What are the odds of this working?

[Zoe]

Okay, my carpets love mice and chicks, but they REFUSE to eat rats. Even if I tie the chick to the rat, they simple regurgitate the whole thing when they get to the rat. But I am getting desperate. My big female is over 5.5 feet long, and my little one is pushing 4.5 and I want her to GROW. All three will eat very agressively if they like the food item.
So, I've tried everything except forcing the rat all the way down which I don't want to do and doubt it work, and cutting open a chick/mouse and covering a rat with its insides. What do you think of the latter idea? Will it work? Because I really, REALLY, don't want to do that unless it's like 95% certain. Blerh.

Thanks
Zoe

[Scales Zoo]

We kept a carpet python who would only eat mice, he would actually push a rat out of a pile of mice before he would eat. One day he was hungry, so we let him snake all over the cage, with mice on top of it so he could smell them. We offered a rat of comparable size to the jumbo mice, and surprisingly he grabbed it and ate 3 that day. But we cannot have mice in the room if we want him to eat rats now, as he will refuse to eat the rats if he can smell we have mice in the room. He refused the rat the second try, and we gave him mice instead.(our mistake, now he knows we will give him a mouse instead of a rat if he refuses to eat) One trick I use with ball pythons to switch from gerbils to rats, is to take their water away for at least 24 hours, and then offer a thawed wet rat. Most of the time they ge excited while trying to drink the water off the rat, they simply open up and eat it. Good luck

[Mardy]

Zoe, I have changed a couple tough ones to gerbels and then to rats, but the easiest way is to change them coming out of cooling when they are there hungriest. I have a little yearling that is being tough this year again. In the future I'm going straight to rats no mice.

Mardy

[snakelover111]

why do u have to feed them rats

[Zoe]

Because mice are tiny compared to rats. Imagine feeding a 5ft snake 5-10 mice (they'd be eating mostly fur and bone!)

Zoe

[Mardy]

How long have you left her without food? Try the rat if she does not take it wait a week then again a rat. I would let her go 4-6 weeks she should start getting real hungry.

Mardy

[sydcire]

I agree when hungry you will almost eat anything,its the same with snakes

[Zoe]

I would let her go without food, but she is very thin. She's always been sort of thin because she only mice, but she hasnt eaten in a while (bout 20 days), and her last meals have been small.

Is it dangerous to let her go without food?

Zoe

[sydcire]

it all depends on how long without food,my haitian boas only eat about once a month you should be ok for at least 2-3 weeks depending on size,while cooling snakes dont eat for months!


Syd

[Mardy]

Thats not your MOM is it. If so I would forget it for now give her lots of mice, and try rats. And you should be fine after next years cooling.

Mardy

[Zoe]

No, I am talking about my little female.

[Mardy]

Give her another week and offer a couple live big rat pinks leave them in her hide if you can.

Mardy

[Zoe]

Tried that, and it didnt work.

Zoe

[Mardy]

Keep trying once a week 2 or 3 more times.
She will be be fine.
Mardy