Finally. After 5 months of live feedings. Abuja....is on f/t.
When I first got him in May, I tried to convert him to f/t but failed pretty miserably, so from early june to now, early november, he has been fed a live mouse/rat every 7-10 days. His last meal, a small rat, was 2 1/2 weeks ago.
Got 4 medium rats frozen from a local pet store. However, our house is about 60 degrees, so I had to construct a structure to hold the rat directly beneath a heat bulb in the bathtub. Thus, a rat thawing pyramid was formed.
A 5 foot ladder, a shoebox, and a stool formed this glorious mountain. The rat was placed in a baggie atop the mountain beneath 2 heating bulbs. 4-6 hours passed...
From 46 to 76 degrees fahrenheit. Finally, the process was almost over. I placed the box of soiled rat bedding inside his cage and removed his hides. He picked up the scent immediately. I went back downstairs and spent 5 minutes with a hairdryer thawing out the rest of the rat, flipping it like a burger. Then, it was 95 degrees. Almost done. I went back upstairs into my bedroom where Abuja was ready for his meal.
I picked up the box and pretended to dump a rat out of it. Immediately, my hand shot down with the rat (he is terrified of thongs; i was wearing gloves) and I performed the ritual of the zombie dance. He was very interested. Finally, the Kiss of Death. It was over. He struck, coiled, and that was that. After 15 minutes I returned to see him devouring the rat. When he was almost done, I snapped some pics:
http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r...e/DSCF3112.jpg
http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r...e/DSCF3111.jpg
http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r...e/DSCF3113.jpg
http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r...e/DSCF3115.jpg
and before all this, I snapped miscellaneous pics of him:
http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r...e/DSCF3101.jpg
http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r...e/DSCF3099.jpg
http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r...e/DSCF3098.jpg
http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r...e/DSCF3109.jpg
TA DA!
