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Problem feeder (sort of)...

Blue Apple Herps
01-19-2007, 04:28 PM
I have an '05 female lavender who I got as a hatchling and she ate f/t from the get-go. Then about in July of 06 she stopped eating. Figured she was in blue, etc etc. Well 6 weeks go by (no shed) and she still hasn't eaten. So I think, maybe she wants a live mouse. Bingo! She started eating again.

So I figured it was a fluke, tried f/t again later, no luck. I had read from several members that they have snakes that will go on a f/t hunger strike but always return to f/t. Well it's Janurary and she still only eats live. My question are there any tips/tricks to get her to go back. I know all the tricks in the book for getting hatchlings to eat pinkies, but no tricks for switching larger snakes.

I don't want to keep feeding live ($3.00 a mouse is annoying the hell out of me) plus she's ready for larger prey which could do some serious damage.

I guess as a last resort I will keep feeding live, but I'd like to stun the animal first. I have never ahd to do this and would like to know how others do it. Sorry for the long post and thanks for help/advice/replies.

PtDnsr
01-19-2007, 04:37 PM
Maybe try the correct size rats? Our two plasma girls from Rich took f/t from us right away and then refused. Before trying live I switched and tried a rat pink which they gobbled right away. I actually have a few corns that seem to prefer rats to mice. Now they're on rat pups and pounding them weekly. Sometimes I think the change just gives them something to think about.

~Katie

Blue Apple Herps
01-19-2007, 04:42 PM
Maybe try the correct size rats? Our two plasma girls from Rich took f/t from us right away and then refused. Before trying live I switched and tried a rat pink which they gobbled right away. I actually have a few corns that seem to prefer rats to mice. Now they're on rat pups and pounding them weekly. Sometimes I think the change just gives them something to think about.

~Katie

Good idea!! Duh! I'm embarassed I didn't think of this. Now the only prob is I gotta find rat pups. And I just did my big f/t order...oh well.

Nanci
01-19-2007, 07:12 PM
I have an adult LTC corn, sex undetermined, probably female, who ate like a charm, F/T, weekly, for a year, then went on a six week hunger strike. She would _not_ take live rat pups. Finally, I tried FK, and now she's happy. She only wants to eat every 10-14 days, though, and instead of eating instantly, she will often take 2-4 hours to decide she's ready. Ok, so she's been on FK for about six months.

I tried to get her to take a F/T again two times ago. I thawed it in running water, and blow dried it. She ate it, and I was happy. It was the biggest mouse I'd ever seen- I hadn't checked the size at the shop. Unfortunately, she regurged two days later. I waited ten days, and tried a small F/T adult mouse, thawed in water, and blow dried. After a couple hours, I was losing hope, and picked up the mouse and flopped it down in front of her and gave her a stern lecture about wasting food. When I checked an hour later, it was gone! Stayed down, too. Both of the new F/Ts were slit, too.

So, maybe try FK, and maybe you can go from that to blow dried F/T.

Nanci

MegF.
01-20-2007, 05:31 PM
If you can't get it to take f/t, maybe it will take pre killed or stunned. At least that will remove the danger of the mouse or rat biting your snake during feeding.

Blue Apple Herps
01-21-2007, 11:05 AM
If you can't get it to take f/t, maybe it will take pre killed or stunned. At least that will remove the danger of the mouse or rat biting your snake during feeding.

This is what I was thinking, but how to I stun a mouse or kill it? I don't want to put the mouse through any unnecessary suffering?

MegF.
01-21-2007, 01:12 PM
Mostly just whack it's head into a hard surface like the edge of a counter or something. It's quick although it sounds brutal....

Nanci
01-21-2007, 01:29 PM
Matthew- if you have a reptile shop nearby- they just do it for you!!

Nanci

Blue Apple Herps
01-21-2007, 02:02 PM
Mostly just whack it's head into a hard surface like the edge of a counter or something. It's quick although it sounds brutal....

Do I just swing him by his tail, in a bag, sorry for seeming so ignorant on this.

And Nanci, unfortunately there are no reptile shops near me; heck there aren't even any pet shops besides PetCo, PetsMart, etc. The only "Mom & Pop" shop we had around here went out of business several years ago.

I'm just going to put in an order for some rat pups and see if that does the trick.

MegF.
01-21-2007, 02:16 PM
You can hold them by the base of the tail and do it that way. You can put them in a bag but then you really can't see where the head is. It's how I put one my cat injured out of it's misery. Handy midnight snack for my chondro.

Blue Apple Herps
01-21-2007, 02:53 PM
You can hold them by the base of the tail and do it that way. You can put them in a bag but then you really can't see where the head is. It's how I put one my cat injured out of it's misery. Handy midnight snack for my chondro.

Thanks for your help.