Feeding Question (NEED HELP AGAIN!!)

[rgalope]

i got a hatchling Fire Burm. he look healthy but refuses to eat mice and rat.. he's to small to eat chicks..


• i tried leaving pinky rat and mice over night, still no result.
• dip the pinky rat into chicken stock. (still no result.)
• split the head of the pinky (still no result)

last meal July 1, 2015

temp. - 30deg. celsius
humidity - 72%



need your help!!

[natieb]

Re: Feeding Question (NEED HELP AGAIN!!)

First off, that's a beautiful snake. Wow.

As for feeding, I don't have a lot of experience with young pythons, but for the most part, just keep doing what you're doing. If they're in good health, they won't starve themselves, so just keep offering food at regular intervals and chances are he'll eat when he's hungry enough. Did the breeder have any luck feeding him? Normally, breeders won't let a snake go until they've had a certain number of successful feedings. Do you know what he was eating before you got him?

[rgalope]

Re: Feeding Question (NEED HELP AGAIN!!)

@ natieb

info. from the breeder:

he already shed once and eat 2 meals already (quail bird)

the problem is. . . i can't find any suppliers of quail in our place, so i'm trying to offer him rats because i have a steady supplies of rats in my house. i try all the tricks i know but i still getting the same result (negative!!). . .
i dont wnt to force feed the snake because i don't have enough experience in that matter..

what should i do? he's last meal was July 01, 2015..

Thank you in andvance!!

[Noelle7206]

Re: Feeding Question (NEED HELP AGAIN!!)

(ditto for what natieb posted) Have you been offering live or dead prey? If dead is rejected, you might have to try live* ("eyes-closed" size only please for safety) or at least try freshly killed (if f/t was rejected).

As with many other snakes, yours may need to see some motion from the prey: if a live 'crawler' (pinkie/fuzzy) is available, leaving them to crawl around in a heavy (tip-proof & flat-bottomed) bowl may inspire your
snake to stalk & pounce. Or use long feeding tongs to at least wiggle the prey, preferably at night...many snakes like to be in their hides & pounce on prey just outside the doorway.

*I prefer & recommend dead prey but some snakes really need the stimulation initially for their feeding instincts to kick in...then you can wean them off live once they're feeding. Always best to know what the breeder
fed first. BTW, I have lots of snake experience but not with any burms, however these techniques work for many kinds of snakes.

Quail: never had any occasion to feed them, sorry... I'd keep trying small rodents, but keep in mind that they all have different scents (& therefore they taste different). It's not uncommon for a snake to reject one
kind but take another. Also, if you can't get quail, maybe just using other birds/chicks to scent the food might work? 'Scenting' the rodent with feathers (naturally shed) or dirty cage litter might spark the interest
you need, and for best results, try to wash off as much of the rodent's scent first before applying the bird scent. Sometimes we all have to get creative to get a snake to feed. For example, you might use a little
egg white to 'glue' some small chicken feathers to a washed rodent. (they should stick when the egg white dries) good luck, he sure is a beautiful creature & worth a bit of pampering.

[rgalope]

Re: Feeding Question (NEED HELP AGAIN!!)

i tried to feed him rat pinky and hooper mouse.

i offered live pinkie and left the pinkie overnight (no result). Early this morning i soaked a live pinkie on a chicken stock (still no result). i will try the same procedure after 3 days and hope to get better result. . .

[Noelle7206]

Re: Feeding Question (NEED HELP AGAIN!!)

i tried to feed him rat pinky and hooper mouse.

i offered live pinkie and left the pinkie overnight (no result). Early this morning i soaked a live pinkie on a chicken stock (still no result). i will try the same procedure after 3 days and hope to get better result. . .

I don't have much faith in chicken stock myself; live birds don't smell like cooked stock...they do smell like shed feathers & dirty cage litter from birds/chicks. That's what I'd try in lieu of quail.

[bebowebb]

Re: Feeding Question (NEED HELP AGAIN!!)

I am with [MENTION=7862]natieb[/MENTION] - That is an amazingly gorgeous Burm! I absolutely love the Fire gene!

