How big?

[python_guy44]

i heard if you feed live a good thing is to remove the rats teeth with a pair of plyers so they are mostly harmless.I am not speeking of personal experiance but from what rat breeders have said .

 

[wattso]

Thats cruel, inhumane and the stupidist thing i've heard today jeremy! Think about it kid, i'd like to see you try an remove a live rats teeth with pliers without squeezing it to death trying to hold it still enough anyway. which rat breeders would these be??? :roll:

 

[Stevethepom]

if anybody is stupid enough or sick enough to try this....there is a way to hold a rat so it cant struggle and it wont hurt the rat (unless of course your yanking its teeth out with pliers pfft, what nonsense)...its to roll the rat up in a towel, saw a video at tafe its what research guys do to restrain it while poking god knows what into em.....

 

[Artie]

Jeez, I have never heard of anything like this , unbelievable, pulling out teeth etc:evil:

 

[NoOne]

Wattso have you tried birds? Live birds(finches/quails not sure how big the snake is and i haven't read every post) but carpets do feed alot on birds in the wild and would definately be worth a try.
I've found alot of carpets will take birds when they refuse rodents but they can get addicted to them.

This is getting silly!
People don't forget snakes HAVE brains and can tell what size food it can and can't eat, whoever said that large feeds are bad for snakes needs to get out and actually see some wild snakes. Large feeds are what snakes are designed to do, their whole head is designed for that reason alone, have you ever seen a snakes head?
As long as you aren't feeding big feeds every week and it's warm theres no problems.
Snakes aren't babies they don't need us to do everything for them.

As for pulling teeth out of live rats, what kind of a sicko would do that i mean come on you ain't normal if thats what you call fun. :x

 

[wattso]

How would my pyth catch a fast moving bird, even in an enclosure? I presume in the wild they are ambushed at night while sleeping?

 

[Fangs]

Wattso,
I wouldn't be resorting to live food yet if I were you.Really it aint been that long since your snake last fed.As a matter of curiosity how often are you offering food to him?
If I were you I would offer thawed prey,if he didnt eat try him again in 2 weeks and so on.
If the snake started to lose condition then I would try fresh killed before resorting to live.
Also if he was a good feeder in the past you might want to have a look to see if anything has changed for him.Have you rearranged the cage etc?

Jeremy I would like to know where you heard about pulling rats teeth.

 

[lutzd]

I had feeding problems with a new olive, and a live zebra finch got him eating straight away. From there it wasn't much effort to gradually wean him onto dead ones and then scented rat pups.

You'd be surprised how easily they can catch a bird! I couldn't believe it myself when I saw it - they move incredibly quickly.

 

[Artie]

Yeah, spotted Pythons hang out in caves and catch Bats as they fly in and out .

 

[wattso]

yeah i did change the cage fangs bout the time he last fed! put it back over a week ago so he might settle soon. i really want to avoid live food, tried mice but he wouldnt party. just curious, dont think he could constrict a small bird?

 

[NoOne]

I started my hatchling olives on live finches, i wouldn't worry about him catching or constricting them if he can eat an adult mouse he can catch and eat a finch, no worries.
Like fangs said if it's hasn't been that long don't get to concerned, as long as it looks heathly and moves around alright he should start to feed again.

 

[almaron]

Whick brings me back to a Q. that never got answered....

Short answer is it's not likely that changing to live prey would permanently ruin your snake on frozen thawed. However, it could quite easily complicate your particular situation. I know you're getting anxious and impatient for your guy to eat, but you need to realize that the more you press the issue with him, the more you're adding to the problem. And I'll point out that it isn't really a "problem" for the snake at this point. It's a problem of peace of mind on your part.

My advice, is to not mess around with live mice, rats, birds, or anything else. Stick with what he has been eating. He ate it before, and he will eat it again. His not eating could be lots of things, but it certainly isn't that he's holding out for a treat. What you need to do with him is leave him alone as much as possible. Wait at least a week between offering him food. Only offer him what he has been eating. Maybe try a different size though. Like something really, really, really big might be good. :wink: :twisted:

Seriously though, bottom line is that the less you stress him out, the more likely he is to return to eating. Live food at this point MAY get him to eat, but it's just as likely to stress him out even more. Even if he did take it, what about next week? If he doesn't eat next time, you now have bigger problem, eh? Best bet for him to eat is if he gets hungry. That simple. And sometimes it can take a good long while for them to get hungry.

 

[Magpie]

Maybe try a different size though. Like something really, really, really big might be good.

you are an evil evil man!

 

[wattso]

Thanks Almaron, i've been told that so im leavin him well alone for atleast 2 weeks then try again :wink: