My ij and question about feeding problems

[Gaboon]

I just got my ij last week from keith at earth exotics. Its VPI bloodline and im very happy with him except that he hasnt eaten for me yet.

I know it could take some time but its been 6 days and still nothing. The thing that bothers me is that he seems interested its just he wont eat it. He goes over to the rat and sits right dead in front of it and if i dangle the rat by its tail he actualy will follow it around while having his head in the air lolz its kinda like a cobra doing the pot/dance thing but he wont strike at it :mad:

Heres some pics of him:

http://www.stranglethecat.com/Uploads/1/bradij.jpg
http://www.stranglethecat.com/Uploads/1/bradij2.jpg

Btw he was born april of 03 and is eating fuzzie rats. Any tricks i can try to get him to eat or any advice would be great. If nothing than ill just wait longer i guess.

[Mardy]

I would leave him alone 3-4 days and try again.
Only been 6 days so far.

Mardy

[Derrick]

it was a month before one of my JCPs from jeff ate. Then another month before she ate again at which time she at 3 fuzzies rats in 2 weeks and went into shed and hasnt eaten now in 3 weeks. My othe JCP eats like a champ

My sugestion is leave it for a week. Don't handle at all. make sure your temps are right and it has a secure hide. I dont even bother trying to feed a new snake until a week after I get it.

[Tim Schroeder]

Give it some time before attempting again. I don't feed new acquisitions before they've settled in for a couple weeks anymore. You'll want it to feel as secure as possible, small enclosure, hides, perch, and if at all possible put it in a rack system. The shadows in back tend to help. Just be patient, if you try to hurry his progress you may just stress him out.

When you feed him again, just drop the rat in and leave it overnight. If you heat it up in VERY hot tap water and introduce it late evening you'll probably have the best chance of success. Some of mine don't show interest initially, but eat without fail. They sometimes are a bit shy. If that doesn't work try some of the other trouble feeder techniques, only about once a week. My next step is usually live pinky rats. I wouldn't even bother with mice. Get him used to rats right away.

Tim

[Gaboon]

Thanks for the replies but i cant feed him in his cage because i use cypress mulch to hold humidity. I guess i could make a section of his cage with paper towl / news paper.

[Tim Schroeder]

I feed on cypress mulch and aspen routinely. I've never had a problem. You could always put newspaper or a flat dish down and put the prey on that.

Tim

[stkkts]

offer him a mouse, I bet he rips it right from your hand. IJs can be very stubborn about rats. My 3 wont eat rats. They do exactly what you described, they get really close as if they know its food, and they are hungry, but never actually strike. I had 2 that were taking rats, then stopped, and wont eat anything but mice. Try it, I bet it works.

[Yasser]

Better yet, Call Keith and Annette at E.E. and tell them you are having issues with the snake you got and see what they were doing to feed it. We have several animals of related founder stock and ours tend to prefer pinky rats. And if younger, ours tend to want them live.
Like stated before, leave it alone for another week...NO handling or offering of any food. Then offer your meals once to at most twice weekly until it snaps out of it.
Good luck.
-Yasser