Live feed.

[matt2376]

can anyone help me out with live feed for my coastal carpet python?? brisbane/bayside area. he is very fussy and wont have a bar of frozen mice/rats. any help will be appreciated.

 

[gavgav]

you could try rubbing chicking feathers over the nice that may work

most people dont reccommend live feeding there snakes

 

[cosmicwolf4]

Could you give a fresh kill? Live is a bit dangerous for the snake and cruel for the rodent.

 

[hornet]

have you tried scenting, braining, different methods of defrosting, different feed items etc etc. Alot of people are just plain slack with feeding and give up after offering thawed without trying the numerous other methods out there. Coastals are a very easy species to work with so just keep trying

 

[souldoubt]

you can also try crushing the rats skull sometimes the scent of the crushed brains will encourage them to eat. Sorry to state the bleeding obvious but make sure you offer the food when the snakes active.

you really want to avoid feeding live rats because your snake cant get bitten by them, and its a welfare issue for the rats as well



*dammit appears i was too slow haha all this is stated above

 

[matt2376]

thanks people. a fresh kill would work but cant get hold of any live ones to kill before offering them to him at the moment. will definitely try the ideas on the frozen ones tho. i was just leaving the frozen ones out and wrapped in some paper towel to defrost. was also using hot water in a bowl to heat them as i was told never to use a microwave, as this is unhealthy for them. are there better options?

 

[matt2376]

someone also mentioned chicken necks to me. could that be another option??

 

[HILDY]

Try quail

 

[HILDY]

Also have you tried just leaving the food in with him overnight.

 

[matt2376]

i haven't tried quail as yet. are they also available frozen? i have tried leaving it overnight and he still wont touch it. he just has a bit of a sniff and backs away. i have even tried leaving it a few days to make sure he is hungry, but he still wont go for it.

 

[hornet]

The 2 main ways i use to defrost is in hot water so it gets defrosted and wet and in a plastic bag in hot water so it gets defrosted and not wet. Some snakes wont touch the "washed" prey and visa versa. Make sure the food is warm when offering aswell. Try both those methods with both rats and mice, you can try rubbing a lizard or bird over the prey item to scent it, you can crush the skull which is referred to as braining. Try those and see how you go then move onto trying quail which can be harder to obtain

 

[dragonboy69]

When did the snake last eat could it be shedding.Try dragging the food sometimes it my try going for the food Thinking that it is live food that works for my snake.

 

[matt2376]

ok, cool. thankyou. will try those ideas out. hopefully he takes to one of them pretty soon as he's hungry atm and looking for a way out of his tank to find some food. lol. perhaps the defrosted and wet may have been my problem, will try defrosted and not wet tomorrow. thanks again everyone. wish i had found this site earlier!!

 

[matt2376]

he ate about a week and a half ago, and shed late last week. will also try dragging the food. i'll give anything a go to get him to eat frozen as it is a lot easier and cost effective!!

 

[AllThingsReptile]

try catching a garden skink, and although this sounds cruel, make it drop its tail, scent the mouse
people say to kill the lizard, but this way is nicer AND legal

 

[matt2376]

sounds like i should invent a "scenting" spray. i'd be rich!! hahahaha. thanks everyone.

 

[pythons73]

he ate about a week and a half ago, and shed late last week. will also try dragging the food. i'll give anything a go to get him to eat frozen as it is a lot easier and cost effective!!

DONT panic at this stage,a week and a half..They can go for 6months + without food..Just leave alone for a week and offer a nice warm rodent after dark..

 

[J-A-X]

DONT panic at this stage,a week and a half..They can go for 6months + without food..Just leave alone for a week and offer a nice warm rodent after dark..

I agree, a week or two is nothing, he may just not be hungry. a couple of questions for you:

How long have you had him, and how old is he.?
What temps do you have in the enclosure?

 

[junglecarpet]

I think just leave it a bit and keep trying... he will get real hungry eventually and feed hopefully

Quail are good however they have a tendency to explode once defrosted (personal experience) You could try day old chickens?

Oh and I have been told that feeding live animals is actually illegal

 

[J-A-X]

I think just leave it a bit and keep trying... he will get real hungry eventually and feed hopefully

Quail are good however they have a tendency to explode once defrosted (personal experience) You could try day old chickens?

Oh and I have been told that feeding live animals is actually illegal

No, live feeding is not 'Illegal" just highly frowned upon and discouraged unless the animal is in danger of starvation as it is inhumane for the prey item. it is an absolute last resort. feeding live prey also puts your animal at risk of severe injury, any animal (including cute little mice) will literally fight for their life if they need to, and can potentially cause massive damage to your beloved snake.

a couple of weeks is not a life and death situation. i'm betting its more an issue of the snake a) isn't hungry b) temps of either the prey or the enclosure are not correct.