anyone know what to feed a snake that wont eat a rat?

Question

its a full grown ball python

Answer 1

Also keep in mind that Ball Pythons are legendary for their feeding stubborness. They will go on hunger strikes for months at a time for no appearent reason.

1) Never offer live prey to a captive boa or python. There's about a million reasons for this that I don't care much to go into, but trust me. One reason a snake may go off feed is getting live prey in the past. There may have been a recent occasion where a live rat managed to get a chunk of the BP before it could fully constrict it. Suprisingly, many captive reptiles shy away from that food if they have been mangled from it before. Try the frozen/thawed method. A good place to order frozen prey items in bulk is (www.rodentpro.com). Even with shipping costs, bulk orders of frozen prey is generally cheaper per item then purchasing single items from pet stores.

2) Proper heat and humidity can contribute. Check out (www.redtailboa.net). Go to the caresheet section of the site and read up on what housing/temp/humidity requirements you should have. Make sure you're using accurate equipment to measure these husbandry needs.

3) An adult BP should eat 1 prey item no larger in girth then the girth of your BP at its widest spot... every 2-4 weeks. Feeding to frequently can cause a disinterest. I suggest offering a food item once every 3 weeks. If you use a loose substrate (like mulch or cypress), place the rat on a piece of newspaper and leave it in the tank over night. If not gone by morning, take it out\throw it away and offer another in 3 weeks. Eventually he/she will take a meal.

4) BPs have a tendancy to go refuse a meal if handled recently. I also suggest leaving your critter alone for 24-48 hours before a meal AND no less then 48 hours after they eat a meal.

Answer 2

I always had great luck with Gerbils. Ball pythons eat Gerbils in the wild. Try it. I didn't believe it at first either but I was very surprised that it worked very well for me. I think it's because they are so skiddish that the snake likes them.

Source:
What type of prey item should you offer to your Ball Python? Ideally your snake will eat either lab mice or rats which are cheap and easy to get. I would strongly caution against feeding your snake wild mice or other animals. There is no way of telling what diseases, parasites, or poisons that a wild mouse is carrying. Gerbils and gerboas are a Ball Python's natural food item. If your snake doesn't happen to like rats or mice, a regular pet store gerbil is pretty tempting, albeit a little more expensive.

Another Source:
FEEDING: Ball pythons will feed on mice and small rats. Adult wild-collected ball pythons can be finicky eaters. To get these animals started as well as finicky juveniles you may have to resort to gerbils. Often a ball python that refused a mouse or rat will accept a gerbil or a mouse/rat scented with a gerbil. This may be done by rubbing the mouse/rat with a frozen gerbil (you can retain this gerbil for continual use). Known as "SCENTING".

Answer 3

The question is lacking some information. Is the rat alive? Is this first time you've tried to feed the snake a rat? How long has it been since the snake fed last?

Some snakes are very particular, and most snakes will not feed if they've eaten fairly recently. I've had quite a few snakes over the years, and learned that each one has it's own personality and tastes. Some snakes would never eat dead feeders, and some would never eat live ones. You'll need to learn your snake's habits.
A common behavior in snakes is that they won't eat, and they won't want to be handled, if they're about to shed skin. Look to see if the snake is exhibiting signs of this, such as small flakes between the scales and around the eyes.

Answer 4

What kind of snake is it? Some snakes are insectivores, or eat fish, so make sure that your snake is actually a rodent eater.

If it isn't eating rats, you can offer:
mice - but beware, if you have a very large snake that refuses anything but mice, it will cost you a fortune, because each meal will be like 15 mice;
gerbils - great food source, but this can get expensive;
rabbits - if your snake is big enough, but again, this can get expensive;
chicks - just know that this can cause a very runny and smelly poop.

You can also just hold out and keep offering the rat. The snake won't starve to death, and it will eventually get hungry. You can make the rat smell more like a mouse by washing it thoroughly with warm water, then rubbing a mouse, mouse shavings, mouse droppings etc all over it.

Answer 5

Is the snake's environment too cold? Perhaps you should add an undertank heating mat and/or a heat lamp to one side of your tank. Snakes often won't eat if they can't digest the meal - and if the temperature is too low they cannot digest their food. Your snake's tank should be between 70 and 80 degrees in the warmest end of the tank.

WARNING: If you decide to use an undertank heating mat, be sure to line the bottom of your tank (under the substrate) with either cardboard or outdoor carpet so the snake cannot lay directly over the heating element and possibly burn itself.

As others have said, the shedding may also play a part, as would the size of the food. Take your snake with you to wherever you purchase it's food so the experts can help you determine the size of food that is appropriate.

Answer 6

Are you feeding it live or frozen mice. Make sure whatever you are feeding it is not bigger than the length of their head. Another reason it may not be eating is because of shedding. If the eyes look hazzy or the belly look dry it wont eat for about 4 days. If the mice is to big and its a frozen you can try to cut it in half....thats what i have to do at work...Another thing is that if you are trying to feed it in its habitat you might want to lay a paper towel down under the mice because you do not want it to injest the bedding.

Answer 7

properly i ont be attentive to cuase you will possibly desire to tell me what variety of snake that is a few snakes wont consume rats yet whilst he became eating mice then now he wont consume the rat then he prob not waiting for the rat provide him extra mice if that what he eats then whilst he gets greater improve to rats

Answer 8

Maybe something smaller like a mouse , snakes can sometimes go for weeks without eating so maybe it just isn't hungry enough yet to eat .

Answer 9

might be tired of rats try something smaller like a hamster. He might not be hungry cause snakes can go awhile without food.

Answer 10

gp's are usually to high in FAT for a snake! and costly.

First off, what KIND of snake is it? otherwise I can't help you much.

You can always go to the website I am going to list, register (it's free) and ask, yes it's canadian, but there is people from everywhere on there.
they are great, knowledgeable people.

Goodluck