trouble switching to F/T

I recently purchased a hatchling ball python that was eating live. I have had her in her new enclosure for a week. I tried a F/T mouse with no luck. I also tried a rat pup with no luck. I warmed both of them up with hot water before trying. Any suggestions? Does the chicken broth trick work?

Thanks

There's a few things that I did to help mine make the change when I first got him. Now keep in mind I'm a newbie at this, so this is just what I experienced myself to be useful. First of all check your environment and temperatures (refer to caresheet on here for these details), make sure everything is optimal for a young ball, shelter, humidity and all that. If this is the case, and she still doesn't feed, here's what worked for me:
-Make sure you attempt at night, preferably in a dimly lit, or dark room.
-Don't handle her for 24-48 hours before a feeding attempt.
-If she refuses, wait 5-7 days before trying again, otherwise it can make them stressed.
-Make sure the food is the right size, and if possible, the same species as she used to get live.
-Once you have warmed the food item, leave it outside the cage, but near the cage vents for a few minutes, or defrost it nearby, so that your snake gets a good smell of the food. This in particular helped my youngster get in a hunting mood, preparing him for the idea that there was something rodenty 'on the loose' nearby.
-Re-warm the food if it cooled during the previous stage. When you offer it to her, don't just drop it into the tank, hold it with a pair of forceps in front of your snake's nose (without touching her with it) until you're CERTAIN that she's noticed it. Then, when you've got her attention, if she's not striking, make it do the zombie dance. Wiggling the prey gently, even in mid-air, seemed to make it SO much more appealing to my snake, and since I've been doing that, he has had absolutely no problem feeding at all. [Make sure not to do this with just your fingers, just in case she's a bad aim at first, invest in a tool to hold the food.] If she strikes at the food, try not to flinch, just let her get a hold of it, then let go and ease the forceps away from her, close the tank, and leave her in peace to do the rest.
-If all this doesn't work, make sure she notices the prey, then lay it down in part of the enclosure where it won't get buried in substrate, and leave it there overnight. Perhaps cover her tank with a towel to give her some nice darkness and privacy. If she hasn't eaten it by the next morning, remove and dispose of it, and try again in 5-7 days.

These methods have worked very well for me... but I have read other advice, like trying different coloured mice, rubbing mouse bedding all over the f/t before feeding, the chicken broth trick. I think it's a case of trying everything until something works for you, I've shared what worked for me, so I really hope that something I said here helps you out!

A couple more ideas: first, wait till she's eaten a few meals of her accustomed prey with you before trying to make any changes. Feeding live for a few weeks shouldn't make her less inclined to switch, and you'll sleep better knowing she's eaten for you. I've seen some folks up here suggest transitioning from live to F/T when the snake reaches around 200 g, though I've also done it earlier without problems.

Second, make sure your F/T is not just thawed but nice and warm by blasting it with a hair dryer for a minute or two before offering. Blow the rodent-scented air in the direction of the snake's enclosure and you should get a very interested response - tongue flicking and emerging from hide, etc.

Third and hardest: patience.

Best of luck, I bet she'll be no trouble once she's taken a couple of meals.

http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showt...fed-live/page2