[Frozen/Thawed] first feeding FAIL

[misspeachesx]

well..the last few days lexus has been acting HUNGRY. searching around her cage, acting restless, so i thawed out a rat for her. i popped her into a sterilite tub, let her settle down, grabbed the rat, oh so perfectly teased her with it and then *drum roll* the tip of the rats tail broke and i dropped the rat on her head and now she has no interest *shakes fist*

so right now she is sitting in her feeding tub with the rat. we'll see what happens.

[MLynch]

Re: first feeding FAIL

Good luck, and keep us updated.

[misspeachesx]

Re: first feeding FAIL

well i just went back in there, dangled the rat around a bit and she seems very interested, flickering tongue, moving in, and then she just stops and tries to head out of the tub.

hmmmm..do you think maybe feeding her in her actual cage would help the first few times? i dont know if snakes are "most relaxed" in their home environment or something lmao

[Boa Amarali]

Re: first feeding FAIL

Put her in her cage and lay the rat in there and let her be

[judgment]

Re: first feeding FAIL

Check the Ultimate Care Guide (page 38 - link on left side of screen) on how to thaw and feed f/t prey items. I was going to copy and paste the quote into this post but that is disallowed in the .pdf. Thaw 1 hour in cold water, warm up 15 min. in warm water, right before you feed put scalding hot tap water in the container to get the rats temp WAY up. This is exactly what I do and it works like a charm. The rat MUST be very warm for your snake to want to eat it. They lose heat very quickly(small body mass = fast heat loss) so it's important to get it in there fast.

Edit: I feed from tongs every time. Also if you want to feed using tongs, grab the rat by the foot and that is solid enough not to break. Larry's post above mine will work as well. Larry has been around the boa block a few more times than me lol!

[misspeachesx]

Re: first feeding FAIL

ah ha! ok i'll try that.

i'll warm up the rat like that then pop her into her cage. we'll see how that goes
thanks you guys!

[MSwift]

Re: first feeding FAIL

Put her in her cage and lay the rat in there and let her be

agreed!

[misspeachesx]

Re: first feeding FAIL

BINGO!

i just went in and checked on lexus.no rat.nice little bulge in her belly.*thumbs up*

[Fireproof]

Re: first feeding FAIL

well i just went back in there, dangled the rat around a bit and she seems very interested, flickering tongue, moving in, and then she just stops and tries to head out of the tub.

hmmmm..do you think maybe feeding her in her actual cage would help the first few times? i dont know if snakes are "most relaxed" in their home environment or something lmao

There's a whole other thread about feeding in their enclosures, so I don't want to re-hash the debate here. But yes - when trying to get to eat F/T or convert a snake, I do think that moving them to a separate feeding tub is not a good idea. Like you said - they tend to be more interested in escaping or checking out their new surroundings instead of eating. Especially for a F/T newbie who isn't quite sure why that thing is dangling from tongs or just laying in the tub.

If my snakes don't take it with the wiggling and such, I just lay it in there, turn off the lights and wait. Braining the prey helps to release good smells. Doing it in the evening when they are active and tend to be on the hunt helps too.

[b3napoleon]

Re: first feeding FAIL

When I have a problem feeder, the first thing I do is feed around midnight. This seems to be the most active time for my boas. I feed in the normal enclosure. I thaw the rat, get the temps up, and dangle it in front of the hide box. Boas are ambush predators, so if they're in the hide box and a rat starts dancing around at the entrance, it's only instinct for them to grab it. My new Kahl didn't eat the first meal I offered on Tuesday, so I tried again last night using this method and 5 secs after I started dangling the rat at the entrance to his hide, BANG he grabbed it.

[MLynch]

Re: first feeding FAIL

BINGO!

i just went in and checked on lexus.no rat.nice little bulge in her belly.*thumbs up*

Congrats!

My BRB started showing signs of being picky on feeding day a about a month after he arrived. I'd put his mouse hopper in his cage and he'd just ignore it. One day he actually smelled it and then crawled right over it! I swear he was making a statement! LOL! I'd leave the hopper in there for 30 minutes and he'd just disappear into his hide.

As it turns out he prefers to eat at night after the lights are out. Once I figured that out he hasn't shown any signs of being picky. I wave the thawed mouse in front of his hide entrance to get his attention with the smell, and then put it down (He won't take it from the tongs... he prefers to "find" it). Within a few minutes of putting the hopper down he's out of his hide and searching for his meal.

Every boa is a learning experience.

Good job! Glad it worked for you.

[H_Moss]

Re: first feeding FAIL

not sure if this was suggested yet but try covering the tub or cage with a blanket...goodluck