Feeding Problem? Not exactly.

[Roy Munson]

I have eight '05 hatchlings (and three more on the way), and all are feeding well. But my Blizzard female won't accept f/t anymore. Her first meal was live, the next seven were f/t, then she went into shed. After shedding, she would no longer accept f/t, but pounced on live pinks savagely. (Her male counterpart did the same thing, but returned to f/t after a live kick-start pink.) Obtaining live pinks isn't a problem, but at $2.60 a pop, I'd prefer that she return to 17 cent frozen. I'm not worried- in fact, I anticipate that she will grow out of it. I haven't even tried easy things like braining. I'll oblige her whims for now, but...

I'm just curious to hear similar stories and how they turned out. I've raised a decent number of hatchlings in the past, but before this year I almost always fed live prey. So this kind of "problem" is new to me.

[Roy Munson]

I placed a washed, rinsed, f/t pink just outside her hide at sunset last night. I made sure not to touch the pink bare-handed. She was very active, so I figured she was hungry. This morning I awoke to a purplish-grey pink, and she was still cruising. So I went to the pet store, got two live pinks (they were a little on the small side) at almost $6.00, and threw them in to her. She downed them both within three minutes. I really hope she grows out of this soon, because fuzzies are not consistently available and she'll be ready to move up in a couple of months (and her feeding costs almost equal that of the rest of the collection combined).

[Drizzt80]

Three recommendations:
1. The temperature of the f/t may be a problem. I have a blizzard female adult that will get picky once in a while, and most times a little extra warmth to the mouse triggers it.

2. Try putting in a prekilled live pinky. It may be the strength of the aroma.

3. Try putting in a live pinky AND a f/t pinky and see if she takes both.

D80

[Roy Munson]

Three recommendations:
1. The temperature of the f/t may be a problem. I have a blizzard female adult that will get picky once in a while, and most times a little extra warmth to the mouse triggers it.

2. Try putting in a prekilled live pinky. It may be the strength of the aroma.

3. Try putting in a live pinky AND a f/t pinky and see if she takes both.

D80

Thanks! Those are excellent suggestions. When I first give her the f/t, it's right out of the cup of very hot water, so I don't think it's the temp. But I'm guessing that she'll respond to recommendation #2. As for #3, I'll bet that once her feeding response has been stimulated by the live pink, she'll take them both.

Thanks again. I'll update this thread after her next feeding.

[Drizzt80]

Your welcome. As for recommendation #3, I have 3 hatchlings that eat live siberian dwarf hamster pinks. I have been putting in a f/t pinky with the live pink and 2 of the 3 are eating both meals . . . I'm hoping they'll eventually take just the f/t!

D80

[Energi2er]

My nephew has a 6 month old BP with the same problem, (munches live in seconds, but leaves f/t untouched) I am going to reccommend to him what Driizzt said to see if we can get him switched to f/t.