Feeding problems

It has now been 3 weeks and 1 day and she still isn't eating and i don't know what to do. i tried soaking the rat i tried warming it so its not soaked i tried everything. i have tried everything i use to do for her. she just stopped eating and now isn't eating at all. i put the rat in and immediately she comes right out smelling with her tongue stares at it all ready to strike and then just sits there. she just sits there and then goes back into her hide. i don't know what to do at this point. why would she just stop eating like ughh. Like i don't understand she was eating perfect then stopped for a week and a half then ate and now stopped for 3weeks and a day. What if she just doesn't eat?? Any suggestions :confusd: I know they are finicky eaters but im all worried about her :(

The snake knows what it's doing. Watch her weight. As long as she's maintaining and not dropping weight, just be patient with her. Continue to offer once weekly as usual. If she starts dropping weight, then you should get worried.

well she went from 954g on the 11th to now 906g. However on the 19th she was 914g and now 906g so not that much there. the weight before some people were saying it could've been her stool etc etc. but im worried is there something more i should do? what freaks me out kinda is that she comes out all hungry and ready and then she just loses interest. so i dont know what it could be :( i dont know what to do :(

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Originally Posted by Megz

well she went from 954g on the 11th to now 906g. However on the 19th she was 914g and now 906g so not that much there. the weight before some people were saying it could've been her stool etc etc. but im worried is there something more i should do? what freaks me out kinda is that she comes out all hungry and ready and then she just loses interest. so i dont know what it could be :( i dont know what to do :(

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Are you absolutely certain of the weights? That sounds like a big drop in such a short period of time. If you are certain, I agree that it was her stool.

If you are terribly worried, a vet trip couldn't hurt anything. It may stress her, though. But it would ease your fears.

I'll throw a few things out here.... 1- Have you considered upgrading her home? It seems to small <imo, but doesn't count for a hill of beans but yeah...> 2- Have you picked up a good old fashioned adult live mouse and dropped it in there?

That first pic of her on the floor... she looks to be a nice healthy size there. How recent is it?

ok i read almost everything and what sticks out to me is she is900 grams and her girth is the size of a adult mouse ???? if i read that right something is wrong i got a 300g boy whos girth is way bigger then that .. and heres another thing u said she was eatting rats then u went to mice and she wont take the mice? then go back to the rats .. also u can try something live .. i seen someone saying to upgrade her tub .. at 800/900 grams i throw my females in a 41 quart if that helps any ..

Unless that pic is old... I'm not seeing 900gr at all.... I think it's page 3? I have a yearling about that size <he eats small rats> and weighs in at 650gr. perhaps the scale is screwy???

I picked up a live gerbil on the 8th and she ate that. I am feeding her adult mice the size of her girth her girth is definitely not as big as it use to be so i dont want her eating something too big. If i made it unclear before sorry I never switched her from rats she has been eating rats since she was born except when i fed her that gerbil. She was eating fine for a long time and now shes just not and im not sure what to do here. the scale isnt wrong i double checked with another. should i take her to a vet i am trying not to worry. When i gave her the gerbil she ate it and i was told just to wade her out for her to eat the frozen. The problem with the live feed is if they scratch or bite so im much more comfortable with the frozen. i just dont understand why she would just stop eating and for so long :( I'm really scared because she rams her cage alot as if she is searching for food and yet she wont eat. when i put the rat in she came out of her hide so fast with her tongue flickering but then just lost interest so i can safely assume she is indeed hungry. I left it in there in case she wants it a bit later but i checked on her just a second ago and she is just sitting there with the rat in there totally not interested. Has this happened to anyone else. im really scared for her because she never did this and its all of a sudden now

Have you tried exposing the brain yet?

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Honestly, 3 weeks is not a long time for a ball python... I know you're worried. Take her to the vet, if just to ease your own fears.

Are yoy handling every day? If so, I would stop and leave her be for at least a week.

I still don't think you have anything to worry about, but I agree to taking her to the vet if only to ease your mind. Ditto on only disturbing her to clean/water/feed. Maybe also try covering her tub with a dark cloth for awhile and see if that helps. Again, just keep offering once a week, leave it overnight if she refuses. And make sure to remove any uneaten feeders first thing in the morning! If you're really getting desperate (as in many weeks without feeding), you can again try live with a harmless rat pup. No worry about biting or scratching :)

i think i seen in another thread im sure someone will correct me if im wrong but i think i seen that some females go off of feed this time of the year ? im sure someone was having the same issue with his girl and then he said he wanted to breed her but didnt know cause she stopped eating and people were saying once she breeds she will start eating again so if that is right i wouldnt worry ... one of my girls stopped eating for 3 weeks and then started again so i woundnt worry to much at least for another couple of weeks or so

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Originally Posted by MootWorm

I still don't think you have anything to worry about, but I agree to taking her to the vet if only to ease your mind. Ditto on only disturbing her to clean/water/feed. Maybe also try covering her tub with a dark cloth for awhile and see if that helps. Again, just keep offering once a week, leave it overnight if she refuses. And make sure to remove any uneaten feeders first thing in the morning! If you're really getting desperate (as in many weeks without feeding), you can again try live with a harmless rat pup. No worry about biting or scratching :)

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I think covering the tank will definitely help as well. Mine is covered on 3 sides with a dark towel.

