Finally got my ball to eat...just dotting my "i's"

Polarpooch....everyone's offered good advice so far. But here's my .02.

First...change one thing at a time. Either change to a rat pup (which you say you can't get) OR change to pre-killed. In this case, I think your best bet is to work with pre-killed mice...then frozen/thawed mice. Once he's eating well on those...start trying the rats. (They're much easier to get frozen anyhow, since you don't have to rely on a local petstore).

Feeding every seven days sounds perfect, especially if he's cruising around and looking hungry by the 7th. Helps him to eat!

When you're trying to judge what size prey-item to give...take a look at the fattest part of your snake...then the fattest part of the prey item. The rodent should be as big around as your snake, or up to 1.5 times bigger, for an ideal meal. Don't be intimidated by the much smaller size of your snake's head. :wink:

I second everything that Judy said. Frozen/thawed is definitely safer in terms of not just bites and scratches but also parasite transmission, and at just 24", there's no need to rush to switch to rats. I'd try a frozen/thawed mouse next time and see if he takes it, and if not do fresh-killed the next time. You never know when they're going to make the transition easy on you. Once you have him eating f/t, it's a simple matter to order frozen rats in whatever size you need from www.gourmetrodent.com or www.micedirect.com or any number of other sites, and then you don't have to worry about their being available locally.

Thank you all!

thx for the kind words soul of fire. nice to know im doing it right :D

Marla, you mentioned GourmetRodent.com. Are their shipping rates pretty reasonable? I read that it just depends on weight. The other websites like RodentPro seem a little on the expensive side. At least GR.com sells them individually. Thanks for answering one of my many, many questions.

Becky

Gourmet rodent supplies petco (usualy) with F/T prey items.Once you get him comfortable with F/T mice a small adult f/t rat should be doable. My Bp is just about 24 inches and he downed his first small adult rat a week ago(after a month off feed) it was about his thickness and 5 inches long from nose to butt. I simply did what Kara and some others advised , I got some real stinky used mouse bedding from the pet store, thawed the F/T rat in a zip lock bag with a scoop of bedding, got the rat real warm,and just before offering it I rubbed the bedding all over it and got it realy smelly (mouse smelly). It worked realy well although sometimes it may take a few tries.

Becky, considering the packing materials necessary, yes, their shipping rates are reasonable. It is definitely more cost-effective to buy in bulk if you can, though.

Paul, if your Petco carries rats, you're lucky. Mine carries every size of Gourmet Rodent mice, but not even rat pinkies much less other sizes. That's why I haven't made any attempt to switch the new snake over to frozen/thawed until I can get some frozen rats on hand.

For everyone worrying about the costs of shipping frozen rodents cross-country....keep an eye out for local herp shows. They always have vendors selling frozen rodents of every imaginable size. And because you're buying in person, you can usually choose the exact number you want, rather than having to buy them in blocks of 25 or 50 or 100 like off most Internet sites...and of course, no shipping! Not to mention the enjoyment of a herp show while you're at it. It's worth it, even if you have to drive an hour or two 'cause you can get enough to last for months.

True, and you can bring along a styrofoam cooler and a couple of cold packs rather than paying for shipping supplies too!