 Recent Herp Discussion | | | | | | | |  | 
02-Aug-07, 08:47 PM
|  | Regular Member | | | |
hey all....does anyone have some tips on how to get a snake to eat rats instead of mice? I have had the snake about a month and the breeder was feeding on freshly killed hopper / velvet rats. When i first had the snake all i had were some fuzzy mice so i fed him regulalry on these and he gobbled them down. The last two times i tried to feed him i was using thawed velvet rats instead and he would snap at them but not eat. The last time i tried scenting with a fuzzy mice by braining the mouse and using the "mouse juice" on the rat but he woudl still not take it. Does anyone have any other tips i can try or shoudl i just be perisitant and he will take it eventually? It is not easy for me to get freshly killed rats and i dont really want to have to go down that path if i can avoid it.
Thanks,
Dave |
02-Aug-07, 08:48 PM
| | Regular Member | | | | | btw it is a 6-7 month old jungle..... |
02-Aug-07, 08:50 PM
|  | Seller | Join Date: Oct-06 Location: Brassall QLD Age/Gender: 30  | | | Dont feed him for a while give him like 2-3weeks without a feed then maybe try a fuzzie rat... I had the same problem with one of my pythons, I didn't let him eat for couple of weeks then when he was hungry he ate it. Don't stress him out by offering him food all the time just be patient and give him some time  Good luck matey
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02-Aug-07, 08:54 PM
| | Regular Member | | | | | thanks....whenever he has not taken a rat i have juts given him a mouse which is probably just teaching him bad habits!! I had decided that if he did not take a rat tonight that i would not give him a mouse and give him another week or so and then try a rat again when he is a bit more peckish....thanks again. |
02-Aug-07, 08:56 PM
| | Seller | Join Date: Oct-06 Location: Brassall QLD Age/Gender: 30 | | | Cause my 6mth old coastal has done the same wouldnt take a pinkie rat but would take fuzzy mice so this went on for a while (rats have a higher fat content) so i not feed him for a few weeks and when i offered him a pinkie rat he took it cause he was hungry... Patience is a virtue... I dont have much of it lol
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02-Aug-07, 08:59 PM
|  | Regular Member | Join Date: Apr-07 Location: brisbane Age/Gender: 35  | | | | keep on with senting the rat and dont feed for a while pull some hair off the mouse an put it on the rat defrost the rat and mouse together dont worry ive got a stimmy here loves his mice and iam senting rats every feed for him somtimes i give him the mouse then sented fuuzzy rat(mouse hair all over it)
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02-Aug-07, 08:59 PM
|  | Sapere aude Sponsor | Join Date: Oct-06 Location: ACT | | | | If he is not taking the rats but he is eating the mice then you can try trail feeding him. To us they probably dont smell that different but to him i am sure there would be a big difference.
I am pretty certain there is also a difference in smell between a fresh rat over a frozen and thawed rat. So you could try a fresh killed rat and leave it in over night.
The scenting method will work but i find the best results when i cut the fur of the mouse off and place this on the head of the rat, then basically put the rat head right against their mouth.
I wouldnt stress about it, worse case scenario you use a small live rat. But that would be the last resort. |
02-Aug-07, 09:00 PM
|  | Roadkill Subscriber | Join Date: Aug-05 Location: Western Sydney Age/Gender: 25 | | | | Leave him for a couple of weeks as suggested, then try the rat. If no success, give him the mouse, then try the rat again immediately after he has consumed the mouse.
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02-Aug-07, 09:05 PM
| | Regular Member | | | | thanks everyone......plenty of options there that shoudl keep me busy for the next feeding attempts!
If they have such good smell i wonder why he confuses my hand with food? LOL!!  |
02-Aug-07, 09:08 PM
| | Sapere aude Sponsor | Join Date: Oct-06 Location: ACT | | | | he isnt confusing your hand with the food based on smell, that is to do with the heat. Thats their targeting system. |
02-Aug-07, 09:14 PM
| | Regular Member | | | | | just joking slothhead.......thats a nice diamond you have a pic of in your profie.
Thanks all for your help, im sure there will be some pics and a post when he finally decides that rats are tasty and eats one! |
02-Aug-07, 09:17 PM
|  | Subscriber | Join Date: Oct-05 Location: Somewhere in the great SE (QLD) Gender: | | | Scent the rats and over time reduce scenting until his a rat addict 
Solid advice from others though.....
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02-Aug-07, 09:29 PM
|  | Subscriber | Join Date: Nov-06 Location: SE QLD | | | | I got my snakes to change over by using live rats but they like them with more hair on them, than a fuzzy rat so try small weaners |
02-Aug-07, 09:34 PM
|  | Regular Member | Join Date: Mar-06 Location: Brisbane Age/Gender: 23 | | | | You could also scent mice with rat, that would confuse the little fella. |
02-Aug-07, 11:17 PM
|  | Regular Member | Join Date: Jul-07 Location: nsw Age/Gender: 19 | | | Just be persistant i got my bredli juvenille on rats tonight couldnt be more happy. I tried one week and had no luck, so i fed him a mouse instead. I then tried the following week, he sussed it out and finally went for it.
Good luck with it anyways mate
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