She ate!!!!

[Meech]

My first time feeding was successful!!! (for the most part) Last night was my first attempt at feeding a ball python ever, shes eating F/T .. so heres the story..... I thawed the mouse out, then once it was thawed, i put it in hot water, i then dried it with a paper towel, i opened the cage, as soon as i walked in the room, her head came out of her hide lol she was hungry is guess, then i put the mouse on the tongs, wiggled it, after 10 seconds she struck it and began to wrap.. this is where it gets weird , she took it in the hide.. after observing, she began biting around the mouse, i noticed she was going towards the back... she then gave up.. using the tongs, i moved the mouse to the front of the hide (with the head in the hide) , thinking i didn't thaw it good enough ( even though i felt it for myself and it seemed fine) i went to start the process over with another mouse.. when i came back to get the thawing container the mouse (in the cage) was gone with my small female sitting in her hide with almost a smile .. a little weird but if she ate then im happy


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[Terminal]

Good feeling. Congrats.

[JodanOrNoDan]

Good job. All normal behavior for a ball, so that is good news. I really, really advise you to feed rats.

[pariahdog]

Congrats! Glad to hear it went well

[Meech]

thankyou all, now i know why people make a big deal about a good feeding, its a great feeding, i feel like a proud parent.



& i heard rats are more nutritious but the person i got her from said shes only eating mice.. i know ball pythons get used to their food, wouldn't she reject a rat???

[Eric Alan]

Mice vs Rats as far as nutritional value isn't significant enough to make the decision between one or the other solely on that reason. The biggest reason most feed rats is because of the convience factor. It takes many more mice than rats to feed an adult ball python, which is why people prefer to start them on rats right away versus change them over down the road.

As far as switching from mice to rats, the answer is "it depends". For most, it's not as hard as it's made out to be. For some, it's all that and more.

[JodanOrNoDan]

thankyou all, now i know why people make a big deal about a good feeding, its a great feeding, i feel like a proud parent.



& i heard rats are more nutritious but the person i got her from said shes only eating mice.. i know ball pythons get used to their food, wouldn't she reject a rat???

A ball can survive just fine on mice but the issue is the number you would have to feed to an adult to make a meal. The longer you go feeding mice the harder it is to convert them. I have converted from mice to rats and from feeding live to frozen thawed. I , knock on wood, have not failed yet but it can be a long patience testing process full of tough love. I have had animals that will frankly eat anything I give them but most will not. Try rats now, your life will be easier and cheaper. There are many threads on here about how to convert prey items but if you have any specific questions please feel free to ask.

[chrid16371]

My super pastel Kratos drags his into his hide to eat. I put my rats and mice in a bag before I put them in hot water so they don't get wet, you should try this next time. Another thing to try is once you pull it out of the hot water take it out of bag and use a hair dryer to heat the head up around 100 degrees so that way she can identify the head of the rat. Great job though! It's always a great feeling when they eat! I still get excited every time both of my bp take there prey lol

[Meech]

how do i post pictures? i want to post a pic of my Orange Ghost and the mice i feed her. I will post later if i can figure out how to.

[LittleTreeGuy]

AWESOME!!! Congrats on your first successful feeding!!

Some feedings my BP (she's 7 months old) will strike her prey, wrap it, and start eating before she's fully uncoiled. Other times, she'll unwrap and then just start sniffing all around the rat. She'll go over it's body with her nose touching it, like she's really surveying the size, temperature, and shape of the rat... and anything within about 6" of it. then, 5 minutes later, she'll eat it. It's neat to watch them do their thing, for sure. Here's to many more easy and successful feedings for you!