Ball python wont eat F/t Mice!

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Originally Posted by JLC

Also, be sure to heat the prey all the way through. If you let them thaw at room temp for just an hour or two and then "blast them with a blow dryer" then they may still be pretty cold in the guts, even if the fur/skin feels warm.

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This right here! I've gotten animals who have been "problem feeders" or who have never taken FT before in their lives to snap it right up just by adjusting the temperature. I think people get frustrated way too soon when trying FT.

If he's smelling it, he's definitely interested. Put your prey items in a ziplock baggie and float it in hot water for a few minutes to get them nice and warm to the touch. That'd be the first thing I'd try.

I agree with Shadera. Put the f/t prey item in a baggie and put it into some hot water until it is thawed out. I then let mine sit in the hot water for a little while before I present it to the snake. After that I dangle it in front of the snake doing a little dance and then the snake strikes and coils around the prey item.

I just kinda skimmed the thread. Here is what I do to get my female BP to eat and to get my colubrids going nuts.

1. Thaw prey. Don't worry about how long you forget about it if it's not longer than 3 hours.
2. Get a cookie sheet you don't care much about, put foil on it.
3. Preheat a toaster oven (or put a normal oven on 'Warm') to about 135F. Use a thermometer with a probe to check the temp. I suction cup mine to the door of the oven and bend the wire so the probe is in the air kinda in the middle of the oven.
4. Place prey on cookie sheet and into toaster oven.
5. Check every 5-15 minutes to see when the prey is HOT. I mean HOT, too. Not SCALDING hot, but definitely hotter than a live item (ask a pet store to see a calm rat or mouse to get an idea of this). Takes 30-60 minutes for me, but my toaster oven bounces around from 140F to 90F. This is why I say keep an eye on it.
6. Take the cookie sheet with the prey (use oven mitts please!) to the area you feed at.
7. Get your BP ready to be offered prey.
8. Get a secure hold on the prey by the back legs with some long tongs (can find in reptile area of pet stores).
9. Hold the prey close enough for the BP to see but not far enough that if he strikes he'll go flying.
10. As he shows interest in this hot item, wiggle it well. You'll be able to figure out if you just need a little movement or if you need to really try doing the zombie dance.
11. As he closes in, get ready to let go, but keep a good hold on the prey still! I've both had my BP coil around the tongs and miss the item because I either didn't let go or did too early. ...Actually, all three my colubrids have tried strangling the tongs, too...
12. Either reap the rewards of your work or find someone else to nom the prey if you fail. Don't be afraid to try again if he coils and lets go. Also, don't be afraid to leave it in the cage overnight.

This is just, as I said, what I do, but I have never failed to get a strike from any snake this way. I even got my female BP to eat in deep blue this way.

Thanks for all the help guys, This upcomming saturday Ill be going to a reptile show in wheaton IL. I will get rat pups there or full grown mice! Yeah he used to be held in a little tub! I heard a week was good! I guess not :D Umm IDk if i want to breed him or just have him as a pet yet, because he is HET ALBINO which would be cool.. to get a female albino :D But for the mean time I am keeping him in his tank because hes right next to me in my computer room and I like to peek in on him! His temps are wonderful I have a room heater that keeps the ambiant temps of the room at 80degrees, warm side is 92, and cool side is 82/84. Although I think maybe his hides might be a little small because every once in awhile on either side he like pushes them off the glass! Anyways thanks for the feedback

Brandon:taz:

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Originally Posted by bdevo

Although I think maybe his hides might be a little small because every once in awhile on either side he like pushes them off the glass! Anyways thanks for the feedback

Brandon:taz:

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Unless it gets to the point where they're wearing the hide like a hat...there's almost no such thing as "too small" with these guys. :P

http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showt...8DU-Warning%29

I guess the one thing to remember is dont rush him, he will get stressed out...
BPs like small places where they can push against both sides in their hide...

Im sorry a gave you my opinnion on the feeding.. But based on experience for 8yrs now rats have more substance seeing a rat is capable of getting 5 times or so larger that way you wont be there all day feeding your snake when he gets to 3 or 4 feet.. Rats dont smell as bad as mice (I have bred both) rats also are easier to breed and all the breeders in my area do rats... BTW Im a town away from NERD and I know for a fact he uses rats... We all use mice to start them off on their 1st couple meals then quicly switch them over to rats

Jon Graham
5GsReptiles

Mine ate once when I used the OP's method of warming a thawed mouse. But...he only ate the mouse after it had been sitting for 8 hours in the enclosure. And it was the first time I fed him after I got him, so maybe he was REALLY hungry.

After that, he went for a month without eating. I would thaw the mouse, warm it, then dangle it. He would approach, taste, but not strike. I was a bit worried after a month. Then, I spoke to a guy at the Repticon show, and he advised me to put the (refrigerator) thawed mouse in a sealed plastic bag submerged in 190º water for about 4 minutes.

Since I've started doing that he strikes as soon as the mouse gets in front of him. Three weeks in a row now.

I had no problems switching my Spider to F/T when he was just 112g, I just placed a thawed and warmed mouse in the feeding tub with him and he has eaten every time. I tried that with my bumblebee and had no luck. So I went with live for 2 feedings, then on the third feeding I went with a small live followed minutes later with a F/T and warmed, and she ate it too. Ever since then she has been eating F/T.

Note I feed both my BPs in a seperate container layered with paper towels and nothing else inside the container.