Jungle Carpet Hatchling Reluctant to Feed

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TundraBehemoth

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Hey All,

I have an 9week old Jungle Carpet Hatchling and he is proving reluctant to feed (as in he has not yet accepted food). I was wondering what techniques you guys would suggest to escalate my attempts.

I am presenting food at 7-9pm and the thermal zone is 27-31?C (apx). Thus far I have presented pinky mice and fuzzy mice (frozen-thawed), using long forceps and i'm offering the head of the mouse to my python, while jiggling it.

My jungle's hatchling set up includes a cross-bar of bamboo for climbing, and he spends most of his time in the branches. Is this a problem for feeding? I've read that presenting food in front of their hides is appropriate, but my little guy very rarely uses his hides (2 toilet rolls with ends blocked off @ opposite ends of tub), but prefers to curl up on the bamboo. Do I need to change these hides up?

What should I try to get Spectre to feed? Should I try scenting the pinkies?

Thanks in advance for all the advice guys,
Graeme
 
Have you tried braining?
Just poke a hole in the head and give it a squeeze.
 
A needle is fine. You effectively just need a bit of the "juices" om the outside where it may help prompt your Jungle to eat. Have you also tried leaving the food in overnight?
 
Yeah I've tried leaving the food in overnight twice (including last night) but to no avail. Should I be offering nightly at this stage?
 
Maybe give it another 7 days before trying again, just to let your new one settle in a bit more.
 
okay sounds good. I'll leave him for a while longer. Is there any problem with offering a feed while my python is on his bamboo or should I wait exclusively for him to be more terrestrially bound? I wanna make each feeding session count hehe
 
How long have you had him? Do you handle him regularly and is he happy for you to handle him? He has to feel comfortable in his surroundings to feed well. When they are young is the best time to bond with your snake as any tagging wont hurt or deter you from handling him with confidence. Just don't pull away or flinch if he does strike, just keep moving him using both hands. Each snake is different so you have to assess and take into account his ability to cope with stress and his progress in your routine. I handle mine before feeding and feed outside of their vivs. There is a lot of debate regarding feeding them inside or outside of their enclosures, but you really need to find what works best for both of you. Feeding them in a feed box works for all of mine, but I'm a hands on keeper so enjoy the interaction with them, and by reading their body language I keep handling to a minimum to reduce stress on them. Wait a few days and try braining his food and feeding him in a plastic box. Don't give up straight away. Even if you have to reheat the mouse, give him a good 20 mins jiggling then put him back in his enclosure with the mouse draped over his hide and wait another few days if that doesn't work. Good luck and keep us informed how you two go.
 
I had a lot of trouble with my jungle when I first got him - but he had been eating well before with the breeder. It ended up being a problem with the temperature - as we used a heat mat it didnt reach him when up on his perches.

We also had to aggravate him a bit to get him to strike (lightly tapping him around the head with the mouse). Many times he striked and coiled the mouse, but then simply let go. It was very frustrating and stressful, but eventually after sorting out the issue with the heating he started to feed consistently :)

good luck!
 
How long have you had him? Do you handle him regularly and is he happy for you to handle him? He has to feel comfortable in his surroundings to feed well. When they are young is the best time to bond with your snake as any tagging wont hurt or deter you from handling him with confidence.

Cheers for the advice! I've had Spectre at home since the 19th of March. Before then he was still with the breeder who happens to be my neighbour. Pretty cool experience! I got to watch him hatch so been around since day one. I've adopted a strict no handling regime (other than cleaning time) at the recommendation of my vet and go-to herper. They said that at this stage over handling is more likely stress him out and discourage feeding. So i'll keep that up until his fourth consistent feed.

That being said, before his first vet visit, I was handling him nearly every day, for the reasons you've stated. He handled well and I received only a handful of strikes.

I'm going to try braining at the next feed at then i'll up the ante :)

- - - Updated - - -

I had a lot of trouble with my jungle when I first got him - but he had been eating well before with the breeder. It ended up being a problem with the temperature - as we used a heat mat it didnt reach him when up on his perches.

Thanks for the response! :) Spectre is very arboreally inclined (today is the first time in over a week I've observed him using his terrestrial hide) so I had the same concern about heat mats not helping with his preferred basking spot. Right now I've got a combination of a small heat mat paired with a 75W ReptileOne Night bulb (that purple light is awesome for night viewing!) and they seem to work well together. It's been getting chilly overnight this past week so i've had to up the heat a bit, but over-night its staying around the 27-28?C mark and during the day it's staying around 30-32?C.

What temp did you need to achieve before your jungle started accepting feed?

Thanks!
G
 
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If you can get an infa red themometer you can take the temperature of the snake itself , as opposed to the temperature of the enclosure. Ideally the snake should be 30C. Nine times out of ten the problem is temperature!
 
l agree with Wokka PLUS some 30-34c and leave a "fuzzie" mouse in overnight if need be, one day old quail is another good option they are on my 2nd line of attack and don't be put off by the size they rarely fail with me. ~B~
 
Thanks for the advice guys! unfortunately don't have infra-red thermo, but i'll pick a nice warm night to offer food next :)
 
You should be able to pick up an infrared thermometer for about the same price. Around $20 I think!
 
I had to get the temp right up to about 36-37 degrees in a basking spot available for 24 hours a day. 32 was still too low and it was around this time of year also. If you have a light as well that is good, I didn't so to get him eating I ended up having to remove the perch to ensure the temperature was right for him. Once the perch was removed, he stayed in the hide most of the time and within a couple of weeks he was eating.

I tried everything as well - drawing blood from the mouse, leaving it in the enclosure over night, quail, taking him out of his enclosure to feed, leaving him in his enclosure to feed, we didn't handle him, everything. I had him for almost 2 months before he took his first feed and actually ate it - I almost cried I was so excited!

Also another thing - we covered his enclosure with a black sheet for the week before he fed as it was in a high traffic area; not sure if this contributed greatly but is worth trying if you think thats an issue. I so hope you can work this out! :)
 
Maybe he hadn't fully absorbed his yolk at this point and he just wasn't ready? I don't know too much about that but maybe that is why. Best of luck getting him to feed :3
 
Hey everyone!

Exciting news! Spectre fed last night for the first time.

I tried a combination of things based on all your advice. I covered the outside of his enclosure with paper this week to keep stress levels low, I made sure the hottest part of his enclosure was sitting at the 35?C mark,i moved him into a distraction free secondary box an hour before feeding and I offered a brained pinkie.

Within 1-2 minutes of being annoyed with the pinkie he ripped it from the forceps and chucked 2 coils over. The pinkie was completely swallowed within 5 minutes. I was amazed! Proud dad moment! hehehe

thanks for all the support and advice. I can finally rest easy again :)
 
I was just reading through this thread to see if I had anything different to offer, and if there might be any tips for my reluctant stimmie. Stoked for you to get him to feed, my jungle (a yearling now) has only ever refused one mouse, and that was a top up pinkie as he upsized and the day before a shed.
My stimmie on the other hand....We were told she was about 8 weeks when we got her, she ate the first week. Then refused week 2, shed 3 days days later, refused again after that and the weekend just gone makes 5 consecutive weeks of not eating. Last week we even tried an assist feed, had the mouse in her throat 3 times but she just didn't dig it! She hasn't lost any weight at this stage so my concern is not peaking, yet
 
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