My new baby :D

[Python_Player]

ok so no luck, showed interest then just sat there for ages... then it went cold, heated it back up in warm water, went cold quick, then put it in hotter water and cooked it ... sooooo im warming the last fuzzie mouse i have at an attempt he will try down that.. fingers crossed. i need to find a more effective way of heating the food maybe...

 

[TigerCoastal]

hmmm another idea might be to cover his click clack with a towel, he might just be a shy eater and dont like to be watched. And have you tried putting the pinky in the fridge and letting it defrost for a few hours before warming it? I have one snake that wont touch a rat that has been defrosted in water, but will eat it wet after it has been warmed. I dont know if it has something to do with the ammount of time it is in the water for, if it "dilutes" the smell or taste or something, but he wont touch it. the other 3 will smash anything waved infront of their nose. just another coulpe of ideas i have just had.

 

[Python_Player]

yeah i put a black cover over the whole click clack and darkened the room because it worked the first time i fed him...but not the case this time. i think ill try defrosting in the fridge and then warming it in the water. hmm im hoping the pinkie rats wont be too big for him?... he's fed 6times, born january...and his body size is a lil smaller than most of the rats...but then again he didn go for the mouse either. i got video on my iphone of what he was doing but i cant get it off onto the computer :S hahaha

 

[TigerCoastal]

i would guess that they arent to big for him, it would be more that he likes the mice better if anything, some snakes are hard to swap over. If you look at the rat and think that it "might" be to big for him, its probably still alot smaller than he could eat if he really wants to. Have you managed to measure and weigh nubi yet? Or does he look dull like he may be comming up to a slough? I cant think of alot more than that, and i am guessing that not alot of people can be stuffed reading through 4 pages to make a reply....lol...but hopefully someone else can offer something else, or if i think of anything i will put it up for you.

 

[Python_Player]

yeah the size crossed my mind but i offered him the smallest one there which was slightly bigger than the fuzzie mouse i was feeding him. he might like the mice but he didn go for the fuzzie mouse after i tried offering the rat. nah havent weighed or measured him yet, i havent taken him out in a while, and he is still looking dark so i dont think he is coming up to a slough. its all good, he probably just isnt hungry, its only been about 10 or 11 days since i last fed him...i might try again defrosting a rat, then if he doesnt take it ill just wait some more

 

[TigerCoastal]

10 or 11 days is nothing really to worry about, i dont think, but would be starting to try to figure out why he isnt feeding a bit more frequently for you as a snake this young needs feeding more often than a larger snake. Are your temps still right? just wondering if you have had a bit cooler weather and that is effecting the (nighttime) temps in his click clack, i've never used a heat mat/cord so wouldnt know, but have noticed that in the last month here my heating has been on more and more, so am wondering if your heat mat is struggling? Did you end up gettin in contact with his breeder to find out if there was a specific way that he defrosted/warmed/fed? Were you hassling him with the feed today? just wondering if you place the pinky in his enclosure somewhere close to him, cover the enclosure and leave him if that might have a different result? Was just talking to a mate that has bred them in the past and he said that there was the occasional snake that got to stressed by the hassling and wouldnt feed unless it was done like this

 

[Python_Player]

yeah im not worried about 10 or 11 days.. its just i want him to start feeding more often... in 3 months he's only fed for me twice...
im gonna try a couplllllle more techniques and make sure that im warming the food good and then ill contact the breeder. temps seem to be ok, he spends alot of his time on a new plant i put in there and occasionally warming up on the heat mat in the mornings...i think an accurate thermometer is in order. i tried hassling and i tried leaving it in there for a while but didnt make a move on the pinkie rat or fuzzie mouse. will let ya know how it goes over the next couple days

 

[TigerCoastal]

Yeah there still a few more things that you can try, braining, puncturing the stomach, and if worse comes to worse, once you have been shown how to properly do it, force feeding. Next time you try feed him, try quietly sitting the pinky on the floor of the enclosure close to him, cover him and leave him alone, he might have been stressed by the hassling and once you put it down that may have stopped him having it. The other possibility that i haven't thought of untill now, and i dont wanna stress you out, but sometimes there could be a medical reason for it, like an abcess in his mouth or something like that. I've never had anything like that yet, touch wood, so i dont know what the symptoms to look for are. I have a thermometer in each enclosure before i put a snake in there, and at my local rep shop they have the black round ones and then single probe digitals for about the same price, but the digital are alot better i think. You can also get twin probe ones to monitor warm and cool end temps.

