A snake and a mouse living together...***?

[SpilotaFreak78]

strange but true...

Anyhow this is the backstory of my situation and I would like some advice if anyone can offer it.

My 8 month old Honey Jungle has developed into something of a problem feeder, not that I mind but I am getting a little worried about him.

According to my partner his last feed was on the 28th of August, the day before I came back from overseas and he hasn't eaten since.

At first I thought, that because he is so fussy, he might be off his food and still tried each week with properly prepared food but he wouldn't take it.

Then I thought perhaps he may have been given bad food. My other two snakes are great feeders and would eat anything and haven't shown any outward signs of anything being wrong which is good, but I am worried for my little guy as it is at the 3 week mark now.

Anyhow I felt some hope yesterday when I tried him with a live mouse. He went for it, killed it and began an eating attempt but after a while left it. It was an adequate size for him, but he still didn't touch it.

I then got rid of the first mouse and gave it to another of my snakes and then tried him with another live one. Strange as it is, he now has a live mouse living in his tub with him? I left it there in the hopes he would get cluey and take it, he isn't the most intelligent of Jungles so I hope he gets a clue about the live mouse soon enough.

What can I do for a snake that won't eat rodents, I don't know what else to feed him?

That and he is so small, I don't want to hurt him if I have to force feed, that and I wouldn't know how to do it anyway.

Any advice anyone?

 

[Em1986]

I am not too sure about what else to try him on but with the mouse i wouldn't leave it in with him. I have seen and heard about snakes that have been attacked by live food being left in with them while not being watched and they aren't pretty at all How big is the mouse anyway? Depending on the size you may be able to get quails or chickens around the same size (baby quails are pretty small depending on the species they are) and try him on them.

 

[SpilotaFreak78]

the mouse isnt very big, about fuzzie size, the snakes head would fit over the mouses head quite easily. I did think about that though the mouse doesn't seem frightened by the snake at all, which is also strange.

 

[GeckoJosh]

Take the mouse out now.
Change the substrate bedding etc and give the tub/enclosure a clean so as to get any rodent smell out.
Wait a week or two and offer a fresh killed mouse, if that doesnt work then maybe live is best but if it strikes and coils leave it undisturbed in the dark for at least 3-4 hours before checking.

 

[ingie]

Hi 3 weeks is not a very long time to go without food for a snake so don't be too worried or thinking about force feeding. It could easily go several months or longer before thinking about that. The weather is still a bit cool so depending on your heating it just may not be in the mood.

Clean out your tub like Goldmember said, giving him a rest from mouse smells for a while so it seems new and exciting when you next offer. In a week try a bit bigger mouse with stinky fur that has been fresh killed, and see how he goes. Perhaps even use some long tongs to wiggle it with so he doesn't get distracted by your hand. Make sure he has been nice and warm for the days leading up to the feed. If he doesn't go for it just leave it in there at the entrance to his hide for the rest of the day undisturbed.

Best to try a few different approaches with dead food, even quail, before trying live as it will be annoying if he takes a liking to it and won't go back to dead! Don't worry if he does refuse, just wait another couple of days before trying again in case he feels stressed by things being waved around him when he doesn't want to eat. There are heaps of threads on here if you search, that have all kinds of tricks for getting problem feeders started again.

Hope that helps

 

[veenarm]

lol 28 August? my diamond hasn't eaten since 1 June and im not even trying live feeding ...

Try braining it first, and or then dipping in egg whites to give different smell.

But yeh darkness is best !

 

[garthy]

Step 1, put your flame suit on.
Step 2, take a few teaspoons of cement
Step 3, make a mental note not to talk about live feeding and even more importantly not to leave live prey in with a snake ever again on this forum.
Step 4, don't worry too much about the snake not eating, it can lst months without food, sometimes exposing a bit of blood from a (already dead!!) mouse might trigger the right response.
Step 5, triple check the temps in the cage and make sure the snake isn't about to shed.

Good luck with it, oh and good luck with the snake too lol

 

[carterd]

Try feeding it Rats.
As you know they can stop feeding coming up to shedding.

 

[alrightknight]

I would of written this as a hypothetical, or "a friend of mine".

 

[beeman]

99% of the cases of snakes that were feeding and now have stopped for thier new owner is a direct result of lack of correct husbandry!

Fix the husbandry issues and you will find they start eating again!

 

[SpilotaFreak78]

Try feeding it Rats.
As you know they can stop feeding coming up to shedding.

Spot is too small for rats and wont touch anything skinless

99% of the cases of snakes that were feeding and now have stopped for thier new owner is a direct result of lack of correct husbandry!

Fix the husbandry issues and you will find they start eating again!

Yeah I know, this started after I bought him and Im taking responsibility for it.

As it happens, I dropped by a pet store today and found Daniel Garcia there, a breeder I know of. I told him everything I've said here plus more stuff and he said most likely Spot is a male (coz he aint officially sexed yet) and the issue is night time heating and I need to get a thermostat. He said if he had eaten bad food then he'd already be dead by now after 3 weeks

And for those who mentioned it, the mouse wasn't in with the snake for long, I just thought it was an interesting title and a place to start for a help thread. And I do appreciate all the helpful comments coz they've been added to my, 'think of this next time' list!