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Originally Posted by Holtgards

Have you tried exposing the brain yet?

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What?! i feel as though your not joking but im hoping u are :P

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Originally Posted by kat_black181

Honestly, 3 weeks is not a long time for a ball python... I know you're worried. Take her to the vet, if just to ease your own fears.

Are yoy handling every day? If so, I would stop and leave her be for at least a week.

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I was gone in scandinavia for the past 10 days so no handle cant be it. could it be a lack of handling? is that possible?

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Originally Posted by steve_r34

i think i seen in another thread im sure someone will correct me if im wrong but i think i seen that some females go off of feed this time of the year ? im sure someone was having the same issue with his girl and then he said he wanted to breed her but didnt know cause she stopped eating and people were saying once she breeds she will start eating again so if that is right i wouldnt worry ... one of my girls stopped eating for 3 weeks and then started again so i woundnt worry to much at least for another couple of weeks or so

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thats definitely and interesting thought i never thought of that almost like she's in heat per say. how much longer before u think i should be "worried" and/or feed her a live one?

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Originally Posted by Megz

I was gone in scandinavia for the past 10 days so no handle cant be it. could it be a lack of handling? is that possible?

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I don't think a lack of handling would cause those issues. Balls are generally content without too much handling. They are shy. They are known to go off feed, sometimes for months.

Not saying I waited too long but on the advice of a friend who told me she knew what she was doing, Lex was just a hatchling when I got her... I waited almost 2 full months before going with live... she started loosing weight visibly so I decided to try live. She's eaten every time offered from then on (tried f/t again...no go.. put the live one in after...coiled in like 5 seconds). I never leave her alone until its dead.

I know safety wise it's better if they take f/t... but nobody kills the prey for them in the wild...
I could probably get beaten with a stick by some for saying that...
But as with feeding my dogs raw... nobody cooks a steak for wolves either.
I would go with live (not gerbils tho)

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id wait a good week b4 trying to feed her again she might be stressed out from all the time trying to feed .. wait about a week dont offer nothing and dont handle her .. get a live prey and drop it in her hut then close the lid keep the room dark step back and keep a eye just to make sure the prey dont hurt her if u want shake the box up a bit so the prey gets dizzy then drop it in also u can leave the box on top of her hut for a while so the smell of the rodent gets her going then open drop close and watch ... and i wouldnt use a gerbil id use a big mouse or a small rat something she would feel confident striking and something that wont hurt her

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Originally Posted by steve_r34

id wait a good week b4 trying to feed her again she might be stressed out from all the time trying to feed .. wait about a week dont offer nothing and dont handle her .. get a live prey and drop it in her hut then close the lid keep the room dark step back and keep a eye just to make sure the prey dont hurt her if u want shake the box up a bit so the prey gets dizzy then drop it in also u can leave the box on top of her hut for a while so the smell of the rodent gets her going then open drop close and watch ... and i wouldnt use a gerbil id use a big mouse or a small rat something she would feel confident striking and something that wont hurt her

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I always thought u should monitor at all times never leave a live prey. Also after a week should I try once more with frozen and if still not then live. Considering she hasn't eaten for 3 weeks what would u say is the max amount I should "wait her out". Cause ill definitely try the towel and leaving her but should I try the frozen again?

i didnt say leave her alone i said close the lid keep it dark or dim in the room enought for u to see and step back and watch dont hover over her tub and and i would not try frozen again if its not working

I would say try another 2 times or so with frozen, then make the switch with a live rat pup. On each attempt, leave the feeder overnight. Some snakes only eat when they're absolutely alone.

I definitely wouldn't shake it or try to disorient it, especially if you go with an adult mouse. That's how snakes get bit! If and when you go to live, keeping the feeder calm, well fed and watered is your best bet. Good luck!

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Originally Posted by kat_black181

I think covering the tank will definitely help as well. Mine is covered on 3 sides with a dark towel.

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The only question I have is does that interfer with the day and night cycle. I can definitely try that but if its constantly dark is that a bad thing or am I misunderstanding. Also how long would u say I should keep the towel on the cage?

Bp's do not need a day and night cycle. As long as the tub is getting in light from the room during the day, he will be fine. Most all of us with tanks blacken out 3/4 sides because it makes them feel more secure.

I've got a towel on most of my tub for 24/7, unless it's feeding or handling time. Mine seem to prefer it that way, no issues whatsoever :)

Hi there Megz.

I also have just the one BP, and I wanted to chime in here because mine does exactly the same thing as yours! He used to be a great eater when he was young. He'd immediately strike at his f/t rats and eat them right away. But then, when I'd had him for about 7 or 8 months, he became finicky.

