Ok here it goes the Question that has a million posts I know. So Sorry in advance I’ve read hundreds and hundreds of posts on just about every site or group I could find. and 90% of those had to do with enclosures not cluttered enough or temps not good enough.
or Snake is just too stressed or scared. or going into shed.
But my issues seems different in my eyes at least. My Girl is A OD YB Pied she was born July 3rd and I received her Aug 1st she weighed 80g had her enclosure ready glass tank because had to wait on pvc but 3 sides blacked out plus the front bottom below the door. I have a UTH that is about 88 at substrate witch is ReptiBark Coco Husk 81 ambient temps 65ish humidity for 90% of the day. also have a UVB and heat lamp and rest of the top foil taped. ok so most questions asked answered.
My Issue trying to feed first I tried F/T Hopper Mice and Small, Rat Pinkie. and waited few days in between trying then tried live rat and my girl will not strike at anything EVER she will go up to it act like she is curious what it is even slither right over it like it is not even there or even lay with it like it is her friend if I have it on tongs she will slither right over it and want to come to me so she can be held she acts like. Almost seems like she has no instincts to eat more then being stressed or scared. I’ve tried every witch way possible to try F/T and heating the head to around 98º to 100. I wait till later at night when she has been up and moving around as not to wake her to cause her stress. I have turned off all lights and tried feeding in the dark or dimming lights so could barely see. I’ve left F/T in her tank on the UTH Belly up of course. I’ve tried Shoe Box Tub I’ve went to pet store and got bedding and put them in to get the smell on them. I’ve tried having blood on head of the feeder. I’ve have tried every way I could read or watch everyone has suggested. I’ve spoke to my breeder 100 times and he has been awesome at trying to help. he said she was on live hoppers when I bought her. I am just at A loss as what else to try. other then going out and buying some pvc and building her A temp enclosure until mine gets here. so anything I could have missed or not have tried to get her to eat on her own with out assist feeding? I can do it just only want to as a last resort.
Once again sorry for asking the same question as hundred others have in the past but I did read as many as I could find first.
The only suggestion i can think of that you didnt list is scenting the prey item. It sounds like you only tried live rat, and the mice may have lost some sents in the thawing process, so perhaps scenting with a non thawed one after may help, or trying a live mouse hopper. I am not completely sure though. When my Carpets refuse to eat, small enclosure with plenty of hides always does the trick
First, you can save yourself some money and ditch the UVB. A study on ball pythons about a decade ago showed no changes in blood serum levels of vitamin D between control animals (no UVB) and animals exposed to UVB. Ball pythons do not need UVB to metabolize vitamin D.
Secondly, buy a live mouse hopper and leave it in the cage overnight. A mouse hopper can’t hurt your snake. Sometimes if that doesn’t work, you can stick the snake in a paper bag with the mouse hopper.
Definitely offer live mice until it eats, the smaller the better. Rats are a very intimidating prey item for a hatchling snake. Once you have the snake reliably eating live foods then you can switch to f/t.
I will echo the suggestion of using a live hopper mouse. Put it in around lights out as that is instinctual time for becoming active
This, however, I adamantly disagree with. I have seen the damage that a hopper can do if left unattended too long. Thirty to sixty minutes, tops. If your snake has not eaten after that point then pull the hopper and try again in a few days
I tried putting the F/T in bedding from pet smart of live
Putting a f/t rat in the bedding from a live mouse still isn’t the same as feeding a live mouse. I’m not sure what your reasons are for not trying live mice yet, but it’s often the best way to get a stubborn hatchling to eat. Especially one that’s eaten live mice before. It’s always best if you can feed the snake exactly what the breeder was feeding it.
If you’re having a hard time finding live mice, then I’d suggest looking farther out. I know that can be super inconvenient, but it’s the best chance to get your hatchling eating again.
I tried live after 2 tries of the F/T
Well I called every pet store around today and zero mice only live rat pinkies. So I reached out to A few MM Breeders Kelly’s Serpents witch is local I found using Morph Maps explained my situation he first told me no sorry he only did F/T. then not even 5 minutes later messaged me saying give him a few he will find me some. Sure enough he called his Supplier and they had a truck in the Area but would only sell 10 hoppers minimum. Well he went above and beyond and got 10 just to give me 3. well I met up with him got the 3 when he told me he had to buy 10 knowing he doesn’t even feed live I offered to pay for all 10 of them and he wouldn’t even let me pay for the 3. I tried several times to give him cash but wasn’t taking it. well fast forward 7 hours I put my girl in the tub i got her for feeding put the live hopper in and within seconds BOOM my baby girl got it. So happy to say my girl ate on her own. Thank every one who took time to respond to my post. You guys are awesome.
So glad she’s eating for you! I hope she switches over soon, it sounds like finding those live mice was quite the hassle.
yes it was I called every pet store around me in Ky,Wv and Ohio since I’m on the tri state and not a single live mouse other then a fancy but so glad I decided to ask the breeders on MorphMarket near me and out of 4 I asked 1 even tho he didn’t have any found me some.