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Posted by duffy on November 03, 2002 at 07:33:21:
In Reply to: Re: Advice needed on my Russian rat.... posted by Terry Cox on November 03, 2002 at 06:44:38:
As far as smaller food items go, don't underestimate the power of the pinky. 3 out of my 4 ratsnakes (2 of them yearlings) have gone from gulping down fuzzies, to refusing anything but pinkies. I found this out almost by accident when my albino black rat went off feed for awhile and I didn't want to even bother thawing out something big when I knew she wasn't going to eat it. She ate a few tiny pinks, and since then she has refused anything but. If you have any pinks on hand, try them. My finicky fall eaters are taking 2-3 at a time right now. Good luck! Duffy
::I have a one year old russian rat that is a voracious eater...usually. I feed him once a week, occasionally twice, but I know he would take more if allowed. About 2 months ago he turned his nose up at his meal and skipped a week...no big deal, these things happen. He ate the next week but has now skipped 3 weeks. I put him in a paper back with a thawed mouse last night and when I checked on him today I can see he had swallowed the back half of the mouse and then regurged him. So whats up? Should I brumate him? I usually don't sweat missed meals so much but seven weeks with just one small mouse worries me. Advice??
:I wouldn't panic. It sounds normal to me. Your snake is probably just winding down for the year. If you don't want to cool it down, then continue to feed, but it will probably feed less often. Also, you could try smaller food items, less items, and live prey. They have a hard time resisting this. In the wild Russian ratsnakes hibernate more than half the year, but young ones, first and second winters can be kept going all year. I cool my little ones from four to eight weeks in Jan/Feb.
:PS: Keep temps from 70-80*F. if they are active. If kept too warm, they could lose weight. TC.
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