Failed first F/T attempt, quick question....

...200+g baby feeding great on live rat pups. Tried first F/T today, no go. So: wait a few days and go back to live, or try again for F/T? No big urgency on my part to get her switched, also not worried about her missing a meal. Just want to get her converted before the live rats get big enough to do damage. Thanks for your input, BPnetters!

Try leaving the rat in her tank overnight. Mine is a "closet eater" :P She won't strike at the rat, but I always leave it overnight, and wake up with no rat, and a big ole lump in her tummy.

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Originally Posted by Trackstrong83

Try leaving the rat in her tank overnight. Mine is a "closet eater" :P She won't strike at the rat, but I always leave it overnight, and wake up with no rat, and a big ole lump in her tummy.

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X2 this my f/t eater is the same way give it TRY:)

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Originally Posted by Trackstrong83

Try leaving the rat in her tank overnight. Mine is a "closet eater" :P She won't strike at the rat, but I always leave it overnight, and wake up with no rat, and a big ole lump in her tummy.

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I have one that does this on occasion. If that doesnt work I would say try again on the next "scheduled" feeding day with f/t. Heres a good thread you could look at too:

http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showt...hlight=convert

What process did u you when attempting to feed the F/T rat? Did u warm the rat up in some way before offering it? Did you do a zombie dance? Was there any other changes made in the way it was presented aside from it being on tongs/hemostats instead of just droped into the tub? I know if i dont use a hair dryer to warm up the food my snake wont even look at it let alone strike. If i warm up up to slightly above tank temp he hits it like it was live. Ive also figured out my snake will only strike from inside his hide. I have to present the f/t at the entrance and let him drag it inside. he will not eat day/night unless hes in his hide when offered food :rolleyes:

I would give him a rest and offer him f/t again next week. I recently got a snake from Dan Wolfe and he said he feeds his babies live rats from tongs. When I offered a nice hot f/t rat on tongs he took it no problem and probably didn't know much difference. You could try this for a while and then switch him over if he doesn't take to f/t. But it probably won't be necessary. I would just offer him f/t again and see if he takes it. I have never had luck leaving a rat in with my snakes overnight because once it cools off they have nothing to do with it, but I know this works well with many snakes. Worth a try.

Thanks, everyone. Good to see so much consistency in the replies. I'll wait it out for awhile and have another go at F/T.

To Seth, I thawed, then blew-dry, then did zombie dance, then left it. She got really interested during the blow-drying, but after a good sniff around, decided it wasn't much to get excited about and went back inside hide. I reheated with the dryer x 1, got one more peek out of the hide from her, then left her for about 8 hrs and rat was still there when I got home. At that point I tossed it out. Aged dead rat...yuck.

I'll try in the evening next time so she can be alone in the dark with it. I usually feed her during the day since that's when I can go out and get a live one, but she's definitely more active at night.

I feel like the whole thing from her perspective was like if someone sprayed bacon scent around your house, then when you went to the kitchen to get some, there was just a giant cardboard cutout of a piece of bacon. LOL!

Make sure it is warm enough I actually measure them 100ºF on the body and 110ºF head. The normal rats body temp is 99-101º so that is normal temps.

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Originally Posted by kitedemon

Make sure it is warm enough I actually measure them 100ºF on the body and 110ºF head. The normal rats body temp is 99-101º so that is normal temps.

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x2

Oh and sometime with a hair drier the belly of the rat stays cool so it is warm enough for a few moments but then cools off. I like to thaw mine in the fridge over night than a few hours at room temp then 20 min of a heating pad (human) to get the core of the rats warm then hair drier to add extra to the head. Warming a cold rat with a hair drier may only heat the surface and not the belly and it cools off quickly.

MAKE sure the whole rat is warm. (warm not cooked) It is a bit inconvenient but in my situation less than live rats hanging around.