Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi, I have a 2007 male JCP that won't eat rats. Right now i'm feeding two large adult mice, but pretty soon i'll be feeding it three. It's getting to be a hassle. Does anyone feed their jungles chicks, quail or hamsters with success? I'm just trying to find a larger food item they'll accept.

Feed him a ASF rat....

Thanks. But where do I buy African Soft Furred Rats? Also, are they expensive?

Depends on where you live?

You can check your local pet stores, mom and pops, to see if they carry them or can order some in for you. If not check kingsnake classifieds for suppliers in your area. I am pretty sure you can now buy F/T ASFs now.

They are bigger then mice but smaller then normal rats and I use them for the switch over. Hasnt failed me yet, I also feed them to WC GTPs with out fail, ETBs with out fail, wc balls, etc. They are by far the one of the best feeders in my opinion.

Thanks
John

Thanks man, really appreciate it.

I bought a 12 yr old jungle pair that were both mousers, and it ends up they take thawed rabbits readily. There's a rabbit breeder near me that sells his culls of any size.

Ok thanks. I will try that too...

Jungles are a pain to switch sometimes, Id suggest waiting until after cooling, and offering a live small rat and it will take it no problem.

Morelia in general seem to have a fetish for poultry, so try some birds, you can also scent the rats with mice blood, seems to work very nicely.

Thanks Dude, i'm gonna try ASF rats, chicks and quail. No way i'm feeding this thing 5-6 adult mice.

I had 4 large jungles for 10 years....and they all ate mice except the one male would eat a rat once in awhile if offered....and yes some ate rabbits from time to time too....they prefered mice but would eat birds....and some the rabbits....keep trying .....try the rabbit of you can get them.....actually whatever you can get easily,all the time, and cheapest is best.....large ASFR or rabbits...birds work but stink when they come out.....I started one female on duck scented mice...she loved ducks....

good luck....they can eat just mice and be healthy....I used alot of huge mice in 10 years on the 2 pair I owned....best part is they would eat frozen thawed...unlike balls ...I would thaw 4 huge mice and lay them in cage on paper plate and they would eat them up...

good luck...
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I'll never understand why people start snakes on mice when they could start them on rats.
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Jason

mice not rats...

in the case of jungle carpets...they really aren't big enough for rats...yes they can take pink rats at hatching..but pink rats don't crawl or wiggle enough for good feed responces...

rat pinks have no hair...some snakes will hit on hairy critters quicker than bald ones...(even corns and ratsnakes...)

jcp will eat mice...and won't eat rats.....this is true on alot of them from all I hear and have experienced...

I had some start on birds....(I used ducks)....no not the whole duck...the fuzz from a duckling on the face if a fuzz mouse...

....I feed what they want...

oh...and people can get mice easier alot of times....

......like I mentioned...I had 2 pair jcp....and they ate mice 99% of the time and more.....they would not eat rats....(to the point they freaked out when I tricked them into half swallowing a rat a few times....)

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I got the snake from an owner that didn't want to care for it anymore and he was feeding mice. However, the comment above mine is pretty much on target. JCP's don't take rats when they're born. I will probably stick with quail and mice. Alternating each every two weeks. I can live with that.

Just be patient and keep trying. I switched my JCP over to rats successfully, it just took a bit of frustration and trying different things. What finally worked is when I would feed him an adult mouse and then a rat scented with a mouse. This worked great since he already had a feeding response going. You can keep a scenting mouse handy in your freezer and thaw it whenever you feed your snake. After a few feedings try offering it a rat that hasn't been scented and see what happens. Or offer it a mouse and then a smaller rat to see if that works. These methods worked great for my picky JCP. Feeding birds should work out as well, just be prepared for some really nasty poop. Hope this helps!