Burm Ptyhon Help :(

Discussion in 'Other Pythons' started by Pbrandli, Sep 4, 2007.

  1. Pbrandli

    Pbrandli Embryo

    Messages:
    6
    I've had my burm python about 1-2 weeks now its about 45cm long not that big, still young and i've having trouble getting it to eat :) or should i just wait longer?, it gets pretty scared when either the mice or my hand approaches it. any suggestions?
     
  2. JEFFREH

    JEFFREH Administrator

    Messages:
    5,483
     
  3. bodom85

    bodom85 Member

    Messages:
    914
    I have 2 burms now. They were born in may this year. My male will come after the food in your hand, but the female wont. You have to lay it down and leave her alone for a bit before she takes it. So they can have varying feeding responses. First off here are some questions to help us know your situation.

    1. How long did you wait til you tried to feed the snake? Its usually good to leave the snake alone for about a week to let it settle in and get adjusted.

    2. What do you keep it in?

    3. What are the temps and humiditys?

    4. Is it wild caught or captive born?

    Please answer these questions and it will help us to help you. My guess is that it just needs a little bit more time to settle.
     
  4. JEFFREH

    JEFFREH Administrator

    Messages:
    5,483
     
  5. Pbrandli

    Pbrandli Embryo

    Messages:
    6
    1. i waited maybe almost a week? might have prob "touched" it once or twice.
    2. in a 55 gal tank
    3. temp 88 F and humidity around 60% but it's usually at the cooler end of the tank
    4. it was CB

    well as for now i'll take ur advice in just letting it settle so probbably like 3-4 days and i'll try again, thank you thou,
     
  6. JEFFREH

    JEFFREH Administrator

    Messages:
    5,483
     
  7. bodom85

    bodom85 Member

    Messages:
    914
    Your husbandry sounds good. Do you have hides on both warm and cool ends of the tank? Also were you trying live mice or f/t mice? Some snakes are shy eaters as well. You may have to put the mouse in the tank and let it alone for a while. Or put it in at night and let it in til morning and hope it gets eaten. I wouldn't suggest the over night with a live mouse though. They can hurt snakes.
     
  8. JEFFREH

    JEFFREH Administrator

    Messages:
    5,483
     
  9. mkbailey755

    mkbailey755 New Member

    Messages:
    74
    55 gal tank screen top or no? seeing you have 60% humidity I'm going with no
    they can go months with no food so don't stress yet.
    if your using mice what size?
    FT/pk or Live?
    When my burms are in shed I defrost my rats in chicken broth/water(I found it best to boil the chicken broth and water:don't put the rat in boiling water) it's like crack to snakes! worth a go but don't try it will a live or god will rip your face off :( lol j/k

    but just let him settle in if you had in only two weeks he should be ready for a meal
    and if your feeding FT i have had great success by grabbing the rat(with tweezers)by the front shoulders and dragging it across the cage as it was alive
    do you see any tongue flicking or interest in the rat at all, temps of the rat my be too cold/hot i see this a problem all the time. I hope the best for your new pet

    one more thing what kind of temp/humidity stat are you using. I recommend the digital thermometer at Wal-mart i have 6 and there spot on with my temp gun
    What type of heating are you using?
    radiant heat panels are the best but pricey
    flex-watt heat tape is the cheapest and next best thing with a rheostat if you use bulbs that cool to but i recommend a UTH(under the tank heater)

    sorry for all the ?'s I'm guessing your brand new to pythons.
    here some good supplies link:

    Heat tape-
    http://www.bigappleherp.com/Flex-Watt-Heat-Tape

    thermometer-
    at Wal-mart there 14.96 and do both temp and Humidity

    Temp-Gun http://www.proexotics.com/store/product.ph...=248&page=1
    This is a must have!!! you can use to discover cold spots in your cage I was surprised when i first bought mine, the cold side that I thought was 80 degrees had several places that dipped down to 75 and possibly 70 at night (*you can also get these at hobby shops but I think there a little more)
    that 55 gallon tank going to be history in about 4-6 months.
    hides are important for newly acquired snakes but after you get them on routine you don't really need them
    and expect to have a monster snake after the first year, my burms gained 10 lbs in there first six months and grew 4 more feet
     
  10. JEFFREH

    JEFFREH Administrator

    Messages:
    5,483
     
  11. Pbrandli

    Pbrandli Embryo

    Messages:
    6
    Bodom : i'm trying to leave its food over night tonite hopefully i see nothing tomorrow , unless the rats spirit found its way back in to its body.
    mkbailey : i'm taking when u meant FT its little fuzzies? yea feeding it frozen rodents, as for the chicken broth, do u boil chicken broth then put the mouse way over the steam or something ? i didnt get how making broth and not putting the rodent in to boiling water :D, and as for the thermometer i;m using the coil ones i guess their not that accurate but i will be taking a look in a digital one. As for heating i'm usin UTH

    Thanks for the help guys, i'll keep u guys updated =D
     
  12. mkbailey755

    mkbailey755 New Member

    Messages:
    74
    the broth you heat it up to thin it out adding water it doesn't have to boil. thaw the rat in it after it cools for a few minutes :D hope your burm eats soon. what ever day you feed on stay constant. after four or five feedings they will know when its feeding day. Every Saturday my snakes get very active looking for food well unless there in shed
     
  13. Blake_Herman

    Blake_Herman Well-Known Member

    Messages:
    1,181
    I've personally never had much luck with the chicken broth, and I tried it a couple times a few years back, but time on the other hand almost always works... either leaving it in there with them, or giving them enough time to relax and not be so nervious, so they'll actually eat it... Being f/t, there are a variety of ways that the snake might prefer the food...

    good luck!!
     
  14. Pbrandli

    Pbrandli Embryo

    Messages:
    6
    Success ! so i tiink i've waiting around 3 weeks for it to eat, but it still wouldnt eat, i talked to a couple buddies of mine and they recommend that i forcefeed it, simple enuff i tried i thought that i would hurt the snake but it was easy, i just put the rat in its mouth and push it lightly and it slowly letting the mouse head thru its front part of the mouth eventually when the head got in, it just curled and just started eating it , i;m hoping now that i dont have to do that everytime, i felt bad everytime having to watching him havenothing to eat so i finally did it! yay ;)
     
  15. Blake_Herman

    Blake_Herman Well-Known Member

    Messages:
    1,181
    good job! That's great to hear... hopefully he'll start eating on his own now, maybe he realized that he likes food again and will start up... and not to be too critical or anything, but just so you know, I think this would actually be assist-feeding, rather than force-feeding... but it worked never the less!!
     
  16. Pbrandli

    Pbrandli Embryo

    Messages:
    6
  17. billy_gravius

    billy_gravius New Member

    Messages:
    65
    good job, now if he eats next time without help you should have nothing to worry about. Burms are known for being bottomless pits. Mine is 6 feet and he eats one extra large rat every week but he would happily eat 2 or 3. also if he ever stops eating again do stress too much unless he starts losing weight...the record for a fasting burm is something like 48 months. good luck with your burm, they really are great snakes
     

Share This Page