getting a black ratsnake

Just let her settle in a bit, as long as she doesn't look like she is waisting away - i.e. you can see her spine. Good luck! Blue

thanks for the help....i'll give her till next wednesday and try feeding her again.

Heidi,

There is no need to wait until next week. Considering it is still in its original enclosure, it should not be stressed. I would try again this weekend. Make sure the prey is f/t. It would refuse live and sometimes f/k but never refused f/t. Just place it in the container you received it in along with the prey and it should take it within 5-10 minutes. As much as the temptation is to watch it eat, it did not appear to like me standing over it. I often ended up walking away and returning in about 15 minutes.

Bart

thanks, i'll try again...i do have f/t but i did have the container where i could see it.

i dont know if you read all the posts but i tried popping it and Im pretty sure its a girl...

Also, feed in the late morning / early afternoon. This is the time I always fed it so it would have sufficient heat throughout most of the day to help get the digestion process going. If you are maintaining a similiar heating/light schedule that I was, I would avoid feeding in the late afternoon / early evening.

I agree with Blue in that you should probably probe the animal to verify sex and wouldn't rule out the possibility she may still be a he. Keep in mind this is a native species so I wouldn't bother breeding the animal, which is why I never bothered probing it myself.

Good luck and keep me posted regarding its feeding.

Bart

she ate this morning. i am not planning on breeding her, i just like to know if my animals are males or females....just a personal thing really. if i ever find someone near me that knows how to probe a snake i'll have her probed.

Awsome! It's good to hear she ate again, that means she it comfortable for the most part. I am sure knowing her feeding time and how she was used to eating ( in the cup ) helped too, I didn't even think of that. Also, when I get back to my house here in a few weeks I can post some pics of the underside of the tails of male and female baby black rats, you can tell most of the time just by looking.. or if you want to try now, look at the relation of her vent to the tip of her tail...
If it stays as thick as the vent for a few belly scales then it is most likely a boy - if it starts to taper off right after the vent then it is a girl.. At any rate it's a Black Rat! And it will be awsome no matter the sex!!! Have fun, Blue (just don't take her to Ohio!!)

i had known about her being used to being fed in the container, but didn't know what time of day she was used to being fed. I checked her tail and it starts to taper right away after the vent, so she is a girl. I would still like to see the pics so i can see what the males look like for sure and compare it to the female. thanks for your help.