need advice for the live/frozen-thawed switch

i got a girl who im trying to switch to f/t. she eats like a champ if its breathing and full of life but not dead. i know there is info online about this thats where i got some of the ideas ive already tried just thought maybe someone her could shed some light on this. So what ive tried: heated it to body temp of a live mouse, soaked it in chicken broth, brained it, scented it with live rodent shavings, rubbed it on a live rodent, placed it by hide, left over night by hide and away so she could hunt for it all with no joy. husbandry is correct and like i said Eats if its breathing. any other suggestions? also ive read that when you offer her the thawed if she refuses wait a week then offer it again. Is this advisable? and whats the refreeze rule ive been just throwing away the thawed rodent she turns down seems like a waste.

Have you tried using an FT African Soft Fur rat? They are pretty irresistible even to stubborn eaters, since that's primarily what they eat in the wild. See if you can present that.

Try feeding a small live hopper mouse first, then following up with a thawed rat. Sometimes the hopper gets them in feed mode, and they become a little less picky for a short amount of time.

How are you thawing the mice? I have never had any issues feeding f/t. I am currently making a tutorial video for the forum, but I'm having some editing issues.

You want the mice to smell like mice. Don't thaw them out in water. I just set them out for 45 min to an hour. I like to use a heat lamp to heat them up after they have thawed. I have had incredible success with this method of thawing.

When are you trying to feed? Always try to get new snakes to eat at night in a darker room to increase their comfort too. If you place the snake and hide in a tub next to the thawed mice for a little while. After awhile she should become curious for the source of the rodent smell. I would offer then when her head is poking out from the hide.

Archi i have a soft fur breeding colony going but there only 2 1/2 months right now so no feeder sizes yet and no where close to me sells them. i know i could get them online but im not gonna pay another $40 for shipping i have over 400 mice with varying sizes in fridge so i dont need another order at the moment. but thanks suggestion

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Originally Posted by 200xth

Try feeding a small live hopper mouse first, then following up with a thawed rat. Sometimes the hopper gets them in feed mode, and they become a little less picky for a short amount of time.

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i was going to try this but wifey rescued the hopper from me before i had a chance, she literally said the snake can eat thawed or its got to go, shes like to make things difficult lol. and now we have a new pet mouse. thanks for suggestion though if all else fails i will be trying this without her knowing

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Originally Posted by Webley

How are you thawing the mice? I have never had any issues feeding f/t. I am currently making a tutorial video for the forum, but I'm having some editing issues.

You want the mice to smell like mice. Don't thaw them out in water. I just set them out for 45 min to an hour. I like to use a heat lamp to heat them up after they have thawed. I have had incredible success with this method of thawing.

When are you trying to feed? Always try to get new snakes to eat at night in a darker room to increase their comfort too. If you place the snake and hide in a tub next to the thawed mice for a little while. After awhile she should become curious for the source of the rodent smell. I would offer then when her head is poking out from the hide.

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i thaw with warm water then heat lamp for few minutes so hopefully this is my problem. i will give this a shot and see how it goes thanks for advice

an adult mouse take about an hour to an hour and a half to fully thaw. regardless of what you're thawing I have a simple trick for when to start heating the mice. I wait till they feel soft and are seemingly sweating. I keep my heat lamp around 8 to 10 inches above them while I heat them too. Make sure once you start heating to check on them every five minutes or so. Once they are nice a fluffy and warm i hold them up under the light for like 10-20 seconds then offer it to the snake. Like I said, also try putting her in a tub or box with a hide next to them before offering. The smell helps stimulate the snake a ton!

This is a great video to help. I developed my method from Garrick's video

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WbX1YVZp4WU

If you want you can also take a blow dryer to it for a bit. I like to keep my f/t fairly dry when feeding. I have my rats in single servings vac sealed. I let it warm up to room temp, soak in hot water (still in the bag), then blowdry a few minutes, get it nice and warm, blast the head of it for good heat signature, then feed. Ours eats like a champ. Good luck.