a little help please

i got my baby BP about 3 or 4 weeks ago. she hadn't eaten any of the thawed mice i tried to feed her (she was raised on live mice) so yesterday i picked up a live feeder and she ate it as soon as it went in the cage.
although i'm glad she got some food in her i'm not sure how i feel about continuing to feed live mice. i'm just wondering if theres any way i can transition her into eating thawed mice. i felt terrible putting a live mouse in her cage knowing it was going to die, and that if it bit her she could get hurt.

I've heard you need to first try live then prekilled then frozen thawed...you'll have to do the mouse dance though (shake the mouse with tongs or something to hold the mouse). I haven't tried it though.

Maybe thoughs who have transitions their ball pythons to frozen or prekilled can help.

When I receive a new BP and he is feeding live I always feed at least 3 live meals before attempting to switch so there is at least one constant while adjusting to his new environment.

Now switching can take time so you will have to be patient, in some cases some BP will never take F/T which mean that you should also be prepared to feed live.

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Originally Posted by GA_Ball_Pythons

When I receive a new BP and he is feeding live I always feed at least 3 live meals before attempting to switch so there is at least one constant while adjusting to his new environment.

Now switching can take time so you will have to be patient, in some cases some BP will never take F/T which mean that you should also be prepared to feed live.

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thank you, i will try feeding live 2 more times then try offering thawed again.
i am prepared to continue feeding live, since the snake is now my responsibility, it will just take a little getting use to, i'll just try not to look at their cute little faces before i drop them in!

Wait until one of the little #*$&%^ bites you! Gets easier after that...

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Originally Posted by SarahMB

Wait until one of the little #*$&%^ bites you! Gets easier after that...

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hah, that might change my mind a little!

try putting a live mouse in a paper bag "accidently" smack the bag off a doorframe etc, voila! no more guilt

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Originally Posted by jeffjr464

try putting a live mouse in a paper bag "accidently" smack the bag off a doorframe etc, voila! no more guilt

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Hi,

It costs very little to make a co2 chamber in the scheme of things and that's probably the best solution to change live to pk. Have a look in the feeder section for threads on killing the humane way to see which one suits you better.

Just because the mouse is destined to be food it should still be well treated ( and in fact that is in all likelyhood a legal requirement - I know it is over here) and "smacking the bag off a doorframe" could land you in a lot of trouble.


dr del

ok if you don't like the bag method how bout a mousetrap? lol what's the difference if you kill a mouse in your house with a trap or give it one quick painless whack, if i was a mouse id rather be killed instantly than having my air supply cutoff and suffocating to death

Quote:

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Originally Posted by SarahMB

Wait until one of the little #*$&%^ bites you! Gets easier after that...

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Bingo!!!!!