Reptile & Amphibian Forums

My grey rat had not eaten since I switched him from pink/fussies to hoppers. I don't think the size is too big, but he did not eat for 4 weeks. I figured it was just the changing of the season, but I kept trying.

Yesterday I tried to go back to pinks. I put 3 in and he hit them right away. Is it possible he is not eating because of the hair on the hoppers, or is it just random that he decided to eat this time.

I just didn't know if anyone else has ever had this problem. It wouldn't be fun feeding 20 pinks each week to a full grown grey...
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0.1 Amel Motley Corn (Cosmo '03)
0.1 Baird's Ratsnake (Sugaree '04)
1.0 White Oaks Grey Rat (Tennesse Jed '04)
0.1 IJ Carpet Python (Cassidy '04)
1.0 Western Hognose (Samson '05)
1.1 Shepherd mix (Dylan 6yrs, Porter 1.5yr)

It could be either reason, or something totally different. If it is the fur, you might try him on f/t pink rats. I have one asian rat snake that has issues with fur, and the pink; even fuzzy rats are acceptable. I've also noted increased weight with my rat fed babies & juvies, in general. Just a thought--one of many.
rgds,
althea

It must be something about Greys. I have a beautiful five foot adult that I can't get to take dead rats, but he slurps live rat pups like crazy.

I don't want to give live rats due to the injury risk, but it's a pain as is......

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Lloyd Heilbrunn

Palm Beach Gardens, Fl.

>>My grey rat had not eaten since I switched him from pink/fussies to hoppers. I don't think the size is too big, but he did not eat for 4 weeks. I figured it was just the changing of the season, but I kept trying.

Some snakes have a hard time adjusting to a change in the diet or even how the food is presented. Snakes that are used to prey without hair may not take right away to a fully furred prey item. Keep trying with the fuzzies but instead of feeding multiples, try one fuzzy and one hopper....rub the fuzzy over the hopper too.

I have a coworker with a young black rat snake that took over four months to get over its fear of the furry food but finally started accepting hoppers. I have a yearling jungle corn I am in the process of introducing to very small fully furred hoppers as he's getting big enough now to start thinking about switching food sizes. Normally he slams food before I can even get it into the cage (very agressive feeding response - the kingsnake blood in him lol). However the first time I tried a hopper with him almost 2 weeks ago, it royally confused the heck out of him. He spent a solid 10 minutes poking and examining the hopper before it finally clicked in his brain that it was 'food'.. then his reaction was what I expected.. slammed it. LOL.

I recently sold my gray rat snake to my coworker only to find out that snake had a feeding issue I didn't even realize she had. Since he took her, she would not eat for him at all..she'd strike at the food then ignore it. It took a couple weeks until we figured out that she was missing something of hers - a small plastic critter cage that I had always kept in her old setup. She liked to sleep in it even though it was clear/see-through plastic. Even though you could see her in the container, I guess it made her feel safe - her "security blanket". After thinking back on it, she also seemed to eat most of her meals in that container too. I gave him the container this past weekend and sure enough the next day she took two mice without a fuss.
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PHWyvern

Any of the suggestions made thus far could be true for your situation. Several of my North American Ratsnakes do tend to slow down their feeding this time of year. Snakes that were eating rats will now prefer mouse hoppers, etc. Instead of fasting altogether, they will usually take much smaller meals and less often. The shorter days mean smaller, fewer meals. This is often NOT a good time of year to increase prey size, rather to drop back down a rung or two on the food ladder. This has been my experience, and I know that I am not alone. Good luck. I bet your snake will eat "furry" food come spring.
Duffy

>>My grey rat had not eaten since I switched him from pink/fussies to hoppers. I don't think the size is too big, but he did not eat for 4 weeks. I figured it was just the changing of the season, but I kept trying.
>>
>>Yesterday I tried to go back to pinks. I put 3 in and he hit them right away. Is it possible he is not eating because of the hair on the hoppers, or is it just random that he decided to eat this time.
>>

Try putting in a pinkie and a hopper. After he eats the pinkie, his feeding response will be elevated and there is a good chance he'll eat the fuzzy as well.

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