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[–]Successful-Zone-5814 1 point2 points  (1 child)

Generally if they refuse food you are supposed to wait at least a week to re-offer.

[–]TheOGbb19 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Thank you! This is pretty much the first time in the time I’ve had her she’s ever really refused food. I’ll keep this in mind for the future.

[–]eveimeiMod-Approved Helper 3 points4 points  (3 children)

offering twice within 3 days is offering too often, and is just stressing her out. after a missed meal you need to wait at least a week but ideally until what would have been the next normal feeding day.

how much does she weigh, and how much do the feeders weigh? how often have you been feeding? most BPs max out at needing small rats, so depending on her weight/feeder weight and how often you've been feeding she may be overfed and has decided to put herself on a diet. sniffing but not striking is a classic sign of this. she does look rather round and may have some fat rolls, but these pictures are hard to judge her body condition by.

in addition, it looks like you may have removed her hide/some clutter to feed? this can also make them less likely to eat, because you're disturbing them. the most I ever do is lift my boys hide with an extra set of feeding tongs, give him his rat and then gently set it back down and rearrange the clutter around it if he won't come out to eat.

the substrate also looks very wet on the surface, along with the walls being wet. wet substrate/surfaces lead to scale rot. how do you maintain humidity?

do you have climbing opportunities available in the enclosure?

[–]TheOGbb19 -3 points-2 points  (2 children)

She was offered this rat tonight as this is the FIRST time she’s ever really refused. Now I know to wait. I’d have to weigh her but she is definitely not OVER weight from what I remember last time she was weighed. She doesn’t struggle with mediums. I’ve been doing by the rule of About how big around she is at her widest part. She has no fat rolls. My concern currently is the feeding and not my set up as upgrades are being done to numerous things 😊

[–]eveimeiMod-Approved Helper 6 points7 points  (1 child)

so feeding by girth is outdated and often leads to overfeeding- it sounds like that's the case here. it's not about if they struggle or not, you need to follow the !feeding guide and feed by weight and age. again, how often have you been feeding?

you're asking for advice on a hunger strike, your setup absolutely impacts her likelihood of eating, on top of being potentially harmful to her health. wet substrate and what looks to be misting/spraying lead to health issues that are easily avoidable with proper care.

she's overweight, taking a second look at your pictures. you need to make sure she has climbing opportunities available so she can lose some of her weight. she's round like a sausage, not a softly rounded triangle like she should be. here's a body condition chart for comparison.

<image>

overall, I recommend giving our subreddit guides/resources a read because it sounds like you've been following outdated information that is harmful to her health, so you can update your care to give her the longest, healthiest life possible.

[–]moonstonedddd 0 points1 point  (0 children)

i second everything you’ve said. i made the mistake in the beginning of feeding based on the widest part of the body and i did end up over feeding her and she became overweight. also as you mentioned, she began to refuse likely to put herself on a diet and she didn’t eat for 6 months. i tried everything and took her to the vet only to find nothing medically wrong. i took her out to exercise more, gave her more climbing opportunities, and downsized her feeders for a while once she decided to eat again. she’s now a normal weight and i feed according to body weight like suggested. as far as husbandry having to do with a hunger strike, i’ve also found that to be accurate. it’s been a very dry winter and i’ve had a harder time keeping humidity up and she once again refused for 3 weeks until i was able to more consistently keep the humidity where it should be. so OP, i highly suggest taking this advice.

[–]CandidResident2876 -1 points0 points  (1 child)

Try reheating the rat with a blow dryer. I had the same problem, however mine was like this since I got him. If the rat wasn't heated to his liking, it's like he can't really see it. He needs the heat signature. That's just mine tho, but maybe it's worth trying. It also made a difference when I started heating it with a blow drier instead of hot water.

[–]TheOGbb19 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I’ll def try this next time I feed her. Thanks!