Switching back to f/t

[jenaero]

I posted here a while back when my ball wasn't eating. She fasted for 2 months until she finally got what she wanted...a live mouse. Now, that's all she'll eat. I wonder if I should try to switch her back to f/t or if I should just leave well enough alone? I'd like to get her back on rats. Are they any more dangerous than mice are? I've been feeding small mice 2 at a time, as that's all the store has for live critters. The rats they have are still quite a bit larger than what she can take right now. Is there any more risk with large rats (with a larger bp of course) than small mice/rats with a small bp? I just worry about her not switching over to f/t and having to give larger live prey when she gets bigger.

The last feeding was a bit traumatic for me. The first mouse she took no problem. The second, as I was lifting it out of the box, held on for dear life with both front paws. I almost gave in and kept it but I had this one mouse left and a snake that was still hungry. Anyway, I put the mouse in and it was walking on the edge of the water dish. She struck, they both went flying into the water dish, soaking the whole tank. She then did something I found disturbing. Rather than constricting as she had done the first time, she held the mouse in the water dish and drowned it

Anyway, I'm up for any suggestions you all might have whether it be ways to switch her over or ways to come to grips and continue to feed live.

Thanks all.

[lillyorchid]

You can try to switch her back over to f/t mice/rats, but I say as long as she is eating that is all that matters. Also feeding live is not dangerous, UNLESS you leave that prey item in with her unsupervised.

Also I know A LOT of people who feed their BP's small rats the whole time.... even to their big fat girls. My BP will only eat small small just weaned live rats.... he won't have anything else to do with any rat bigger or prekilled. That's just him and well he is healthy so that is all that matters to me.

[arcane]

I'd say if shes just started eating again, keep with it for awhile. Then you can try pre-killed then over to f/t. Are there any other petstores around, if you have to drive 10 more minutes to get appropriatly sized rats, then maybe that is something you need to do.

Also about the soaking of the tank, you can always try to feed outside of the tank. My BP does it, and generally he ends up putting a hole in the side of the mouse, and during constricting blood/guts gets everywhere, which would be horrible to clean out his tank (I also take the time that he is in the feeding tub to clean out his regular enclosure).

[jenaero]

This is the first time she's ever made a mess during feeding so I'm not too worried about having to do a quick cleanup once in a while.

Each time I feed her live, the mouse doesn't even have time to squeak so they wouldn't have time to fight back right?

I was concerned that the longer she's on live, the tougher it will be to switch back....