RCReptiles.com

[ryancbj22]

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[todd13]

fancy cage

[RonCrawford]

Looking good.

Is he feeding now?

[ryancbj22]

No he only ate that one time and now he's back off again

[deborahbroadus]

If he's one of Ron's he was more than likely raised in a tub? Have you tried covering the tank to let him eat?

*is that light at the top hot? Can he get to it, does he?

If you have tried everything, he just may not be hungry right now.

OR

Do what I do:

Make sure snake is awake...tantalize him by dangling the prey within smelling distance for a while...Drop prey into tub (or dangle it if that's their thing) and say: "Now you silly SOB if you don't eat you can STARVE for all I care!" and close drawer.

*I have a 90% success rate with this method

[ryancbj22]

LOL are you feeding pre-killed Deb?

I have tried everything even scenting the prey with chicken broth. I have his tank in my living room so when I get home at night I have a towel that I throw over the tank. I don't use that light in there, but it's not a basking light it doesn't get very hot at all.

I try every week too feed him and it doesn't work. I was placing the rat in the tank and it is such a pain because the hides and everything else the rat hides behind or in and it's very hard to monitor things. So I started pre-killing the rat and dangling and that doesn't work I try for about 10 minutes and he is kind of interested but never actually does anything. I can't just throw the rat in the tank anymore because it's to complicated to monitor the whole thing. I always wait until night and he has been a lot more active lately. I wait until he's poking his head from the hide and try dangling and cursing at him and I get nothing. He hasn't deficated in a while either of course without eating why would he. His temps and humidity are great no problems. He ate that one time and the next week shed so I think that had something to do with it.

I thought about him being in a tub for nearly four years and then moving to this big tank like this. He shows no signs of stress at all he is completely calm and active and seems to be perfectly healthy. I quit handling him other than during cleaning times as well.....

[ryancbj22]

It gets expensive when you kill these rats and they don't eat. I might as well throw the $6 down the toilet...

I live in a one bedroom apartment so breeding rats would not really be an option.....

[deborahbroadus]

Depends on who I am feeding. But I feed p/k, live, and f/t. I don't actually put anything in the tank that has the potential to do grievious harm (the prey could get lucky and I accept this risk..but I know my snakes pretty well).

The live small rats and ASF that I use are usually small enough that I would have to leave them in there starving before they would consider chewing on the rat. So while I do wait and see if the BP takes it right away, if it doesnt, I close the drawer and come back in an hour or so (there is rat food in the drawers if I close them).

Yes, it can get expensive if one is buying, that's why I would suggest that if it isn't eating to wait and do it MONTHLY (people will consider me mean..so 2 weeks will be fine ) that would give the him time to get hungry and not be expecting food to be dropped from heaven for his benefit.

All I am getting at is, don't stress. Put the live mouse, or whatever you are using in there and let the snake do his business. Just peek in the dark for an hour or so...perfectly still, do not move, use a weanling..those are weak enough that they can do little harm unless they get lucky..which isn't usual with BPs; they are quite efficient killers.

[ryancbj22]

Thanks for the info Deb! I have that attitude that he'll eat when he gets hungry enough. It sounds bad, but I have that I don't care attitude about his eating habits now the way I figure it he'll either eat or he won't. I'm sure he will soon though it's been pretty cold here and these last two weeks have been around 80 so hopefully the warming up can intise his appetite a little......

[jb.t3ch]

[StuckInTheStargate]

Gary is pretty

---
If Joan of Arc could turn the tide of an entire war before her 18th. birthday, you can get out of bed.
-E. Jean Carroll

1 beardie
1 ball python
5 hermit crabs
1 older sister