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Can people just give me their opinion

RedRaydin

Jason DeFreitas
Hey guys. Look I know you don't have to be exactly on point with feeding. Like every 5 days or, oh my god your snake is going to die. Now I feed Raydin every 7 days. Two fuzzies. He's been on this pattern for about three weeks now. His feeding day was yesterday but he's been in blue for about 3 days now. He still hasn't shed. Now I've never tried feeding him during blue, but I've read that most snakes will not eat during this time. So my question is, since I haven't tried before, should I just go for it and try today?

I mean I'm off work so today is like the ideal feeding day, and I can't get food tommorrow because I work, Sunday the pet store is closed. So the next day I could feed it would be Monday. And thats 4 days off pattern. I mean I know Raydin is really healthy but I don't want to wait that long and chance him start having problems and being pickier about eating.

The other question is, I heard from the local pet store that the pinkies you buy may only last up to like 8-10 hours (live). And I do feed live (yes I know the repurcussions, and I was in that huge thread the other day about the feeding live vs. prekilled or thawed). Is that statement true about the pinks though? I feed fuzzies now, so if so, would that be the same? Or do you think if I bought the food today that they might actually live through tommorrow or Sunday? I know nothing about the feeders so.

Hope someone can help...
 
I have a rule of thumb I use for when my snakes are shedding: if they're still in blue, I feed. If they've cleared up from the blue phase, I don't feed. If your snake is still blue he won't be shedding for a few days yet, so you can go ahead and feed him. He may not eat, but it's nice to offer - I like to let the snake decide for itself. One of mine will happily eat in blue, so it's worth a try.
 
Tiaga has never refused a feeding, even if in blue or just after blue. But she is a eating machine. Use to feed her live since that's what she was fed when we got her 3 yrs ago. First mice then live small rats.

Tried f/t small rats on her about 3 months ago and she has yet to refuse a feeding, in blue, post blue or freshly shed. Good luck with yours, hope it's as easy to feed as mine is!
 
I have one snake out of 17 that will eat while in blue, the rest refuse. I have tried offering to them a few times just to see if they might be interested with no success. I have heard it mentioned that they don't like to eat in blue because there skin is so tight with getting ready to shed, that just adding a meal that makes them stretch out is more discomfort to them.

It is up to you and the snake as to if he will eat while at this point. If he takes it, then you are still on your normal schedule. If he does not, he will be fine going without a meal for a few extra days until the shedding process is complete and he will eat again.

I am not sure about the pinks...when I do feed live I feed as soon as I bring them home. If the snake that is supposed to be getting the pinks doesn't eat right away then I freeze them...I don't try to keep pinks, or even fuzzies for that matter, alive.
 
Some will eat in blue. Some will not.
I feed in blue all the time~ BUT I can just feed the mouse to a monitor if it gets refused.

If I were you I wouldn't bother trying to feed now. He might eat it. He might not. The fuzzy you buy should be able to make it a day or two without starving to death if it's refused~ but it might not (how long since it's last feed before you bought it~ was it the strongest feeder in the litter? Was it full or just half full at the last opportunity to feed?) and really it's unnecessary to leave the fuzzie mouse hungry for a couple days when the snake won't mind at all waiting till after his shed for the feed.

If you do buy it today and it gets refused~ kill it (a hard throw onto a concrete floor will do for a fuzzie) ~ keep it in the fridge and offer it warmed up after the shed.
 
My snake will eat before, during, and after a shed...she virtually never refuses a meal. However, since her last shed went horribly and her current shed doesn't seem to be going much better, I'll be holding off on feeds after the blue stage until she's done with her sheds from now on. I really hated having to watch her desperately rubbing the things in her tank trying to get the shed off with a full belly, meaning I couldn't take her out to soak her or have her crawl through a wet towel. I gave her 4 days to finish digesting, during all 4 days she had only tiny bits of skin coming off...that could not have been a pleasant feeling at all.

So for me personally...if she's in blue when she's due for a feed, I'll feed her. If she's just finished blue but has not shed yet when feeding day comes, she'll have to wail til the shed is done =)

-Janel
 
I feed mine when they are scheduled to eat, blue or not. If they refuse, they refuse...

I've had pinks live for 3 days+ without food, water, or supplemental heat. I have an '06 MBK that demands live, but likes to make them suffer in her tub for days before taking them. I don't like the cruelty of it, but oh well...
 
Last edited:
RedRaydin said:
The other question is, I heard from the local pet store that the pinkies you buy may only last up to like 8-10 hours (live). And I do feed live (yes I know the repurcussions, and I was in that huge thread the other day about the feeding live vs. prekilled or thawed). Is that statement true about the pinks though? I feed fuzzies now, so if so, would that be the same? Or do you think if I bought the food today that they might actually live through tommorrow or Sunday? I know nothing about the feeders so.

Hope someone can help...
Fuzzies will live for several days, but my theory is, without having mother's milk regularly, their nutritional value to your snake declines a bit. It won't hurt to let the snake go till it sheds before feeding. Just my take.
 
I just go by the snake- two eat while blue, two don't. But if it's a big hassle to keep the mouse alive- I'd just wait. I'd feel bad about starving the mouse.

Nanci
 
Some snakes eat in blue, others don't (are you sensing a theme here?) There is nothing wrong with offering food while the snake is in shed, but then there is nothing wrong with waiting a few days either.

In your particular instance, there really is no wrong answer. Since you are feeding live, if it were my choice, I'd say wait. That way, you can buy a fresh mouse when your snake is ready to eat.
 
BeckyG said:
Some snakes eat in blue, others don't (are you sensing a theme here?) There is nothing wrong with offering food while the snake is in shed, but then there is nothing wrong with waiting a few days either.

In your particular instance, there really is no wrong answer. Since you are feeding live, if it were my choice, I'd say wait. That way, you can buy a fresh mouse when your snake is ready to eat.

What she said ^^^.
 
Thanks for everyones help today on that. I decided to give it a try and if it refused than oh well. But you know as soon as I wiggled that mouse in the cage for less than 3 seconds, Raydin laid a strike so lethal, by the time I pulled the tongs away the mouses head was fully inside raydin mouth lol. So yea, no probs, guess that answers the questiona bout whether Raydin will eat during blue or not. Next time I know. He ended up eating both just fine. But again thanks for everyones input and stories they had on this. I did quite a bit of thinking before I decided to waste the whole 3 dollars on fuzzies haha. Later guys.
 
Oh yea... I guess it really is dependent on the snake. Seems to be the ultimate conclusion most of have come to. I'm just glad raydin ate. One weird thing though. After raydin ate today, he went over to the water bowl as usual, but this time instaed of flicking his tongue at the water for a while, he actually put his head down into his water bowl for about 10-15 seconds and swam maybe 1/5 of his body around UNDER the water... that was really weird. I almost wanted to open the tank to make sure he didn't drown. Anyone ever seen that? Just not his personality. Maybe it had something to do wih the shed? Opinions welcome...
 
Zee goes completely under water when he drinks, and even turns upside down. It was un-nerving at first. It's cool to actually see him swallowing.

Nanci
 
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