Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I have an 07 male Dumeril who I feed 2 mice weekly. I tired switching him to rats a few times, but he just gets aggressive when he smells the rats. So, I really don't have any problem feeding him mice for the next year or so.

My question is should I be feeding him more then 2 mice weekly? He has been gaining around 75 grams a month which I think is fine. Also, he currently weight around 800-900 grams. I would love to hear some feedback from other Dumeril owners.

What do you mean by aggressive both of my Dums. have been eating rats for about 8 months and are very avid eaters. All snakes have a feed response that might be seen as aggressive.

A better word is defenses mood instead of aggressive. I've try small rat crawlers and small rats. Both cause him to get into a DEFENSIVE striking mode.

I currently have a Dumeril's female that does the same thing. When you try to feed a rat, she goes insane! She just wants it out of there. Does this sound like yours?
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Leland Shaver

Dumerils have a very strong feed response. I have found that they strike their food very aggressively. Mine strikes her rat very strongly but has ever became aggressive towards me.

Cheryl

Hello

I know this is an old thread, but I'll tack this on in hopes that you see it.

If she is getting defensive, then in some way or another, she feels threatened. Have you tried F/T rats? My one Dum switched very easily from live mice to F/T rats. All I had to do was put the rat in a feeding bin, then the snake, close the bin, cover it & walk away. I don't know well enough if this is a species thing (though I suspect it may be) or my Dum's own preference, but he is a very private feeder. He eats just about anything and is my clean-up feeder (very important in the winter time since I have Ball Pythons). All he needs is his privacy, which meant that I had to completely give up on actually watching him eat for about 2 years.

I hope this is helpful.

~Rebecca
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1.0.0 Dumeril's Boa '04
1.3.1 Ball Pythons
[1.0.0 '05 Orange Hypo (Specter)]
[0.1.0 '03? 50% PH VPI Axanthic (Marian), PROVEN female]
[0.1.0 '05 Het Orange Hypo (Sylvia)]
[0.1.0 '08 VPI line Axanthic (Jane)]
[0.0.1 '03 Normal (Sue)]
0.2 American Pit Bull Terriers (40lb darling lap dogs: Brandy & Mara)