New snake will not eat.

[PurePain]

Hey guy i'm having trouble with my new snake. It's 18 months old and i picked it up 3 weeks ago from the breeder a day after it fed. Its around 3 foot long. I tried to feed it a week after i brought it home and it didn't want a bar of it.

Now its been another fortnight since then and the same thing is happening. It kind of crawls over it has a look and then just forgets about it. But if i try to remove the rat from the enclosure the snake attacks the hook starting to get worried now

 

[hypochondroac]

Can i just ask..

How do you defrost?
How do you go about offering the snake the meal?

 

[syeph8]

try putting it in a smaller space (like a large click clack for 18month old) with the rat for 20 mins. leave it alone and dont go near it. see what happens then... make sure the rat is warm all the way through.. sound like he is interested if he is striking when the rat is in the enclosure.. maybe give it a bit more of a jiggle if that doesnt work? (assuming you havnt tried this before)

these comments are made under the assumption that you have little to no experience with defrosting and are just plonking the rat into a larger enclosure and standing there watching and/or moving around impatiently. (i dont mean to insult you man but i like to start with the basics. plan for the worst, hope for the best)

 

[Chris1]

a bit more info would be good

how big is its enclosure?
temps?
how are u offering the food?
(as in putting it on the floor, holding it and teasing the snake,...etc)
whilke the snake is attacking the hook do u try and get it to strike its food?

is it the same size/rodent the breeder was offering?
(some are used to mice and dont take rats straight away)

no need to be worried unless it looks skinny, snakes can go an awfully ling time without food.

just make sure it has fresh water at all times.

 

[PurePain]

i defrosted in the fridge overnight and warmed quickly in some warm water. Perhaps it was not long enough? and it slipped of the tongs so i just left it in the bottom of the enclosure and left the snake alone. Enclosure is 4ft. Temp is 30c. I got the rats from the breeder. Same size as he has been feeding it

 

[Chris1]

yeah, make sure the food is warm all the way thru, to body temp.

try jiggling it, if u have no luck tap the snake gently on the nose with teh rat to get it to strike.

then leave it alone.

4 foot is pretty big for aq 3 foot snake, does it have plenty of hides and stuff?

try bumping temps up a degree or 2, it may or may not help, but worth a try,...

 

[PurePain]

How long should i leave it till i try feed it again? it has a decent size hide in there. Plus other stuff it can climb on etc.

 

[syeph8]

feeding can be an issue in larger enclosures for small snakes as previously stated. i would be defrosting for longer. can take a while. give the rats a good massage on the head and abdomen to feel if thee is any cold at the core. when did you last try? id say soon to try again, but make sure you do it right. where abouts do you live in vic buddy? i could come around and show you if you are interested. pm me.

 

[PurePain]

I'll give it another try tomorrow. I live in north vic a little bit far away from Glen Waverly. Thanks for the offer tho . I'll put another one in the fridge now and try to defrost it and really warm it up tomorrow also will try feed in a click clack

 

[hypochondroac]

yeah, make sure the food is warm all the way thru, to body temp.

try jiggling it, if u have no luck tap the snake gently on the nose with teh rat to get it to strike.

then leave it alone.

4 foot is pretty big for aq 3 foot snake, does it have plenty of hides and stuff?

try bumping temps up a degree or 2, it may or may not help, but worth a try,...

Good advice here.

 

[gosia]

Was it eating rats before coming to you? or was it on mice? - can make a big difference from what I have learned on this site and our fussy Delilah!

 

[Dave.M]

that is a very good question ,For mine mice are defrosted then put in a glass, the glass is put in warm water for 5 to 10 minutes thenfed to snakes.never had a problem.Have started to think how to warm them up when they are big rats?

 

[syeph8]

i defrosted in the fridge overnight and warmed quickly in some warm water. Perhaps it was not long enough? and it slipped of the tongs so i just left it in the bottom of the enclosure and left the snake alone. Enclosure is 4ft. Temp is 30c. I got the rats from the breeder. Same size as he has been feeding it

the above quote should answer the questions below

Was it eating rats before coming to you? or was it on mice? - can make a big difference from what I have learned on this site and our fussy Delilah!

that is a very good question ,For mine mice are defrosted then put in a glass, the glass is put in warm water for 5 to 10 minutes thenfed to snakes.never had a problem.Have started to think how to warm them up when they are big rats?

 

[driftoz]

that is a very good question ,For mine mice are defrosted then put in a glass, the glass is put in warm water for 5 to 10 minutes thenfed to snakes.never had a problem.Have started to think how to warm them up when they are big rats?

i put my mice in the fridge over night and all day while im at work then into a plastic bag and then into a cup of warm tap water for about 10-15 mins. my friend defrosts there rats by placing in news paper and then putting ontop of there enclosure light fixture for a few hours cant remember exactly how long.

 

[Fantazmic]

also not sure if anyone metioned it it can help to cover the enclosure....Elvira gets distracted sometimes and thinks she is coming out of her enclosure to be with me instead of eating....when i cover her with the towel she doesnt get distracted by movement near her enclosure.

Also something my breeder told me to do......try coating the mouse/rat with chicken stock....although again this should be as an absolute last resort as I could just imagine once you start something like that you might then have to do it every time.

Elizabeth

 

[evozz]

Not sure if it makes any difference, but my partner and i defrost ours by putting them in hot water straight from the freezer, instead of leaving it in the fridge overnight. Seems to work well enough...

as quoted from another thread

Put the pinky in warm water, you don't need to place it in a ziplock bag, i just place mine straight into the water. You usually have to change the water once or twice to insure it's completely defrosted. Don't microwave it, you are not trying to cook the pinky.

Are you tempting the snake at all? I.e shaking the mouse around with your tongs?

This is how my partner and i warm our rats up. We usually don't have to tempt our snakes, they're up and ready for the food before we even make it to their enclosures, and they take it as soon as we put it in.

When i first got my atherton, she wouldn't eat for 2 or 3 weeks. I think it was the stress from moving home. Just give him/her some time, once they get hungry enough they will want it. Also try, as others have said, wiggling it around more and even bumping the snake on the nose with the mouse

 

[FAY]

Purepain
Ask the breeder what he did to feed it. Some pythons have different ways they like their food offered.
I have one that you have to lie the freshly killed mouse next to it and it grabs and eats very gently and doesn't like you waving it in front of it.
Just some have their funny little quirks.

 

[JAS101]

what sort of python is it ? as the temp could be out a fair bit , did you have to travel far to pickup the snake ?
as a long travel can stress the snake out for a while then add the new enclosure / new owner and you have one stressed out snake .

 

[Fantazmic]

Purepain
Ask the breeder what he did to feed it. Some pythons have different ways they like their food offered.
I have one that you have to lie the freshly killed mouse next to it and it grabs and eats very gently and doesn't like you waving it in front of it.
Just some have their funny little quirks.

i agree with this the first time I fed Elvira I was waving the pinkie in front of her and she looked at it like she didnt know what it was....then i held it still and she grabbed it straight away....