yellow rat refused meal

[poomwah]

Ironically, I have a yellow rat that isn't eating. Two baby corns that will eat whenever its offered.
Anyway, we got a yellow rat snake a week ago, and gave her a week to settle in before offering her food.
She is kept on aspen, her temps are well within recommended specs. She has plenty of hides. I offered her a pinky and she showed no interest in it. Tried dangling it from forceps, she looked at it and followed it, but that's it. So I put her in a vented container with the pinky (frozen/thawed) and put the container in her enclosure, she spent the night coiled up in the top of the container.
I've had some baby corns that have refused to eat and took a little patience, but this is the first non corn rat snake I've ever had that has refused food.
She doesn't look like she's nearing shed. I'm told she is 17 months old, but she is 19.3 inches long and 29 grams, this seems very small for that age, which makes me even more concerned about the lack of interest in food.
what do you guys think? would you be worried yet? Normally one missed feed doesn't worry me, but on a year and a half old rat snake, I'm used to them being eating machines.

[Nanci]

Is she captive bred or wild caught? What was her previous history?

[poomwah]

thanks for the reply.
She's captive bred, came from a reputable breeder.

[Nanci]

I think I'd wait four days, and see if she goes blue. If not, then I would offer the pink, very hot, with slits cut in its back, in a deli cup, covered with a dish towel or something, in the evening. Leave her alone, no peeking, for one hour. If she doesn't eat, I would boil water, pour it over the pink, then replace the pink with her in the deli, and cover it, and leave her two hours.

[poomwah]

thanks Nanci, I'll give it a shot :]
Does her size seem healthy to you? 29 grams at 17 months old?
http://i604.photobucket.com/albums/tt126/poomwah/Mobile%20Uploads/20140219_131216_zpslhainpzh.jpg (http://s604.photobucket.com/user/poomwah/media/Mobile%20Uploads/20140219_131216_zpslhainpzh.jpg.html)

[Nanci]

They vary so much...I have one 2013 who is 80 grams, and another who is 20.

I love yellow rats, and especially their eyes!!

She's probably big enough to eat fuzzies. What did the breeder have her on? Of course, a nice big pink is an easy first meal after traveling.

[poomwah]

20-80g for a 2013, that is a bit of a range.
I can't help but feel concerned about having a 29 gram 2012, it makes me wonder about its feeding habits. Another consideration, secondary to the feeding habit concern is that I paid a bit more than I would have for a similarly sized 2013.
As far as prey size, he was giving her pinkies.

[Nanci]

Well, going forward, I would feed a gradually increasing size of prey: large pink, small peach fuzzy, peach fuzzy, small fuzzy, and so on, until she is on medium to large fuzzies (and she'll probably get onto hoppers soonish, then, too) and I would feed at a 5 day interval, at least until she is on weanlings, if she will permit that.

She could be small because she is eating a too-small prey size (unless she was being fed multiple pinks at one feeding), or at an extended interval of seven days or longer, or because she is picky and wouldn't eat at a normal rate.

I would _not_ feed her (or anyone) when she is blue.

She'll catch up. There is a feeding chart you can search and find- the Munson Plan. It gives prey size recommendations based on the snake's weight. I tend to feed on the conservative side of the Munson plan, and will start off a size range with the smallest listed size, and work up.

[poomwah]

Thanks Nanci,
I found out she was being fed every 7 to 10 days. Should I go straight to 5 days? or should I do it gradually?
I was wondering, in your experience, have you ever seen a relationship between enclosure size and feeding?
I'm being told that her enclosure is too big and that's why she's not eating, because she's too nervous. I have plenty of hides for her, and substrate deep enough to burrow in. Do you feel that as long as there is adequate hiding spaces available and a temperature gradient with the correct levels that the enclosure size is irrelevant? or even under those conditions can too large of an enclosure stress the snake?

[Nanci]

I don't believe it is relative for a North American ratsnake.

[Nanci]

And I would go straight to every 5-7 days.

[poomwah]

thanks nanci

[Alicia P]

I have a leucistic black rat who will only eat if I feed her a hot, tuna juice dipped pinkie. She has to be fed last and in her bin or she won't eat. She's driving me a bit batty. Everyone else eats normal, I think she fancies herself a diva....

[poomwah]

Thanks Alicia, I'll keep the tuna juice in mind. I'll also be careful around my black rat after eating tuna, LOL. I wish they could all be like him. My white sided black rat, George. I use aspen, so to avoid any possible ingestion, I get my snakes out, and have someone else put their food in a small tub, put the tub in the enclosure, then put the snake in the tub. works great most of the time. George, though, will wrap his tail around my hand and eat his food before I can put him down. I have to sit there and wait for him to finish before he lets go of me :]
http://i604.photobucket.com/albums/tt126/poomwah/20140106_194804_zps59f45a84.jpg (http://s604.photobucket.com/user/poomwah/media/20140106_194804_zps59f45a84.jpg.html)