| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| karel |
Posted - 27/11/2011 : 17:55:50
I have a male python about 4 years old and feeding him is a nightmare.
I have tried just putting the rat in wet ,dry, the hair dryer treatment making it dance with tweezers,and nine times out of ten all I get is a strike . In fact I can get him to strike anytime just not eat it ,then out of the blue he will eat one ,no rhyme or reason,sometimes twice. then again for weeks nothing.This all seemed to start when he had to be moved to another room as that one got too hot in the summer.But that was a year ago.In fact when I tried again yesterday he struck at me the second the box was open,luckily he missed.Iam sure he is underweight but I just cant build him up,he just dont eat frequently enough. We have another male who is the exact opposite ,like a vacuum cleaner just chuck it anyhow and its gone in seconds both boxes are next to each other on a heat mat with a thermostat set for 80-83F. There is fresh water daily.And he is not ill always active in the evening and inquisitive . Any ideas welcome .Many thanks .Could he be stressed with the presence of another male next to him ? But in the other room they were next to each other but he ate. |
| 20 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| chrisc |
Posted - 10/01/2012 : 13:14:41
good to hear hes feeding even if its mice. at that weight you should start feeding every 7 days |
| karel |
Posted - 10/01/2012 : 10:30:56
Hi all he is feeding well now I have his weight up to 850g in a few weeks. Unfortunately its mice only and white at that.He has also shed ,and did a large long solid poo. Iam offering a warm mouse about every 4-5 days .Best wishes Charlie |
| chrisc |
Posted - 16/12/2011 : 14:17:21
nice one thats good to hear. they love a nice warm rat/mouse. once you get some weight on him you can try switching him onto rats |
| karel |
Posted - 16/12/2011 : 13:07:27
I think we are winning ,he will take mice with no problems ,providing you use hair dryer treatment and serve the really warm and they are white. He took another last night 5 days apart from the last one .
Whew. |
| karel |
Posted - 14/12/2011 : 16:29:10
Hi chrisc one weights 450g this is the one that is a struggle to feed and the other 900g. I will follow your feeding guide, and try to build him up.
Best wishes charlie |
| karel |
Posted - 13/12/2011 : 10:01:01
I will weigh both my males and let you know later today .Many thanks for your help chrisc. |
| chrisc |
Posted - 12/12/2011 : 21:12:02
with him being 4 years old every 7-10 days. how much does he weigh?
heres the feeding guide
Blackecho's feeding guide - feed 10/15% of the snake's weight.
0-400g - feed every 5 days
400-800g feed every 7 days
800-1200g every 10 days
1200g+ every 14 days
if hes under weight i would feed every 7 days to help build him up a bit |
| karel |
Posted - 12/12/2011 : 21:02:49
Hi I defrost just naturally, if there is any dampness there is no way he will eat it ,all I do is put in a bowl on the radiator and wait for it to defrost.I will continue feeding him medium and then large mice to get him eating regularly first.He is definately underweight,and then try switching him back to rats ,he ate yesterday so when should I try next mouse ?
Many thanks for your help. Charlie |
| chrisc |
Posted - 12/12/2011 : 13:38:26
congrats on the feed. as you said you already defrost. do you defrost straight in the water or in a bag then in water. you could try defrosting a rat an mouse in a bag together so the scent does not go as much but offer a smaller mouse than usual followed buy the same size rat, thats may work. but as long as hes eating something thats good although if hes been off his food i would just give him mice for a few feeds to build him up a bit |
| karel |
Posted - 12/12/2011 : 10:21:46
Hi all well I got him to feed, at last ,but I think he likes mice only ,having tried vast amount of rats in different colours sizes etc. with virtually no luck ,a mouse he went for instantly.I do feed him around 9pm.like you do ,its when he is most active.I must admit the odd rat he took over the 3-5 month peroid has always been defrosted with mice .But this did not always work.How do I get him back on rats is the question. Best wishes to you all Charlie |
| jhk2005 |
Posted - 07/12/2011 : 15:24:00
I tend to feed them all in their own boxes. I have tried a 'feeding' box but they seem to get distracted by the different surroundings. I also tend to feed mine around 8-9pm once its dark and that way if I handle them in the day they don't associate the opening of the boxes with the coming of food. Let us know how you get on, good luck! :) |
| karel |
Posted - 06/12/2011 : 09:41:59
Hi thanks mate I will try this ,should I try to feed him in a seperate container to the one he lives in ?
Many thanks guys |
| jhk2005 |
Posted - 04/12/2011 : 12:15:55
Hi Karel, i've had a similar thing lately with my victoria ; she would strike, constrict and then drop it in the water and lose interest? maybe it washed the scent off? after two times of doing this i take the bowl out at feeding time and she wolfs it down.
I've also found that a couple of my more fussy ones will only take food thats on the smaller side than they could cope with. Try giving your one a smaller sized item and see if this helps? Maybe he 'thinks' its too big for him and is just being fussy   |
| karel |
Posted - 03/12/2011 : 19:50:42
Hi they are not in a viv but in containers like in a stack so there is only one hide. and a bowl of water , but the other male thats next to him is like an incinarator eat anything anytime ,I will also try braining .And marmite ,he has been kept in a continer since we had him and no problem till this last year or so ,when we had to move them to another room.Many thanks I will report back. |
| chrisc |
Posted - 29/11/2011 : 17:10:21
read it here an a few other threads on TCS
http://www.thecornsnake.co.uk/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=18773&SearchTerms=marmite |
| markmifsud |
Posted - 29/11/2011 : 11:56:21
never heard of marmite being used, chicken broth, soup, rub chicken skin on the rat, dip in raw egg. None of these worked for me though lol |
| chrisc |
Posted - 29/11/2011 : 10:35:05
yea i read somewhere that a bit of marmite on the rats nose can work, not tried this myself yet |
| jonoandapril |
Posted - 29/11/2011 : 10:05:31
marmite? is that true? might have to give that a go, my bumbebee's gone off his scran....
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| chrisc |
Posted - 28/11/2011 : 17:01:29
a smaller rat might also work of dipping the nose of the rat in marmite apparently works. what are your setups like? you mentioned the heat an water. are they in viv's, fauns or rubs? have they got 2 hides one in each end? |
| Lorraine |
Posted - 28/11/2011 : 11:34:30
You could try braining it I suppose..it might work. |
