Need advice for switching to frozen/thaw

[JJacobs]

Hey everyone, So I am feeding today and my ball python has been on live pinky rats I believe and unfortunately the nearest pet store that sells live is quite a distance from my house so I am trying to get him on frozen thaw because I can get those much easier. I warmed 2 of them up in a plastic bag which was put into warm water for 5 or so minutes, I tried to dangle and move them around but he would just smell them and look away. Is there something that I am doing wrong and if so how can I get him over to frozen. Thanks all!

[Inarikins]

You need to make sure the rat is soft and squishy up under the rib cage. I would then blast both the body and head with a hair dryer or something. You want the body to feel warm to the touch. Getting a snake onto F/T can be time-consuming, but you shouldn't have a problem switching over a hatchling. I would only feed rat pinks to snakes under 150 grams before I move them up to pups. He may need something bigger, and you may just need to wait him out. Offer an appropriate size prey item every 5 days and he'll eventually take.

[sho220]

Get some feeding tongs...dangling a rodent over a snakes head can be a little intimidating...get some tongs/hemostats/feeding forceps...whatever they're called, and hold the rat behind the head and offer it as naturally as you can...other than that....my only advise is patience...

[JJacobs]

Thanks a bunch guys! I actually found a little hole in the wall pet store close to my house that had small mice which I gave a try and he ate it pretty quickly. He is now in his hide digesting. Thanks for the response though! The frozen were probably to small for him and they may needed to be warmer. I also picked up some forceps which really helped out! Thanks!