Cheynei won't eat rats

Aussie Pythons & Snakes Forum

Help Support Aussie Pythons & Snakes Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
Status
Not open for further replies.

squamate

Not so new Member
Joined
Apr 12, 2013
Messages
21
Reaction score
0
Location
France
Hello all,
I have a small problem with my female cheynei. She just want eat mice and ignores the rats.
It's an usual problem with this species, I know but I tried the scenting, the braining and it did not work.
Even the rats are denied.

Today she have eat 10 mice and it's more and more expensive :?

Do you have a solution for eats it a rats ?

Is there a prey that is more consistent than mice that could accept by my female ?
 
Some snakes will never eat rats. It's just the way they are. Keep on doing what your doing. Persistence is key. As a very and I mean VERY last resort try scenting with a geckos shed. I've had luck with that in the past. I have to admit I have only tried that with stubborn non feeding hatchlings. Good luck on your mission.
 
I've heard things about people getting there rats to smell like mice, haha I don't know how you would though... Like if you rub the mice on the rat or something... what about a quail.... if she wont feed rats at least quail can get nearly the same size as rats...
 
if scenting doesnt work, ive read that if you offer a mouse first and then pop a rat in its mouth as its swallowing the last of the mouse (like a trailer) they can get used to them that way,..worth a try i guess.
 
Try some quail. I had a jungle who was being a bit fussy and hadn't eaten for awhile, got some quail purely cause my supplier didn't have the right size rats in stock, she smashed them and hasn't looked back.
 
I have had a number of jungles over the years that have had issues with moving from mice to rats and even up-sizing prey size, some jungles just don't like change. A few things have worked for me in the past, as others have said scenting can work well, also tying a small rat to a large mouse can work well. Personally I have had great success with switching to rats via quail, first skip a feed or two and get the snake good and hungry, offer a quail (i have yet to own a snake that won't take quail). After a few successful feeds of quail I then start scenting the quail with rat. Again after a few feeds of the scented quails, offer a rat scented with quail.
 
go on rogers reptiles website he has a great method
Cheers Liam
 
guinea pigs and small rabbits may work as well but I would try quail first.
 
Thanks all for your answers and your help.

I will try chick, it's less expensive.
Found a quail in France is really difficult but I will find it.



What eat the cheynei in the nature ?
 
Last edited:
Not much will eat the cheynei in nature. Maybe a good sized feral cat or dog if they found one. Birds of prey will snap up a hatchling....

Of course, if you mean what will the cheynei eat in nature, anything it can catch. Birds, rodents, small marsupials
 
The trick I use with all my carpets, using frozen thawed rodents, is to always thaw mice and rats together in sealed ziplock type bags in hot tap water, and let them warm together. I do this with EVERY carpet now, so every mouse that gets fed has some rat scent on it, then they usually switch easily. For the ones that don't, or if I acquire A newbie that refuses rats, I take a mouse, thaw it in a bag with at least 5 rats, do this a few times, then thaw a rat in a bag with at least 5 mice. That has worked on every problem animal yet.

I suppose this won't work if you only have 1 or 2 snakes, but if you have enough mouths to feed, it is all but fool proof. It also works well with species that are stuck on chicks and quail.

Dave Pierson
 
I never thought that a snake eats a cat or dog, thanks for your info.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Latest posts

Back
Top