 

[Python_Player]

ok so ordered some digital thermometers... will get this temp thing under control.. but id the heat matt is on the floor will the thermometer have to go on the ground? or the sides fine? :S. hmm i doubt there is anything wrong with him, like i said its prob just the way im preparing the food. will contact the breeder and ask how he went about preparing the food .

 

[TigerCoastal]

I cant really tell you where to put the thermometer, coz i have never used a heat mat, only globes/heat emitters to heat the air. I would guess that you should check the temps on the floor above the heat mat, but also check what the air temp is, as the heat mat wont really heat the air that well. Also have you got a hide sitting over the heat mat? like a box with a small hole in it? That will help catch a little bit of heat and create more of a hot spot for nubi to digest. Could you post some pics of your set up including one with the lid in place, side on, an full internal and give me a discription of where the heat mat is? Might be able to come up with something from that to help with the temps

 

[Python_Player]

ok so got a few snaps of the enclosure, still want to add some dowel pieces that run the length... mayb just one will do. U can see in the enclosure theres a longish toilet roll in the heated area and the water bowl is in the cool area. the vent on the lid is just covered with speaker material so he cant squeeze through the wires. Heat mats the black thing thats on an angle under the container

 

[Python_Player]

pics attached:

 

[Python_Player]

and one more

 

[TigerCoastal]

looking at the pics tha'ts about the same set up that i have, just a bit bigger as its a proper enclosure. The only thing that i can suggest you try is to swap your hides over, as the toilet roll lets in more light and doesn't hold the heat as well as a "cave" style hide. That way he will have the heat that he needs and a dark space to hide to digest. Sometimes that's all it takes, my female has a hide that if you take it out of her enclosure she gets really cranky, she's to big to curl up inside it now but she loves to wrap around it. To put a dowel in just cut it to the length of your click clack and stick some screws through the ventilation holes on opposite sides

 

[Python_Player]

hmm thats true bout the 'cave' hide...i might try that. ive just warmed up a pinkie rat, dropped it in turned the light out and left it for about 20min... will go check it in another 20 or so.
Also im thinking of building, out of a cabinet, an enclosure and make my own rock wall etc... i know that cause its a hatchie it shuldn't be in a huge area (still be a good couple months before it will be close to being finished) but i was thinkin ill pop his lil click clack in there and leave the lid off so if he decides he wants to go for a wander he can. obviously plenty of hides, good heating/basking spots, climbing etc will be available in the bigger enclosure.. just an idea for now anyway

 

[Python_Player]

oh and i had a quick peep 5min after i dropped the pinkie in there and he was sniffing it out so i turned the light off and walked out again haha

 

[TigerCoastal]

you just read my mind with the enclosure thought, i find it easier to get the temp gradient right in my larger enclosures so i would guess that the same would go for click-clacks - small enclosure. What size are you thinking of? I have converted a t.v. unit into an enclosure, havn't got as far as doing rock walls yet, they are a plan once i get a few things finished off around the house

 

[Python_Player]

yeah tv unit is good but all the ones i have seen are just wayyyyyyyyyy too big.. huge! i dont think most of them would fit in my room lol. something like a lil smaller or a tv cabinet without the sides or something like that.. ill see if i can find a pic. i like the simple enclosure where its got the tank on top and the cupboards underneath actually. yeah the size of the click clack just make it difficult to get everything u want to fit in there.

well i had a look and he is just chilling outta his hide with half his body looped around the pinkie.. doesnt look like there is much interest :S

 

[TigerCoastal]

give him some more time alone if he is half wrapped around it, his interest might be getting up a little more. If size is an issue, go to bunnings, grab some melamine and build it yourself, my 3 bank of enclosures 2100(h)x1200(l)x600(w) cost me $70 in melamine, so a smaller enclosure would be bout $30 and they have it pre-cut at different sizes so you can make it without cutting it if you need to. The biggest cost comes from the electrical's ($70-$$$) and the glass ($50 for 2x 500x620, 5mm toughened glass)

 

[Python_Player]

yepp he's on the heat matt right next to the pinkie, thought he was eating it at first then when i got closer he looked up at me so i quickly left n turned light out, shut the door haha. well the problem is i dont have a huge range of tools, so getting a cabinet thats already made might be better...then again i wouldnt need too many tools i guess.. i'll see how it goes, if i cant find anything that appeals ill jus go bout making my own . plus im gonna need some assitance on UV and IR globes etc etc when i come to it :S gets confusing when u hear so many different things