Advice - Sudden Food Aggression
Nearly a year ago, I inherited a KSB from my best friend who unexpectedly passed. It was her wish that I take little Tofu, and I am trying my best to give him the care he deserves.
He is roughly 7 years old, and has always been so good with being handled. Even before I inherited him, he was always a very gentle boy.
I am still not used to digging him out with my bare hands, I think it’s just the fear of not knowing what a bite from him would feel like, so I typically use a snake hook to at least get him to the surface of the substrate and then let him crawl out on my hands if he seems like he’s feeling up to being handled.
Here’s the problem I need help with -
The last few times I’ve dug him out with the snake hook he has struck at it as if it is the tongs holding his food. This is new, and I don’t want him to hurt himself on the metal. He strikes pretty excitedly! He will do it even after I know he can’t still be hungry, it’s like his little brain insists it HAS to have a fuzzy attached somewhere.
His typical feeding schedule is 1 fuzzy a week, though occasionally he will reject and go up to 10-14 days before eating. This is usually when he is shedding. He is a notoriously BAD shedder and I typically have to help him. Is this enough or is he telling me he is hungry?
Should I try feeding him through the top of the cage and then getting him out through the front? So maybe he associates the front opening with “I’m getting out” and not “I’m getting food”?
Any advice is welcome!
Nearly a year ago, I inherited a KSB from my best friend who unexpectedly passed. It was her wish that I take little Tofu, and I am trying my best to give him the care he deserves.
He is roughly 7 years old, and has always been so good with being handled. Even before I inherited him, he was always a very gentle boy.
I am still not used to digging him out with my bare hands, I think it’s just the fear of not knowing what a bite from him would feel like, so I typically use a snake hook to at least get him to the surface of the substrate and then let him crawl out on my hands if he seems like he’s feeling up to being handled.
Here’s the problem I need help with -
The last few times I’ve dug him out with the snake hook he has struck at it as if it is the tongs holding his food. This is new, and I don’t want him to hurt himself on the metal. He strikes pretty excitedly! He will do it even after I know he can’t still be hungry, it’s like his little brain insists it HAS to have a fuzzy attached somewhere.
His typical feeding schedule is 1 fuzzy a week, though occasionally he will reject and go up to 10-14 days before eating. This is usually when he is shedding. He is a notoriously BAD shedder and I typically have to help him. Is this enough or is he telling me he is hungry?
Should I try feeding him through the top of the cage and then getting him out through the front? So maybe he associates the front opening with “I’m getting out” and not “I’m getting food”?
Any advice is welcome!