HELP: Problems switching from LIVE to F/T

I have a 3 year old BP and I've had him for a few months now. For the past 6 weeks, I've been trying to make the switch off live (always eaten live) to f/t and not having any luck. I've gone through 4 large mice and 2 small rats so far. I thaw them in warm water for 45 min to an hour or so. I try wiggling them in front of him for awhile and also just leaving it in there overnight. He seems somewhat interested, but never bites. I've even tried dipping a couple in chicken broth. Can someone please help me out here? I'm tired of wasting these frozen rodents, but I think it eventually can be done. He hasn't eaten for awhile now and I'd figure he'd get hungry enough to tag one, but not yet. Please keep in mind, I'm not sure I can stomach knocking a live rat out to make the transition nor do I really want to cut the head to show brain (something I've read before). Please help!

Hi! When I first got my ball python, he was eating live but he immediately made the switch for me.
I usually thaw my mice under running cold water (the safest way to thaw meat) and warm it up with a hairdryer. The first time he took it as soon as I put the mouse inside his tank but the second time, he didn't take it so I had to do the zombie mouse trick. The way I do it is I wiggle the mouse around and bump his body a tiny bit (not near his head). Usually when the mouse touches his body he goes for it.
I find that when I'm warming the mouse up with the hair dryer, my snake smells it and immediately goes into strike position. It has worked for us so far. Good luck!

Make sure you're getting the F/T rats NICE and warm. I've found that this helps a lot with getting them interested. You want to get them up to about 100 degrees Fahrenheit because that's their normal body temperature live. Also, try to make sure that the F/T rat looks very close to the live rats he's eaten. The last thing is to start off small. Way smaller than the average sized meal if you have to. This will eliminate him being intimidated by the F/T rat. Also, make sure the rat is very dry. You can do this by warming him at room temp on a paper towel, or you can put the rat inside a little ziploc and then into some hot water. Make sure you're not heating the rat too fast as this makes them hot on the outside and still frozen on the inside (and IMO it makes them smell weird when they get too hot). I hope this helps! I'm in the process of getting a mouser switched to F/T rats!

Well your crossing off methods that could help. Starting with freshly killed or braining are two good methods to get snakes to switch. Braining can be done by stabbing into the brain cavity to expose some of the juices not really exposing the brain. I have never had to expose the brain.

The main issue could be feeders that are not warm enough. I use tap water as hot as it gets. I Them present them to my snakes quickly so they don't cool much. Make sure they are really warm when you present them. Maybe your water isn't warm enough or your letting it cool to long before presenting it.

As has already been stated, I would definitely try warming it up a bit more. I do the hair dryer trick as well. My male will eat at about any temp as long as it's thawed, but my female will only eat if I get the feeders head VERY warm with the hairdryer. The light also has to be off for her to eat - she's a pain in the butt.

Also if that doesn't work I agree with KMG about fresh killed or brained meals :)

Good luck!

I've switched all 6 of my snakes and haven't had to brain or pre-kill anything.

Make sure it's nice and hot. When I thawed in water I would usually finish off by putting the water from the sink as hot as it gets, and submerging the rodent in a bag in the water for about 15 sec and offering RIGHT AWAY after pulling it out. They drop back to room temp. pretty quickly, at which point it is unlikely that the snake will recognize it as food. They hunt mainly off heat signature.

If you have an infrared temp. gun I have had the best success when the head is about 110 degrees.

Another tip is to hold the prey by the scruff rather than dangle it by its tail or foot. Hold it low to the ground like it's actually moving around on the ground.

I've also been told by multiple sources that switching a snake that's an adult to F/T can be much harder than a baby when it's in a growth phase. How much does your snake weigh?

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Originally Posted by Ashleigh91

I do the hair dryer trick as well. My male will eat at about any temp as long as it's thawed, but my female will only eat if I get the feeders head VERY warm with the hairdryer. The light also has to be off for her to eat - she's a pain in the butt.



Good luck!

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Same, I have to use a hair dryer. And I have to leave it in the tub with the lights off. She won't take it off the tongs, but when I leave it in there and turn the lights out, she eats it. haha My snake is such a closet eater. She doesn't want people thinking she's fat :D lol

I had problems switching my BP to f/t. I finally found a way that worked, you should try it.

Thaw the rat (in a sandwich bag) in bucket of hot water till its mostly thawed. Dump the water out and fill the bucket again with hot water. Let it sit till its fully thawed. When its done, take the rat (still in the bag) and put it in your sink, let hot water drain onto its HEAD ONLY for about 3 minutes or so. After that, take it out of the bag and with a pair of tongs, drag the rat on the bottom of the tank like it's alive and moving. My BP goes for it a good 75-90% of the time!

I used to feed my BP live and she was just like yours, a non stop eater (I even fed her twice a week). When I switched to frozen, I tried every trick people told me and nothing ever worked. I randomly tried what I just explained to you and it seems to be working great! I've been feeding her like this for about 3 or 4 months now.

Good luck!

I'm glad you asked this... I've been having trouble switching a couple of mine over too!

Lots of good advice above. Holding the rat by the scruff is usually best, like MrLang said. Also, bumping the snake (like another member posted) can work as long as the snake isn't a shy feeder. I found that that can scare them off f/t if they are shy. However, if they are aggressive eaters normally, bumping them works pretty well. Sometimes I will run the feeder under their body and they get excited and strike at it right away. If they just coil it with their body but don't actually strike, sometimes they will still eat it if you leave them alone. If they drop it just re-heat it and try again. Sometimes it takes a few tries before they eat it. Just don't leave it sit too long or the rat will decompose too much.

Another trick that you can try, and has worked for us, is rolling the thawed, warm rat in dirty rat bedding, knock off all the bedding, then offer it right away. It will have more of a live rat smell.

Don't get too discouraged. It can take a while to switch them over sometimes. Good luck!



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