Knev
03-23-2006, 03:36 PM
hi guys,
I bought a hatchling (born 8/05) about 2.5 weeks ago. The breeder i purchased her from didnt speak english so we couldnt properly communicate. She has not fed once with me prior to the force feeding i did today.
When i bought her she seemed a lil freaked out by everything so i placed her in a small tank and let her be for a few days. I only went to her to mist and check on water/temps.
The first time i tried to feed her she looked interested. She sort of attacked the f/t pinky but instead of biting it long ways e.i the head or tail end, she bit it in the middle. I thought that was sorta odd but i thought shes just a baby and is still learning. After the first bite, she gave up. Lost all interest in the f/t pinky. I left it overnight. She did not eat.
So I tossed it and tried again 3 days later. Nothing.. i tried again but this time i scented with tuna fish oil and i cut the pinky long ways down the middle for her...nothing.
So I tossed it and tried wrapping another f/t pinky cut down the middle, in chicken skin... nothing
So i tried cutting the f/t pinky into lil chunks for her...nothing
I tried to get live pinkies but they wont sell them to me at the petstores :(
Also they didnt have anolescent...
I went ahead and bought a few mice today so hopefully soon ill be able to give her a live one to try out.
At first i thought she might be in shed and therefore didnt want to feed.. i noticed she was sorta wrinkly and rough.. but ive misted her since day one and keep her viv humid, and even dipped her in some warm water a few times to help her shed... but she has not shed and doenst look like she is going to, however her skin still feels rough. She doesnt look like pre shed either, her skin isnt dull or anythign like that, shes just rough. I have other snakes and never have i had these problems..
I know its ok if they dont eat at first but her not eating coupled with the skin problems has me very worried. I thought she might me starving and thats why her skin was like that. So i went ahead and tried feeding her again ... nothing so i force fed her the arms, legs and tail of a pinky rat.
She let me handle her and open her mouth very easily. Once i gently put the arm in, she started to thrash around.. was very odd. After a while she stopped and began to swallow the arm, so i fed her the other arm and the 2 legs and the tail. She ate the second arm happily enough, however when it came to the tail, it took her a long time. She just stayed there with it hanging out, not doing anything for about 10 minutes. So i kinda nudged it in further and she ate it.
Before i force fed her i opened her mouth to check if her mouth was an odd color of yellow or black and it seemed normal.. i heard some snakes wont eat becuz of bacteria in the mouth, but her mouth seemed normal.
I dont want to force feed her again, can anyone help?
I bought a hatchling (born 8/05) about 2.5 weeks ago. The breeder i purchased her from didnt speak english so we couldnt properly communicate. She has not fed once with me prior to the force feeding i did today.
When i bought her she seemed a lil freaked out by everything so i placed her in a small tank and let her be for a few days. I only went to her to mist and check on water/temps.
The first time i tried to feed her she looked interested. She sort of attacked the f/t pinky but instead of biting it long ways e.i the head or tail end, she bit it in the middle. I thought that was sorta odd but i thought shes just a baby and is still learning. After the first bite, she gave up. Lost all interest in the f/t pinky. I left it overnight. She did not eat.
So I tossed it and tried again 3 days later. Nothing.. i tried again but this time i scented with tuna fish oil and i cut the pinky long ways down the middle for her...nothing.
So I tossed it and tried wrapping another f/t pinky cut down the middle, in chicken skin... nothing
So i tried cutting the f/t pinky into lil chunks for her...nothing
I tried to get live pinkies but they wont sell them to me at the petstores :(
Also they didnt have anolescent...
I went ahead and bought a few mice today so hopefully soon ill be able to give her a live one to try out.
At first i thought she might be in shed and therefore didnt want to feed.. i noticed she was sorta wrinkly and rough.. but ive misted her since day one and keep her viv humid, and even dipped her in some warm water a few times to help her shed... but she has not shed and doenst look like she is going to, however her skin still feels rough. She doesnt look like pre shed either, her skin isnt dull or anythign like that, shes just rough. I have other snakes and never have i had these problems..
I know its ok if they dont eat at first but her not eating coupled with the skin problems has me very worried. I thought she might me starving and thats why her skin was like that. So i went ahead and tried feeding her again ... nothing so i force fed her the arms, legs and tail of a pinky rat.
She let me handle her and open her mouth very easily. Once i gently put the arm in, she started to thrash around.. was very odd. After a while she stopped and began to swallow the arm, so i fed her the other arm and the 2 legs and the tail. She ate the second arm happily enough, however when it came to the tail, it took her a long time. She just stayed there with it hanging out, not doing anything for about 10 minutes. So i kinda nudged it in further and she ate it.
Before i force fed her i opened her mouth to check if her mouth was an odd color of yellow or black and it seemed normal.. i heard some snakes wont eat becuz of bacteria in the mouth, but her mouth seemed normal.
I dont want to force feed her again, can anyone help?