambient temps are in the mid 80's and that you have a 90 degree hot spot, and that your humidity is adequate.

PS your snakes belly may be pink due to you using reptibark, it has a tendency to trap under the belly scales especially after crawling out of the water bowl. You will know when your snake is in shed.