live, pre-killed, F/T?

[juSStin4171]

There is a debate thread that I cannot reply to.. I guess I don't have enough points or something. I have tried in the past to feed my BP pre-killed, and thawed and she just would not take it. I tried with tongs to move the mouse around, tried dangling it over her head like I was just holding a live ones tail... I tried putting her in a smaller environment with just the food there with her, I tried patience. Eventually I just got her a live one and she took it right away. It's been a while since I've tried p/k or f/t but everytime I feed her live I worry that she will get hurt. Then when she doesn't I'm so relieved Do you think that now she is older she is more likely to take p/k or f/t? She is up to medium rats now and those have big teeth! She is two years old and is my baby. I want to do what is best for her. Thanks in advance.

[Sooby-Doo]

If you haven't tried it yet, after you thaw out the pre-killed rat, take a hair dryer and hold it like 3 inches away and blast the heck out of the rat for a minute or two. This really heats it up and makes it a deadfire target for the snake. Using tongs, wiggle it around next to them for a second or two then drop them it close proximity...the thud of the meal landing (vibration) added to the heat should give them a sense of what and where to strike.

Maybe I'm just lucky but both of mine (one ball, one BRB) were purchased as live feeders but using the hair dryer they both took their pre-killed meals within 1 minute each time. Have never had an issue since.

Anyway, hope this helps, good luck and keep us posted!

[devine*]

If you keep having problems, try to get your hands on some African Soft Fur Rats.

Feeding medium sized rats to a BP is really dangerous, how long do you wait in between feedings before giving in and feeding live?

	Ball Python The Ball Python (Python regius), also known as the Royal Python, is a ground dwelling snake native to the savannahs and rain forests in western Africa, predominatly the countries of Ghana, Togo, and Benin.

[Adrya]

My male ball python was always a mouse eater and ate adult f/t mice. However this is not a story about trying to get him to switch to f/t, this is still the switch in general to rats. He absolutely would not take f/t rats.

I didn't feed him for a few months until he was hungry enough that he snatched a f/t rat up. Since then his feedings were still very picky but I didn't give up and kept offering him the f/t rats and he would take them every several weeks, to few weeks, to now where he's a steady f/t rat eater.

So it is still a matter of time and patience. In this case, several months for me.

	Frozen/Thawed A rodent or other prey item that is frozen and then thawed to be fed to a reptile or other animal.

[badkittyamy]

IMHO if you can't get a snake to eat F/T you are simply giving up to easily and too soon I waited 6 months and never had a problem after that. It's a reptile and can go without eating for longer than a mammal, sometimes they will go on an eating strike longer than that themselves.

	Frozen/Thawed A rodent or other prey item that is frozen and then thawed to be fed to a reptile or other animal.

[missraywoj]

It took me SIX MONTHS to switch my two ball pythons over to prekilled.

I feed all my snakes BUT my ball pythons first so they get the scent of rat and they start to get hungry. What I used to do was just toss the rat into the opposite side of the tank as the snake... so... when I started to switch them over, I'd take the tongs and thump it into the tank, and wiggle it like MAD in the bedding and plastic plants. My ball pythons go NUTS over it. It worked for me.

Like I said, my male wouldn't eat for 6 months, my small female for three, eventually they get hungry and eat.

	Toss To Throw

[missraywoj]

Also, don't dangle the food over the ball pythons head. They're extremely shy and don't like their head bothered, it intimidates them. You can wiggle it a little in front of them, but do your best to mimic the movements of the rat. Make sure it's nice and warm too - I wasn't getting mine warm enough and the snakes just didn't care about it..

[Yaymus]

I like the blowdryer idea, I have also heard tyring to dip the head in a chicken borth, if it is hot then it has the same affect, and has an added smell.. worth giving a try, hope it helped

[Ursa Minor]

Well mine will eat both, but prefer live. I prefer f/t cause I want to avoid bites... I like to thaw mine out in a ziploc bag and hot water. And I also feed my BPs last so they get a good smell. They're animals and they have to eat eventually, right? I think in the end hunger will win.

	Ball Python The Ball Python (Python regius), also known as the Royal Python, is a ground dwelling snake native to the savannahs and rain forests in western Africa, predominatly the countries of Ghana, Togo, and Benin.

	Frozen/Thawed A rodent or other prey item that is frozen and then thawed to be fed to a reptile or other animal.