Change of diet

bugger · 06-09-09, 05:11 PM

I've been feeding f/t mice pinkies till two feeding back.
I usually feed once a week now, and two pinks, or whatever they get at that one week feeding.
I pull them from their tank and feed in a clear plastic box now, for holding eggs in a fridge. I used to put them in a 32 oz deli cup, but now I use this box so they can move around if needed. Lots of room for them to move in, but they use little of it when they hit the feeder.
I went to live fuzzies for two of the small corns, and pinkies for the snowcorn.
They ate fine the first feeding, but a week later, when I offered a live african soft furred rat pinky to my snowcorn he ignored it. He has never passed on a meal, till then.

has anyone tried african soft furred rats, and had problems with them being taken?

Will0W783 · 06-11-09, 08:20 AM

Why would you go from f/t back to live? You want them to stay eating f/t, as live can result in injuries to your snakes. I don't know much about corns, but some snakes can become "addicted" (for lack of a better word) to one kind of food source and that is all they want. Maybe this is the case, and you should stick to the species you originally fed them?

bugger · 06-11-09, 11:14 AM

My normal source was out of frozen pinkies, actually I had to coax him into selling me a couple pinkies, which the snowcorn ate. All he had was live peach fuzzies, and I hadn't fed in over a week so I went for them.

gonesnakee · 06-11-09, 01:58 PM

Best bet is too buy your prey in bulk from a breeder. Its WAY cheaper & you always have a supply on hand if you order again prior running out. A little palnning etc. saves TONS of $ in the long run.
I agree on why go from FT to live thats just silly.
Same as trying ASFs instead of mice. Last time I checked mice were way more readily available & also cheaper as well, makes no sense to feed them to FT mice eaters to me.
ASFs are usually used to feed problem feeders that will not take mice or rats etc. Mark

bugger · 06-12-09, 11:36 AM

Well, I get pinkies for 50 cents each, no matter how many I buy, and he throws in extra's when I buy a dozen or more at a time, but he'd sold several dozen right before i showed up last time, so I got what I could.

As to ASF's, I have about 40 of them, and 6 are breeders, very prolific breeders, so I don't forsee a shortage of them.
My females dropped two litters right after I bought them, and appear pregnant again, already. I'll just pop the right size into the freezer and I'll be set for quite some time, when it's time.
Them not smelling bad, and not killing each other off, and breeding prolifically are why I went with asf's. My mice were a major PITA.
I know of 3 breeders I've met in the last couple weeks, and two of them said they wished they hadn't bred so many cause they are so damned prolific. They have them running out their ears. I only paid 50 cents for the asf fuzzies I got cause she wanted to get rid of them due to the over run.
They were hard to get, at one time, but now that they've been breeding them they're all over the place, if you look, and they aren't illegal where you are.
Some people were only selling males, so they could breed them, but some breeders are trying to get rid of females so there aren't any unwanted pregnancies anymore. They are also trying to get rid of the fiestier, meaner biter asf's, and breed for the mellower and easier to handle one's, so they're out there, and I don't forsee any shortage too soon. I actually see an over run, but as I said, I got a freezer and a tank of C0 2.

My young have never tried to bite or be aggressive, but the breeders...

gonesnakee · 06-12-09, 11:53 AM

If you breed your own thats much different then, Mark