Too early to be upset...but UPSET

Okay so I know I read these posts over and over...but I am so upset anyway. My little albino bp arrived on halloween. She was fed 5 days before shipping...but a live crawler. I waited 4 days and she seemed very active in her new tank..so I tried to feed a F/T hopper. She totally ignored it or curled into a ball and hid from it.
I know I know....its only been a week but I am so upset. All my other BPs fed right away and one of them was switching to F/T too.
I am just the most worried about her because she is only 2 months old and only 70 grams. She is sooo tiny.
So I know what the answer is...
calm down.
Stop worring.
Try again in few days.
But gosh...
should i try a smaller mouse? Like a fuzzy?
Should I do *gulp* live? I really don't like the idea of that...but I don't want to lose her.
How long before I really should be worried.
And how long before I contact the breeder and let him know she is not eating?

Try live the next time you feed if youd just like to see her eat. But. it hasn't been that long, she will be okay. Yes. STOP WORRYING ^_-

Whenever I get a new snake, I try feeding it the same type of prey it was eating before I got it for the first few meals. She's probably only eaten a handful of times, and she's probably stressed out from the move, too. I wouldn't expect her to switch to F/T so soon. Sooo...
Calm down.
Stop worrying.
Try again in a few days.

Sorry, I couldn't help myself. But seriously, wait a few days and try again with either a live hopper mouse or rat pup (you didn't mention if she was getting rats or mice before, but I think a mouse crawler pretty small for a BP). What I would do is feed in a dark room, and don't hover over her. I've found that some snakes, especially timid babies absolutely will not eat with me standing there. Out of curiosity, why are you so worried about feeding live? It's really not a problem if it's done correctly...most of the horrible pictures you see are from people leaving prey in overnight. Put the prey item in her tub (along with a piece of rodent food if you're using a hopper) and leave her alone for 15 mins. or so. Note: I'm not suggesting routinely leaving prey in with your snake unattended, but this seems to be necessary for timid babies. This is the advice I was given when I had trouble getting my first hatchlings to eat, and it worked like a charm.

Refusing her first meal since shipping is certainly no big deal. I'm sure she'll eat soon. Keep us posted

Shelly

IMHO, Albino BP's are absolutely terrible to get feeding regularly. I've had 3 and each one was a pain in the rear at feeding time.

Originally Posted by Melinda

IMHO, Albino BP's are absolutely terrible to get feeding regularly. I've had 3 and each one was a pain in the rear at feeding time.

Wonder why....ummmm

Okay and I really don't want to feed live because I am like a 40 min. drive from a place that sells live, and I really don't want to raise my own. And I have pet mice. I like mice...I could not look at that face and hand it over. And last, my partner/wife says no live food.

Well, if you limit the snake, you can't be that upset over its reactions to what you offer.

You need to make a choice to determine what is best for the animal. Keep trying to feed, but if it gets too skinny, you will have to try other ways.
Or give her up.

Heather's right, the snake may or may not switch to F/T. I have a couple of stubborn ones that want nothing to do with F/T (and I spent a long time trying to switch them). If you're really set on not feeding live, make sure the prey item is warm enough. 98F-100F seems to work for me. You could also bring your pet mice to the area where you keep your snakes during feeding time. The smell of live prey might make her more interested in eating. My snakes all get pretty keyed up when I bring in the live rats.

I still think you would have an easier time getting her switched over if you gave her a few meals of live to get her into a routine. I don't think you can really blame the breeder, either, since the snake was feeding on live when you got it.

Good luck getting her to eat. I really hope she switches for you. Keep us updated.

Shelly

Originally Posted by Melinda

IMHO, Albino BP's are absolutely terrible to get feeding regularly. I've had 3 and each one was a pain in the rear at feeding time.

I have heard the same thing from other people. I have a friend with an 03 female Albino that is still only 1000g. She just never eats consistently. I wonder how they would do on ASFs...it sounds like people have good luck with them. I'm hoping I'll produce Albinos this year. Maybe I'll try the ASFs if I have trouble with them.

Originally Posted by whippet

Okay and I really don't want to feed live because I am like a 40 min. drive from a place that sells live, and I really don't want to raise my own. And I have pet mice. I like mice...I could not look at that face and hand it over. And last, my partner/wife says no live food.

But it's not about you, really. It's not about your comfort level. It's about offering the animal what it's used to eating and getting it established eating regularly and then trying to convert it. Most will switch, but not all, and every keeper should be prepared to offer what the animal will take.

Good luck with getting it to eat for you.

Originally Posted by whippet

Okay so I know I read these posts over and over...but I am so upset anyway. My little albino bp arrived on halloween. She was fed 5 days before shipping...but a live crawler. I waited 4 days and she seemed very active in her new tank..so I tried to feed a F/T hopper. She totally ignored it or curled into a ball and hid from it.
I know I know....its only been a week but I am so upset. All my other BPs fed right away and one of them was switching to F/T too.
I am just the most worried about her because she is only 2 months old and only 70 grams. She is sooo tiny.
So I know what the answer is...
calm down.
Stop worring.
Try again in few days.
But gosh...
should i try a smaller mouse? Like a fuzzy?
Should I do *gulp* live? I really don't like the idea of that...but I don't want to lose her.
How long before I really should be worried.
And how long before I contact the breeder and let him know she is not eating?

OK, so it's only been a week in her new home, and you tried to switch from live to f/t, and from rats to mice? Wow, that's a whole lot of change in too short of a time.

I would really try going back to what she's used to eating first (you bought her knowing she has been eating live, right?). If you were dead-set (no pun intended) against even trying to feed live, you should have either purchased one already established on f/t, or even asked the breeder to try making the switch before shipping her out. I have done this for customers, and though I know not every breeder has the time or willingness to do so, in the end it was your choice to purchase this girl, and it is now your responsibility to do what you need to do to get her feeding.

Trying a smaller prey item would probably not work IMO, as most baby BP will be eating something larger than a fuzzy mouse from their first meal. If you absolutely don't think you can stomach feeding live right now, at least try a f/t rat crawler. Give her a couple of tries on that, and if that doesn't work, you don't have many options.

I like mice and rats too...I have pet rats, and I have FOOD rats. You have to learn to differentiate. After all, those f/t mice and rats were just as cute and cuddly before they were dead as well, lol.

If it helps any, my albinos are GREAT feeders. My big adult girl is a complete garbage can, and pretty much will eat anything, anytime, as many as you will give her. The male never refuses a meal, but will not eat multiple prey items at a single feeding, which I will offer on occasion when I am out of a particular size of rat, I will offer 2 smaller rats, one after the other. But he never turns down the first one.

It's never a bad idea to keep the breeder updated on how she's doing, but at this point, there isn't any "need" to do so. After all of these changes, it's no suprise she hasn't eaten.

Good luck.