Royal hatchling feeding

[Tim]

I put down a deposit on a hatchling royal last week and I will be able to pick it up when it feeds. However, I'm slightly concerned that it might be a problem feeder as I believe it hatched two to three weeks ago and a lot of it's peers have started feeding already. When I talked to the guy yesterday, he said that everything was fine, some royals do take a little while to get started (which is pretty much what I was expecting anyway), but he made me a bit worried when he said he'd taken them to the vets to have some kind of appetite stimulant treatment!

Is it likely that he's just doing that to get them feeding (and out of the shop) quicker or is it likely these are going to be problem feeder royals?

[dee]

he,s done what why on earth has he done that ?

hatchlings always shed first then eat some take no time at all to feed some take a while longer messing with them so early on is a big no no as this will only make them harder to get feeding

i personally have never heard of anyone getting feeding stimulants from vets especally not a shop so not sure why that is but i would have a look at one of the others that have fed to be honest royals are the snakes i get most of in to get feeding so take no chances as he could make them worse by messing them around he certianly shouldnt be doing that untill they havent eaten for at least 3-4 mths imo that said he wouldnt want to keep them that long anyway so that could be why but still take a look at the others :0)

[Tim]

he,s done what why on earth has he done that ?

I have no idea, that's why I'm asking

hatchlings always shed first then eat some take no time at all to feed some take a while longer messing with them so early on is a big no no as this will only make them harder to get feeding

i personally have never heard of anyone getting feeding stimulants from vets especally not a shop so not sure why that is but i would have a look at one of the others that have fed to be honest royals are the snakes i get most of in to get feeding so take no chances as he could make them worse by messing them around he certianly shouldnt be doing that untill they havent eaten for at least 3-4 mths imo that said he wouldnt want to keep them that long anyway so that could be why but still take a look at the others :0)

I'm fairly sure there aren't any more to look at - when I went in last week, a few had already eaten (and had been taken), a lot had been reserved and half a dozen or so were still available. I just picked out the biggest, most active one from those. IIRC most had finished shedding last week.

I think what I'm going to do is wait for a few weeks more, and if it still hasn't fed then cancel the transaction. I'd much rather lose a few quid on the deposit than take on a problem royal

[dee]

if the one you picked is the biggest then it may eat on its own but the messing it around could put it off

think you right to wait def i know what royals can be like although once they are feeding they are normally ok but its not something you want to take on as you only just getting in to snakes way to stressfull

if you can ask him what it is he gets and why so early and decent shop wont mind you asking seeing as you want to buy the snake

keep us up dated

[Tim]

I've just had a call from the guy, apparently the royal I selected is now feeding by itself (I made sure that it was specifically strike feeding) so I can pick it up anytime. I'll get everything set up and pick it up later this afternoon or more likely tomorrow. Fingers crossed

[Tim]

I had to wait until today because the traffic was so bad (and I still got caught in it on the way home ) But he's* finally here! I was surprised to find he was quite calm when I got him out, but that may have been a result of the longish car journey.



As soon as I got him in the faunarium he quickly set about exploring the place:



Apparently he's on small mice (fuzzies?). Comments and advice are very welcome

*I'm calling it a he until I can get it sexed or it becomes obvious.

[lee]

looks good there tim, did i notice some partial striping on his back? got any better pics of that as it looks interesting.

[Tim]

Thanks Lee, he does appear to have some interesting markings but I just assumed they were within expected parameters for normals. I don't have any better pictures at the moment but I'll get some more in a few days when he's had some time to acclimatise.

[lashed31]

Looks ace tim! I came out of royals a while back as my geckos took over a lot but ive recently taken on a non feeder and she feeding well now, so thats ace











having this one again has made me realize how much i do miss my previuos royals, lovely things

good lcuk with yours lee hes a stunner

[Tim]

Thanks! Nice royal you've got there too!

Unfortunately he's looking to be a tricky feeder (Yeah, I knew this would happen ). I tried to feed him on Saturday. One mouse bought it in the microwave (how was I supposed to know it resets back to full power after it runs??) and he ignored the one I defrosted in boiling water. I've put a pinkie mouse in there today and, while he's still ignoring it I'm hoping he'll eat it overnight. All he seems to do is go round and round the faunarium probing for weaknesses. I have finally got the proper in/out thermometer and hygrometer in there and it looks like the temps were a bit down (mid-twenties), so I've upped them a bit.

What colour should their faeces be? I found a small, yellowish-greenish lump in the tank and while it could have been in there for up to a week I'm not sure it really should be going that colour...

Also, is it just me (thanks to the microwave incident) or do the small mice (next size up from fuzzies I believe) smell when they're defrosted? It's a truly revolting smell!

Thanks guys.

[lashed31]

ahhhhhhhhh bugger!!!! a microwave incident lol!!

normally there poops are like a browny colour, but do have white/yellow urates, are u sure it was defo poo, or was it a bit powdery?

Hopefully the altered temps will get him feeding again, so keep trying other than that there are several other methods for trying i think htere is a sticky on this form sumwhere???

good lcuk with him matey

[Tim]

I'm not sure what I found were faeces, it could have been something else. I haven't tried any other methods of feeding yet, I think the temps being down is a likely cause (strangely enough the water bowl was also empty). I'll defrost another small mouse for him tomorrow (not in the microwave!) and leave that in overnight, see what happens. If it still doesn't work there's always braining, left together in a small container, etc.

Do you find that the larger mice (i.e. anything above pinkie) tend to smell once defrosted, or was that just the remnants of the microwaved one still hanging about?

[dee]

tim never defrost in hot water or microwave always use cold water or leave at room temps for a few hours
if you defrost in hot it has the same effect as defrosting chicken we eat dangerous but snakes cant be sick so by the time you notice someting is wrong from it its to late


if you want to warm it slightly once fully defrosted pop it on a heat mat for a few mins


and cooked mice stink properly defrosted dont at all if they do they are off so do not feed

[lashed31]

ive never smelt a cooked mouse dont wanna either lol. ewwwwwwwww

I have defrosted over night and then warmed in warm water and found that cool

[Tim]

Ah OK, thanks Dee! I usually defrost the pinkie mice by pouring boiling water into a mug, placing a plate on top and leaving the mouse on that, but I didn't think it would work that well for a larger mouse. I'm going to try the royal again tonight so I'll get a mouse out around lunchtime then. Should I try him on a pinkie mouse first or will the small mouse be OK, the small mice look pretty big?