Broken tail

No luck. She struck at it & then dropped it & left it. May have been my fault, I wanted to record it & didn't turn the light off the phone. My son tried to feed her in her hide (has a hole on top & side) because she was checking it out from there... I think that was a mistake too. He usually takes her out of her hide first. We'll try again on Monday.

Originally Posted by LMS68

No luck. She struck at it & then dropped it & left it. May have been my fault, I wanted to record it & didn't turn the light off the phone. My son tried to feed her in her hide (has a hole on top & side) because she was checking it out from there... I think that was a mistake too. He usually takes her out of her hide first. We'll try again on Monday.

You might want to try wiggling the mouse a little bit or try an even smaller one or just heat it up a little bit just my 00.2$

Yep, he did wiggle it, it was a very small pinky & it was warm. The only thing he didn't do was brain it. No biggy, we'll try again in a couple of days. I'm just happy she actually drank more today. First 24 hrs, nothing, 48 hrs, one sip, 72 hrs a good chug a lug on one occasion. And behaviour wise, again going from "don't you touch me, go away" & not budging one muscle from where we'd left her, to moving a little from in her hide to under the PT & "do you have to touch me? if you really have to but let me go back & hide", to calming right down & tolerating under 30 min of handling. Pretty darn good considering.

And remember when she just had the accident, she refused food for 3 weeks.

Must admit I'd be more inclined to feed quietly by just leaving the food with her overnight, rather than waggling it about.

According to a few people (vet, breeder & a good friend who has experience with reptiles) you can't leave the mouse for too long because it starts to degrade & can make the snake sick. I'll my son what the time frame was. I remember vaguely that 1 to 2 hours was a big no no.

Sorry: I'll *ask* my son...

Lots of people leave pinkies in their snakes enclosures or feeding bins overnight when they have tricky feeders. A mouse isn't going to go bad in 12 hours.

Oh, and forgot to mention, I'm really glad your snake is doing so much better. I've been following this thread, hoping for the best.

He he I feel like the kid that asks a zillion questions especially the "But whyyyyy? This is what I was told by these experienced people!" So... yeah... I'll clarify with my son.

Feeling a bit like this with sorting out all the info. Lol I keep reminding my son that she's HIS snake, not mine, so why am I the one doing all the homework as if it was mine. I have this feeling that Martha will be living with us a looooong time while he move out & on.

Thanks for the well wishes.

Originally Posted by LMS68

According to a few people (vet, breeder & a good friend who has experience with reptiles) you can't leave the mouse for too long because it starts to degrade & can make the snake sick. I'll my son what the time frame was. I remember vaguely that 1 to 2 hours was a big no no.

Overnight is fine as long as it's at the cool end. I wouldn't leave it longer than that. 1-2 hours isn't very long at all. Some new arrivals can take much longer than that to eat - some even insist on the absolute quiet and dark of night-time.

Leaving the food with the Corn overnight is one of the first tips and tricks we advise for reluctant eaters. If it was harmful, it wouldn't be as successful as we've seen it.