Picky Eater - How to deal with a Picky Eater

[Hagos]

Well as some of you may already know
I got my first reptile (around the 15th)
A male Coastal Carpet Python - 8 months old

I was told to feed him 2 pinkies every 7-10 days when I bought him

Well during the week, he regurgitated hes food (which was hes meal he had, the day before I bought him) and it was a fuzzy

But going on what I was told, I bought pinkies to feed him

Today was hes first feeding day
And it took SEVERAL LONG attempts at feeding him (and I know how to feed a snake properly as I feed my girlfriends dads snake with no problems at all)

And he was just not interested in the food at all
I heated up the head of the pinky several times, and it was a few hours before I could get him to eat hes first one

Then I just left the other near him (as I do with the other snake I feed, and he always comes back to it after he has taken the first one from me)

Well, I came back a few hours later, and he still hadn't touched it
So I picked it back up with the tongs, and re-heated its head and tried again, this also took a few attempts

I also had to keep reheating it, because whenever it cooled back down, he wouldn't be interested again (even less than what he was before anyway)

So any tips please for my next feed?
He did eventually eat them both which is good....but it's a little annoying how hard it was to get him to eat



Temperature is fine, with plenty of hides.

 

[Snakelove]

What's your temperature? Just checking, but you're defrosting the whole pinky not just the head yes?

 

[Hagos]

29-32 hot end
20-25 cold end
All depends on how hot it is in the room

And yeah, the whole thing is defrosted first

Maybe he might have just been picky because it's he's first feed from me, and he's last feed (not from me) was a fuzzy (which he regurgitated)

 

[andysnakes]

step 1. back away from the snake

hagos, just leave the snake alone for a few weeks to get settled in HOW HARD IS THAT?. you say you got it around the 15th and it's only the 26th now. by the sounds of it you are really stressing it out , apart from giving it fresh water "LEAVE IT ALONE" remember reptiles are not cats or dogs they don't want humans around, the more you poke around in the snakes tub the more the poor little thing is getting stressed. a little story for you.........
I sold a hatchling bhp to a guy that my wife knew through work, he promised me he would let it settle in and would follow my instructions on how to keep it. a few days later it was regurgitating its food and i had to go and take it back... 1 day later back in my care it was feeding fine like it did before he got it in his possesion. i later found out "from his daughter" the following afternoon after he picked it up from me, he had the hatchling out on the back of his ute playing with it.

 

[shellfisch]

If you are sure your temps and set-up are correct, I would be doing what bandy.andy suggests and leave it alone for at least a couple of weeks.
Don't touch, don't play. Apart from giving clean water and removing waste. Leave it alone.

 

[Hagos]

Alright then
Thanks
I left it completely alone for a week because that's what I read
But I will leave him alone for another week

 

[xxMelissaxx]

Leave him for another week - offer food again. Try a couple of times, then leave it for him and remove in a few hours if uneaten. Do not stress it by forcing food onto it for extended periods of time.