Why won't my snake eat a rat pup?!

[Ghost]

Is there any way I could get my corn to eat a rat pup?
It's been fed mice all it's life until now (Store had no mice) and I really don't see any reason for it to turn down a perfectly sized and frozen rat pup. In the wild they'd never pass up an opportunity like this if it meant a decent meal! She flicks her tongue all over it, seems interested and then loses interest all together and pays no more attention to it. Those 2 pups cost me $11.00! whatta waste! So, any way I can get her to eat the rat pups?

 

[bmm]

They may very well never get an opportunity like that in the wild. Anything dead or wounded is quickly picked up by other animals. And if they did get the chance (its not unheard of) they don't always take it, or else more carrion eating behaviour would be seen. Where as now its not seen often.

You must scent the rat with a mouse, mouse blood, or just the rat rubbed on the mouse. The snake is conditioned to eat mice, you said yourself you fed it mice all its life. So it will need to think its a mouse until it gets passed the rat scent being different. Then it will eat the rat.

good luck!

bmm

 

[13mur 6]

There's a way I found that works in getting a snake to eat almost anything. Have the food item and hold it with tongs, chopsticks, anything long and thin, and drag it gently across their tail. It will almost always immediately strike the food item and if it doesn't it will turn around to investigate, and you can simply do it again. Once they have the food item in their mouth, freeze, do not move a muscle, they may spit it out, or decide to eat it, but don't start moving until the food item is nearly down the gullet.

If that doesn't work, just don't feed them for a week, and try the rat again, maybe they're just not hungry enough to try something new.

-13mur 6