Live to thawed

[hurricanev]

Been trying to switch my BP from live hoppers to thawed with no success,
The way ive been doing this is by putting the frozen hoppers in a zip lok bag and submerging it in hot water for 10 to 15 minutes, then I try to present it to her with hemostats, she comes up to it and investigates but that's it, no strike no nothing, I then put a live one in there and BANG she hits it and eats.
Anyone here got some tips for me to try ?
I would like to switch here as getting live is becoming harder for us to find.
Thanks

[rlditmars]

The way I've always done it is this. First, are you letting the prey item completely thaw first before you are submerging them? If not then do so. Then you want to make certain you don't have the prey item too hot or too cold. Normal temp of a rat is 99 to 100 F. Use water that is a little warmer then needed but only submerge the prey item about 5 minutes or so. When you handle the prey item it should feel a little warm but not super warm as we are almost the same natural temp.

As long as your snake is eating regularly and is an appropriate weight, then you may try stretching the time between feedings when you are attempting F/T. You want to get her good and hungry. Try offering her one after waiting two weeks and use an item that is maybe a size down from what she is taking live. So if she is eating smalls, try a weanling. If she is eating weanlings, try a pup. When you attempt to feed her make it late in the evening as they are naturally nocturnal so night time is there hunting time. Also look for her to be in a hunting mode. By this I mean out and about in her enclosure where she looks to be actively hunting food.

When you present the prey item try to use tongs that don't have large tips, again so the presentation isn't overwhelming to the snake, and hold the prey item by the scruff so it appears to be in a normal attitude of a live rat. Move it at a low angle like it is walking toward her. If she doesn't take one after two weeks then give her smaller size live animal and wait another two weeks and try it again. Remember in the wild these snake are opportunistic feeders which means they may go long stretches between kills and then may catch two or three prey in a short period. Also the are prone to fasting as adults so extended periods of time between feedings wont hurt them. Just monitor her weight and see that her body tone doesn't start to degrade.

All that said, some animals will never switch. But it doesn't hurt to keep trying. Best of luck to you.

[hurricanev]

Thank you for the awesome info.

[AlexisFitzy]

You got a lot of good advice from the previous comment all I can add is use a hairdryer after you use water to dry then up and warm them at the same time. Focus the dryer on the head for a while to heat that up and see if that helps. I've had to switch a couple and some transition smoothly while others are stubborn but it takes a lot of patience. You can also just defrost the rat at room temp them heat up with a hairdryer to heat the rest of the way keep us updated hope it works out!


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[Tash]

How do you present it? Warming them up after they thaw really helps, and I do it by letting them soak in warm water after they've thawed. Then I used tongs to preform a very convincing zombie dance. If I just present it on tongs my male will inspect but quickly loose interest. If I drag it around and really wiggle it, he gets excited and strikes.

[Kokorobosoi]

I second the zombie dance.

[Felidae]

Maybe helps if you give him the live few times with hemostats also, before you try the thawed. For the completely thawed rats I use blow dryer to warm them up and it's spread the smell in the herp room. Cause of the stronger smell they already spring loaded and if they're hungry they catch in the first second, or after a little zombie dance the prey.