I agree with just about everything others have said already on this subject, I'll just tweak the emphasis.

These animals don't naturally eat mice (heads, legs, tails, whatever) while they're small. If you were dealing with something really precious (T. mcgregori or something) it might be worth fighting nature. But you're not, so just go with the animals' wishes and save them and yourself a LOT of stress. Snakes are quite capable of learning (especially about food!), and you're quite capable of teaching, but...pick your battles, seriously.

My advice - feed them all the live frogs and lizards they can eat. You'll be stunned at the growth rate, especially if you have a female. You'll also be impressed with, once they get their predatory groove on, just how large a prey item they can subjugate and consume. A 7-inch "trim" can kill & swallow a fat 5-inch anole in about 10 minutes, no problem. But don't try to start with large prey items, they need to learn they're killers first. They can be pretty shy at first, so offer them small items that aren't as intimidating when they run and jump around. And offer food at night at first. You'll know they're hungry when they perch with their heads pointing down (looking for something to walk by).

Once your animals are 12 inches long or so, you can try a live pinky in the bottom of the cage. Scent it with their normal fare. And again, do it at night. After a couple feedings they'll probably accept unscented, any time of day. From there, frozen-thawed off forceps is not far behind. I suggest you use a tool at least as long as the snake, they have quite a reach. The most dangerous part of keeping arboreal vipers, in my experience, is feeding them off forceps.

Good luck, these are highly rewarding animals once you get them going. Until then, they're hell, as you've already seen.

Jimi Gragg

[ Show Entire Thread ]