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Dusky Pygmy Problem feeder

SofaKing

SofaKing

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I purchased a juvie pr of Duskys ( S. miliarus barbouri ) a few weeks ago. They were suppose to be c.b, but I'm not sure they are now.

I'm having a problem getting the female to eat. She refuses f/t pinky mice, so I tried live pinks, live hoppers, and no response. I even tried tree frogs and anoles since I have them for some of my rear fanged and still nothing.

I'm worried about her and wanted to see if anyone has any ideas. Any info would be greatly appreciated!
 
Not sure how big they are, but not feeding doesn't mean they aren't c.b. - I've bred them before (almost 20 yrs ago), and had a tough time getting the babies feeding; and, most didn't really take off until the following spring. I tried frogs, anoles, small worms, bugs, and everything else I could think of (and get)...ultimately, I force fed them pinky strips until they got some size and started showing a feed response.
 
They're close to juvies, if not juvies already. The male will eat only live hoppers every 2-3 wks as it seems. The female hasn't eaten since I got her. So I'm going to try the pinky strips ( or parts ). I had experience doing that with some of my cat eyed snakes to get them switched to rodents.


Thank you for your advice Harald, greatly appreciated!

I thought I was going to get in trouble at first when I saw that you replied to the post lol.
 
There's no shame in contacting the seller to ask about how they were kept & fed...and if the seller wasn't the breeder, he can still reach out for the info. Sometimes something as simple as a substrate change or a different hide will do the trick. (I think that may have been part of my problem at the time; but I've learned a lot over the years)
 
Are there leaves in you setup? I dont breed snakes but I had a thought that they might be stressed from a lack of camouflage/cover. If they are just on newspaper add some dry leaves and see if their behavior changes
 
Casey, I use cypress bedding for most of what I keep and never ran into a problem like this. But again, this can be the first time running into a bedding issue etc.

I have a hide with her, but she really doesn't use it much. I've read that some other keepers took out the hides since duskys really don't use them. I decided to keep it there just in case.

I'm going to try to change the substrate and try adding leaves for a more natural environment and see where that leads me. I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

Thanks again Harald. And thanks Casey
 
Well I'm sad to say that the little girl has passed. This sucks!

I do appreciate the help Harald and Casey.
 
The only way ive had success in getting reluctant dusky babies to eat are feeding live salamanders. Specifically red back salamanders which are considered a natural prey item for them in the wild.
 
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