I did try some of the hints and they have helped him along. He is in a new case with new everything and I hope he will be ok

 

[Jen]

Is this a joke thread? Please tell me this is a joke?
First - remove the fuzzy and put it out of its misery - it is probably starving and dehydrated as 'fuzzy' mice are still drinking milk from mum exclusively. Even 'hopper' mice have not yet been weaned.

As was stated above, remove the mouse, clean the enclosure thoroughly and put in new bedding etc, then leave the snake alone for a week or so before trying again with fresh killed.

Also, use the search function on here and look for what happens when live mice/rats are put in with not hungry snakes, it's not pretty.

 

[SpilotaFreak78]

Is this a joke thread? Please tell me this is a joke?
First - remove the fuzzy and put it out of its misery - it is probably starving and dehydrated as 'fuzzy' mice are still drinking milk from mum exclusively. Even 'hopper' mice have not yet been weaned.

As was stated above, remove the mouse, clean the enclosure thoroughly and put in new bedding etc, then leave the snake alone for a week or so before trying again with fresh killed.

Also, use the search function on here and look for what happens when live mice/rats are put in with not hungry snakes, it's not pretty.

This is not a joke thread and yes I am aware of what happens, this was why the mouse wasn't in there for long. As for food, its either thawed or fresh live, no fresh killed. I can watch a snake kill a mouse etc but I can't kill animals myself, not a softy, just have an aversion for harming things after years of martial arts and spiritual training.

 

[Jen]

I'm sorry, 'spiritual training' allows you to watch a captive reptile kill a mouse? If you cannot kill the mouse yourself, don't breed them for reptile food, buy from someone who can. In not culling the mouse before hand, you are basically torturing it, I'm pretty sure your 'spiritual training' would be unhappy with that....

 

[FAY]

Was just reading this thread. A few questions?
You said it ate just before you came back from overseas. What did it eat??
I also found odd that someone told you that the snake is probably male, even though it hadn't been sexed yet. Just curious. What made this person come to that conclusion?
Mice running around in a cage with a snake can easily scare the snake.....hence may be why he just killed it, maybe more defensive.

 

[Defective]

disgusting! you know you are in breach of the animal cruelty act don't you! NEVER FEED LIVE FOOD ITEMS!!!!!!!!
my stimson has only just started taking rats fortnightly! a snake that size can go months and the fact that you have been back for nearly a month and haven't thought about asking earlier (like before feeding live food) ...i'm gobsmacked!
clean out the enclosure wait a couple of weeks and try braining or dipping in egg and go from there. your snake could also be in a shedding cycle or the temps may not be correct!

 

[Pythoninfinite]

Ha! It's also only 8 months old... so no male hormones kicking in just yet! (Even if it is a boy).

The live thing is a bother however... if it was eating thawed before, it will eat thawed again. Once a snake has accepted thawed food, NEVER offer live food again or you're making a rod for your own back.

Three weeks is nothing.

Jamie.

 

[SpilotaFreak78]

I'm sorry, 'spiritual training' allows you to watch a captive reptile kill a mouse? If you cannot kill the mouse yourself, don't breed them for reptile food, buy from someone who can. In not culling the mouse before hand, you are basically torturing it, I'm pretty sure your 'spiritual training' would be unhappy with that....

Jen if you want to know what torture is then let me tell you a little about my daily job. I have had to watch people throw themselves under trains and kill themselves and haven't to see the body afterwards when its my job to go and check things out. I have had to watch a guy die from a drug overdose as he was being given CPR. I have to live with memories like that and others I cannot list on a public forum. And so I do not think you know what real torture is, you won't know it till you live with memories like that you can't forget.

And for the record I don't breed mice, never said I did, I was offered the mice by a pet store as an alternative food source for my snakes. I didn't like having to watch my snakes eat live food, but I had to so that no damage came to the snakes as I was told to do when feeding them live food as requested by the pet store.

so please don't go jumping down anothers throat if you don't intend on getting the full story, ask questions first, only then will knowledge come and wisdom will be learnt so posts like this won't have to be made, and I won't have to explain myself.

Ha! It's also only 8 months old... so no male hormones kicking in just yet! (Even if it is a boy).

The live thing is a bother however... if it was eating thawed before, it will eat thawed again. Once a snake has accepted thawed food, NEVER offer live food again or you're making a rod for your own back.

Three weeks is nothing.

Jamie.

Thanks Jamie

 

[Leeloofluff]

It does not matter what you do for a job, live feeding is irresponsible and unnecessary. I was a nurse, saw some terrible things but did it give me the excuse to go home and torture things? Please never live feed again, too many things can go wrong for the snake, and you are causing unjust pain to an animal. Take the advice of fixing any husbandry errors, or ask someone with experience at force feeding if that is the final option

 

[Defective]

and ive worked as a volunteer ambo for ambulance SA, so i've seen what you have and im 24!I don't go home and torture my reptiles! If you had given the full story to start with people wouldn't have jumped to conclusions. The fact is you did the wrong thing... period. No if's and but's about it....