Switching from live to F/T

[Jhussey]

Can you switch between the two, or does the BP become set on which one it's been given? When I bought my BP they were feeding him live food, since I've brought him home I've tried on two occations to feed him F/T, the first time he struck at it and missed and didn't try again, the second time he showed no interest at all, just slithered over it and around it more interested in the surroundings.

[Kaorte]

It really just depends on the BP. Mine switch easily between the two, but I know some that will specifically only take prekilled or live.

How often are you waiting in between trying to feed? How are you heating up the prey item?

[Jhussey]

I'm trying to feed him only once a week. I've only had him two weeks and it's been as long since he last ate. It was six days between attempts.

I thaw the food in a plastic bag in warm water for about an hour, changing the water as needed to keep it warm enough. Then I try and feed him.

[MissMowgli]

After I thaw in warm water, I blast the rats with a blow dryer for a few minutes, get the head nice and warm, and then try to feed. If you do it in the same room as the snake, it also helps pre-scent, which might get your guy a little more interested.

It does really amp up the smell, though, so I suggest designating the hair dryer for only that purpose.

Hope that helps! Congrats on the new baby!

[frankykeno]

Usually you'd want to leave a snake a good week without trying any feedings just to let them settle in so you may have tried too fast to offer a food in a manner this snake has never seen before. Personally, I'd offer this snake what it's used to eating as far as food type and feeding method for the next few weeks then give f/t another try down the road when you've gotten used to this snake and it's gotten used to you.

[Darkice]

Im always switching between the 2. I breed my own african soft furred rats and when i dont have any that are big enough i use the F/T.
But it depends on the snake. All you can do is try. Just make sure you get it thawed out and warmed up. If its warm enough the snake will lock on quick.
Temperature is key.

[Neal]

One thing i've noticed with feeding my 2 snakes F/T. My anaconda she does better when i just put the mouse in front of her head, and wiggle it once, and by that time shes already coiled around it presuming to strangle the life out of it. Now on the other hand my WLP is a shy eater, my first time feeding her I tried what I did for my anacona, no go, so then I just put the mouse on the paper towls by her head, put a shirt over the tank to make it dark, laid down and watched tv for about 30 minutes, and the mouse was gone.

[iCandiBallPythons]

The best method I have used to switch them to F/T is. you can thaw the feeder by just dropping it in warm water and letting it sit for awhile.Take a container like tupperware or the glad locks, heat the water in a microwave for around a minute or a bit more depending on your microwave. You do not want the water boiling or close to boiling , just very hot to the touch. keep the feeder in the ziplock and place in container and cover, let it sit for a minute or two. Remove the feeder from the bag and place on hemostats or tongs by the scruff of the feeders neck and redip the feeder into the hot water for around 20 seconds just enough to get the feeder extremely warm then dab on a paper towel and immediately offer. A tip when offering F/T the first couple of times dont dangle the feeder,as most live prey feeders are used to striking their prey on the ground not flying above them. Place the belly of the feeder against the bottom of the enclosure and slowly drag it back and forth kind of making the head bob a bit,getting the feeder a few inches infront of the snake. Sometimes they will strike, coil , and then release and wonder off, if that happens use hemostats or tongs to pick up the feeder and redip it in the water (reheating the water may be neccesary) and reoffer the feeder. Removing the hides first may be easier. This sounds like a long process but every new bp I get I use this same process to get them switched and have had 0 trouble thus far.Most all of my bp's were on live before I got them. I'm not saying its perfect for every bp but its what I've found works the best for me.

[Jenn]

Usually you'd want to leave a snake a good week without trying any feedings just to let them settle in so you may have tried too fast to offer a food in a manner this snake has never seen before. Personally, I'd offer this snake what it's used to eating as far as food type and feeding method for the next few weeks then give f/t another try down the road when you've gotten used to this snake and it's gotten used to you.

Ditto. Excellent post.

[blushingball419]

Usually you'd want to leave a snake a good week without trying any feedings just to let them settle in so you may have tried too fast to offer a food in a manner this snake has never seen before. Personally, I'd offer this snake what it's used to eating as far as food type and feeding method for the next few weeks then give f/t another try down the road when you've gotten used to this snake and it's gotten used to you.

Exactly Couldn't have said it better

However, I just wanted to add that I attempted to switch my girl from live/pre-killed to F/T and I had no luck. It was the strangest thing. I had been feeding her live but when I moved recently I wanted to try and switch her to F/T for convenience (the closest pet store is now almost an hour away). She took a F/T mouse the very first time I offered it but then refused every other time for around 2 months after that (and she's only a little less than a year old). Sometimes she seemed interested and would sniff the F/T mouse but never went for it. I tried pre-scenting, using a hair dryer and every crazy zombie mouse move I could think of...but nothing worked. Then just a couple days ago I relented and offered a live mouse again and she went right for it, got a perfect strike and wolfed it down like crazy

I'm just happy she's eating...but anyway, my point is that it isn't always easy to switch and it does seem like *some* ball pythons do become stuck in their ways. Obviously some are easy to please and if you have one of those then you're lucky. Just be prepared for some frustration in trying to switch...and just because they take a F/T item at first doesn't mean they'll continue to do so. Always have the well being of the snake in mind too...I probably could have finally gotten mine to eat F/T at some point, but because she is still pretty young I didn't want to make her wait too long and possibly give her health problems. So yes, the point of all this rambling is that they can be very stubborn

Good luck