I don't know why anyone would start a Burm hatchling on quail chicks, but I would give it more time and continue trying to convert him over to appropriately sized rats - whether live or f/t.

It has only been 10 days since his last meal, so he is in no jeopardy and looks to be very healthy and active. As already said, a healthy snake will not starve itself to death so remain vigilant in your efforts and hopefully things will be just fine.

If you picked him up from someone relatively local, you might be able to get back in touch with them to obtain a quail chick or find out where to obtain one if necessary.

[rgalope]

Re: Feeding Question (NEED HELP AGAIN!!)

update. . .


i try to offer him rat pinkie last night and the result - negative


he's not interested to the pinkie (not even flick his tongue)


• i try covering the pinkie with an adult chicken feather. (negative)
• also wash the pinkie with an unscented soap and rub the pinkie in an adult chicken. (negative)
• also try to cut the head of the pinkie in half and leave the pinkie and the snake in a small container. (negative)


the snake looks active and healthy. he always comes out of his hide box every night.


i'm now in frustration mode. it's been 15 days since his last meal. he's just a hatchling.

[bebowebb]

Re: Feeding Question (NEED HELP AGAIN!!)

I was going to recommend trying a live prey item, but I looked back and saw that you had already attempted that route.

As I suggested before, you might contact the breeder and find out where to obtain a quail chick and see if that will work. If you can get established with a supplier of quail chicks then you can worry about converting him over to prey that is easier to obtain after he has grown some, put on some weight, etc.

[Noelle7206]

Re: Feeding Question (NEED HELP AGAIN!!)

Assuming this snake was started on live quail chicks, you might see about obtaining frozen quail chicks (thaw & warm to offer), since he's being stubborn. I've seen at least one supplier online that does carry them,
but at the moment I don't recall which one. I hope you've communicated your difficulty to the breeder of this snake...most breeders want buyers to do well with their animals & it's in everyone's best interest if a snake
is started on prey that is readily available. It's a beautiful snake...I hope you can get him going.

Other issues can affect a snake's feeding response too, such as handling...so I do hope you're not handling him?

It occurs to me that he might like more "security" in his cage: newspaper is handy for us but slippery for a snake, & that plastic 'hide' is lightweight & fairly 'tall' for him, ie. there is a lack of "back pressure". (some snakes
feel safer when they have a lower ceiling and less room, also a smaller doorway that they just fit thru with a meal.) Some feeding issues are really more about security than about the prey itself. You might try offering a
cardboard tube from a roll of paper towels for him to hide in (or roll up & secure a piece of indoor/outdoor carpet so it's just a little wider in diameter than double his body width, again allowing for a 'meal' too).

[Ogre_rage]

Re: Feeding Question (NEED HELP AGAIN!!)

I don't know much about burms but have you tried a rat fuzzy? They are more active and that might get it's attention.

Sent from my 5056W using Tapatalk

[bcr_229]

Re: Feeding Question (NEED HELP AGAIN!!)

I have a baby burm. The can be tricky to start, almost like oversized ball python babies.

They should have appropriate heat and humidity (80-90*F gradient, 60-70% humidity), plus two secure hides, one on the warm side, the other on the cool side, that the baby just barely fits into. The large water bowl is good, the hide is too large.

Babies are often fed weekly so if he last ate July 1 then he only missed one meal, which isn't a big deal.

I would try offering a live hopper mouse in its enclosure at dusk, sometimes live baby rats don't move enough to entice the snake. Cover the enclosure or keep it screened from view from the rest of the room, and handle the snake as little as possible until it's eating regularly. Usually I thoroughly clean out all of my babies the day before feeding day, so on feeding day they're settled and ready to eat.

[acephantom903]

Re: Feeding Question (NEED HELP AGAIN!!)

This thread is from 2 years ago... I'm pretty sure it is no longer a baby. lol

[bcr_229]

Re: Feeding Question (NEED HELP AGAIN!!)

Wow I didn't even notice the date in the OP!