Newspaper Trick?

[Janus]

K, I just tried feeding my 3 month old BP a live mouse and he wouldnt take it. So I thought I'd try that newspaper trick I've heard about. How much of the tank should I fill with the paper. (like half the tank? that's alotta newspaper)

-Also, should I leave the newspaper in the tank for a certain period of time before dropping in the mouse?
-And, I know not to live him unattended with the mouse, but after how long a period of not taking it should I give up and take the mouse out?

[mr~python]

fill the whole cage up with newspaper balls. the whole floor of the cage should be covered.

take the mouse after about 10-15 minutes.

good luck getting your snake to eat. i know how stressful it is. zulu just went on a 2 and a half month fast and refused this last week again. it's ok though. they can go for months. ive even heard about them goin 22 months.

[Adam_Wysocki]

It really works better is the newspaper isn't "balled up" ... just crumple it loosely and fill the cage ... it should give your snake lots of tight places to crawl through and explore.

Leave it in there for a week without disturbing it or the snake except to clean the cage and give fresh water.

After about a week, when you're ready to feed, the best thing to do is to create a routine that your snake can learn to recognize. Feed on the same day and time each week. Do the same things every time your feed. Make the same sounds every time you feed. You will create cues that your snake will learn to recognize as feeding time.

Bring the mouse home and place it somewhere close to your snakes cage for about 30 - 60 minutes ... let him smell that the snake is in the room. It often helps to feed at night when ball pythons are naturally more alert and active.

Leave everything in the cage and drop the mouse in. Close the cage up and step back. Observe, but sit still because dancing around the front of the cage trying to see if the mouse has been eaten will pretty much freak your snake out.

If you "hear it" you'll know your snake has eaten. If not, wait about 20 minutes and remove the mouse.

Wait another week and try again.

Make sure your temps are correct ... 82-84 on one side, 92-94 on the other ... a warm snake is a hungry snake.

Don't TOUCH until he/she is eating.

-adam

[IamKaervek]

Don't TOUCH until he/she is eating.

Ahh, that's something I don't remember reading before. Noted, and thx!

[recycling goddess]

why would you touch them when they are eating???

[Adam_Wysocki]

why would you touch them when they are eating???

I meant, do not handle your ball pythons (other than cage cleaning) until they are eating consistently.

-adam

[RWillinnable]

Well, after three non feeds, I tried the newpaper trick and sure enough it worked like a charm. Thanks for the good advice.

Rachel

[recycling goddess]

i have a suggestion. perhaps the moderators on this site could take a sticky of adam's feeding advice... complete with instructions for the newspaper trick... and so that the poor guy doesn't have to keep repeating himself... over and over again.

i'd love to see a sticky on it so when i want to read it or recommend it to a someone, that we don't have to search for the info.

so... can we????

[Razaiel]

Yes - that would be a good idea - I learnt the newspaper trick here too and it worked great for me - I expect Adam's got those paragraphs on "cut & Paste" now