Feeding problems

[shaunyboy]

Originally Posted by dragunov.762

no offense taken Marvelfreak. i have never tried it it was just something i heard from a reputable breeder and thought i would mention it.

i dont want to start a fight here and i can understand what your saying marvelfreak.

i have a jaguar python and when i got it it was 3 years old.for the first 5 or 10 feeds i had to slap his head but more the sides of his face with his rat until 20 to 40 seconds later he'd strike and eat it.i didnt hit him hard but just hard enough to p**s him off.he has struck fed ever since.he now gives me the strongest feeding response of my whole collection.he also eats anything the others leave.all my snakes are strike feeders im not keen on leaving things in over night.i am in no way slating this feeding method,i just prefer to have all mine strike.
cheers shaun

[Nafun]

I'm not suggesting the "bopping" method, because obviously your snake has been traumatized and is very stressed out. However, it *can* be effective. My bp is a picky eater (redundant much?). When he would refuse f/t prey repeatedly, I would try live and he would ignore it until the rat or mouse got nose to nose with him, then he would strike it, kill it, and eat it. Recently I discovered that if I just hold the f/t mouse by the scruff with tongs and mimic this behavior (wiggling it a few inches away, then moving it slowly nose to nose) he'll strike, "kill" the dead rodent, and eat.

That being said...

Have you tried exposing the brain of dead prey? I know you said you've tried everything, but this is pretty gruesome and a lot of people are squeamish about it.

Also, you could try offering non rat prey items. If he's spooked by rats, he might respond to rabbits, guinea pigs, chickens, quails, lizards, frogs, etc.

Good luck, and I hope something works for you.

[pepianpel]

Originally Posted by Nafun

I'm not suggesting the "bopping" method, because obviously your snake has been traumatized and is very stressed out. However, it *can* be effective. My bp is a picky eater (redundant much?). When he would refuse f/t prey repeatedly, I would try live and he would ignore it until the rat or mouse got nose to nose with him, then he would strike it, kill it, and eat it. Recently I discovered that if I just hold the f/t mouse by the scruff with tongs and mimic this behavior (wiggling it a few inches away, then moving it slowly nose to nose) he'll strike, "kill" the dead rodent, and eat.

That being said...

Have you tried exposing the brain of dead prey? I know you said you've tried everything, but this is pretty gruesome and a lot of people are squeamish about it.

Also, you could try offering non rat prey items. If he's spooked by rats, he might respond to rabbits, guinea pigs, chickens, quails, lizards, frogs, etc.

Good luck, and I hope something works for you.

Thanks for the ideas ^^ ill see what i can do XD

[shaunyboy]

Originally Posted by pepianpel

As far as i know his mites are treated ^^ the vet saw him a few months after she demited him and everything got cleaned and gave me the thumbs up on him being clean, though he does have some red dots on his belly that I am a little concerned about. I asked the vet and she thought he may be stressed, but even when he's at home there there >.>''

I wasnt sure about the smaller tub, I have tried feeding him in a box a few times recently(because one of my friends said that it would be a bad idea to feed him in his tank, and that it would make him more likely to bite me) Since he didnt go after the mouse and kinda stayed away from it i figured he needed striking room, but maybe not. Another problem i faced was that he kept trying to crawl out of it. I have a question, if I do try a tub, should i have air holes in it? Thats one of my concerns because I thought of feeding him in one but i was worried about him not being able to breathe well.

Currently he has a pretty bare tank, but i am trying to find him a hide and something treelike so he has an easier time to shed. Our problem is that there are no real petstores near by so its hard to get stuff for him when we have the money >.>'' Do you have any suggestions for what to use as a hide?

Thankyou for your help as well ^^

can you post some pictures of the red dots please ?

mites are little black dots roughly the size of the full stops here .........

hides you can make out of all sorts of house hold things.a hide should just be big enough for your boa to fit in so his body touches all the sides.this makes them feel secure.you can use a plastic kitchen basin like you wash the dishes in.turn it upside down and cut an entry hole.when you cut a half circle hole in it for him to get in and out make sure there are no sharp edges.even plastic can cut,i file it smooth then put insulating tape on the edges.also a sturdy cardboard box anything that can have a hole cut in it and be upturned to create a hiding place.

if your taking wood from outside you have to sterilise it.i run a bath with some house hold bleach added to it.i then soak and scrub the branches.after a good scrub i put a heavy stone or something on the branch to make it soak under the water.i leave it this way for 5 or 6 hours.i then drain the bath,use the my shower head to rinse the wood.once i feel ive rinsed it clean i fill the bath back up with clean cold water.i then wieght the wood down and let it soak for a further 5 to 6 hours.imo the wood is now clean and sterile.i put it in the cuboard that houses our hot wtaer tank.after a few days of heat the wood is completely dry and ready to use.

re putting the boa in a smaller tub. i meant downsize its tank and let it live in the smaller one until such times it feels secure and resumes eating.however that said you might get away with putting hides in his present tank,this will give him some where to hide and feel secure.put them in both the hot and cold ends.even putting 4 hides in in different places in his tank.this will give him somewhere to hide at the temperature he likes.

re feeding outside his tank i feed all mine inside their tanks.i dont agree with folk saying they will bite you more if you feed in their own tanks.your in his tank every day to change the water,you also spot clean any poo etc,etc so your in and out his tank all the time.only once a week you open his tank for feeding purposes.so imo its highly unlikely he will associatte you going into his tank as im getting fed.as said only once out of many times per week your in his tank does he actually get fed.

where as imo if you take him out put him in a tub to feed him once a week.would he not expect fed everytime you took him out,if your friends theory was correct.

i hope you get your boa to calm down and eat.once you give him hides dont go near him.just change his water every other day.give him 2 weeks then try and feed him.once he gets his stress sorted out and feels secure you should see a difference in his behavior.he will be out his hide more and confident.
cheers shaun

[Nafun]

I successfully used the "expose brain" tactic tonight on a stubborn feeder. It was seven kinds of disgusting.