converting to solely F/T

[bchapman]

I have had some luck with getting julius to take prekilled prey, but she has been refusing it lately. I managed to get her to take F/T once, and that was one that was killed that same day, frozen and offered to her many hours later.

Now i am trying to get her to take just F/T and I am having a lot of difficulty doing it. I know people on here say that 99.9% will take F/T - but if you would please give me some advice on how to coerce her into doing so - it would be greatly appreciated

I have tried pithing and rubbing dead prey with live prey to no avail.

suggestions will be welcomed!

[ECLARK]

Why would you force your snakes to accept frozen thawed rodents? they will thrive on live rodents, just watch the feeding responce you get when you feed live. that should tell you what they like.

[bchapman]

i get mixed opinions everywhere... people tell me i am insane to feed live, and then people tell me to feed live..

which is it?

[ECLARK]

You will get different opionions on this, i feed live because i breed my own rodents and also think that there is a higher moisture content in live. works for me.

[_BoidFinatic_]

If you try f/t a few times with no avail, then just go back to p/k or live. Let the snake tell you what it wants. BTW, is your RTB taking f/t?

[bchapman]

If you try f/t a few times with no avail, then just go back to p/k or live. Let the snake tell you what it wants. BTW, is your RTB taking f/t?

yeah she is absolutely fine now.. i can just drop a fuzzy in her box with her and she will sniff at it then attack it.. sometimes she will just take a defrosted pinkie from my hemostats and swallow it. shes perfect

julius is just being difficult and i am on my last nerve

[Rhapsody]

I only feed live (supervised) and I've had no problems. I dont see anything wrong with feeding live (i mean...it happens in the wild...lol).


I think it really just comes down to preference. Good luck. Hope you get your snake to eat soon

[JLC]

Yes, you'll get LOTS of different opinions on this topic. And if you are set on finding a precise right answer, you'll be even more frustrated than you are already.


Decide what YOU are most comfortable with...and then just stick with it. It may take a great deal of patience and persistence to get Julius to eat f/t. But if you are absolutely sure that's the best way for you to feed, then go for it.

If you're trying to avoid live just because some people are vehemently against it, then maybe you need to rethink and reevaluate to see if live feeding might be better suited to your snake and your ability to provide prey.

If you can't be bothered with monitoring a live-feeding situation...making sure a rodent is not starving or freaked out when placed in with your snake...and making sure it won't ever stay in there for more than 20-30 minutes before you remove it......then by all means, stick with f/t, because these are the sorts of issues that make live feeding "dangerous."

[sho220]

I had no problem switching a couple over from live prey to f/t. I put some shredded newspaper from a mouse cage in the corner of their tubs for about ten minutes prior to presenting the f/t prey. It seemed to work just as well if I was giving them f/t mice or rats. The smell just got them into feeding mode.

[frankykeno]

I wouldn't agree that 99.9% will take F/T. I have a number of BP's that would rather starve then take any prey that is not live. Having said that, I think feed non-live prey is a learned feeding response and a good percentage of them can learn it. Some however will not. Only your snake will be able to tell you by it's responses what it will and won't accept.

Live feeding is as responsible a feeding decision as is frozen/thawed or pre-killed. As with anything to do with your snake though it's up to you to educate yourself. There is tons of information available on the proper and safe methods of live feeding which are important to understand before you put your snake into any situation where it is in an enclosed space with a live prey item.