He stopped accepting the rats, and just wouldn't take them no matter what I tried. In the end, he went for two months without food! During spring, no less. And in the last month of it, I was away for a school course. So I wasn't there to offer food to him... when I got back, you better believe he ate that rat! :rofl:

He still does exactly what you describe (going up to the rat, sniffing it, turning away) and tends to roam around his tub like he's hungry. I'm not worried though, because I figured out exactly what to do for him.


1. I have to give him a little extra heat for the day of feeding. He seems to like it hot! (I do this by putting a hot water bottle on top of his tub for that day. Wrapped in a towel, and covering the whole tub with a towel as well.)

2. I have to really warm up the rat! I'll thaw it in warm water, then at the end when it's definitely thawed, I'll give it another go in extra-warm water. And then, I take the hair dryer and blast it at the rat's head to really toast it!

3. And finally, I have to place the rat in the tub, inside his warm hide. He won't touch it if it's outside the hide :rolleyes: And then I put the towel over the tub and walk away for 3 hours. Nowadays, almost every time the rat is gone!


Hopefully this eases your mind a little bit when it comes to Roxy's behaviour. I promise, she's not traumatized!! She's just... being a ball python :rolleyes: The things we do for them!!

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Originally Posted by Pickenprod

Hi there Megz.

I also have just the one BP, and I wanted to chime in here because mine does exactly the same thing as yours! He used to be a great eater when he was young. He'd immediately strike at his f/t rats and eat them right away. But then, when I'd had him for about 7 or 8 months, he became finicky.

He stopped accepting the rats, and just wouldn't take them no matter what I tried. In the end, he went for two months without food! During spring, no less. And in the last month of it, I was away for a school course. So I wasn't there to offer food to him... when I got back, you better believe he ate that rat! :rofl:

He still does exactly what you describe (going up to the rat, sniffing it, turning away) and tends to roam around his tub like he's hungry. I'm not worried though, because I figured out exactly what to do for him.


1. I have to give him a little extra heat for the day of feeding. He seems to like it hot! (I do this by putting a hot water bottle on top of his tub for that day. Wrapped in a towel, and covering the whole tub with a towel as well.)

2. I have to really warm up the rat! I'll thaw it in warm water, then at the end when it's definitely thawed, I'll give it another go in extra-warm water. And then, I take the hair dryer and blast it at the rat's head to really toast it!

3. And finally, I have to place the rat in the tub, inside his warm hide. He won't touch it if it's outside the hide :rolleyes: And then I put the towel over the tub and walk away for 3 hours. Nowadays, almost every time the rat is gone!


Hopefully this eases your mind a little bit when it comes to Roxy's behaviour. I promise, she's not traumatized!! She's just... being a ball python :rolleyes: The things we do for them!!

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Omg u have no idea how much that helps thank u so much :) I feel so much better ill definitely try everything u said. As for inside the hide the only concern I have is will there be enough room for her to actually eat it? I have an exo terra hide size large. So it is the flat rock one so to speak. Is that okay? That really does help what temp do u get it to when u say u heat up the tub?

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Originally Posted by Megz

Omg u have no idea how much that helps thank u so much :) I feel so much better ill definitely try everything u said. As for inside the hide the only concern I have is will there be enough room for her to actually eat it? I have an exo terra hide size large. So it is the flat rock one so to speak. Is that okay? That really does help what temp do u get it to when u say u heat up the tub?

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Ah haha, sorry I haven't logged in for awhile. Did you get Roxy to eat yet?

As long as there is enough room for the snake and the rat inside the hide (everyone touching the ground), there's enough room for her to eat it. I can't speak for the exact size of the hide, or your snake, but it should be alright.

For the heating thing... I have to admit, I don't aim for a specific temperature. I just leave the hot water bottle on for a few hours. It's probably over the recommended temp, but I figure it's only one day a week.

I also forgot to mention. Stay with slightly undersized rats if your ball won't eat the larger ones. Mine definitely gets intimidated by the big ratties :P

She seems scared of it like she won't even go near he hide. I tried all those and she didnt strike it again she is so disinterested. I don't understand what happened. She use to strike and now nothing and its been a month and a week since she has eaten :( what do I do I left the rat in the hide but so far she is not going near the hide at all just sitting at the other side of the tank :( I'm worried for her :(

I'd go with live, see if she takes it.

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Originally Posted by Megz

So my BP is being stubborn I just don't get it. The thing is I thaw it but I read that your suppose to heat it up so they can recognize it persay. So in the past i've heated it up no problems etc. recently she hasn't been eating. I have done the same methods etc and she hasn't eaten for almost 2weeks. I don't know what I'm doing wrong. She smells it and turns her head along side it and looks like she with strike but doesn't and if it touches her she gets scared. It can be in front of her face and she doesn't eat it. I dethaw them for a long time and I know they are completly thawed but I don't know maybe I need to heat them a different way. Any suggestions? She has refused 2 times now. Both times the rat was dethawrd and warmed up and smelled like rat .. Trust me. Don't know what to do. Maybe she doesn't like rats anymore although she has never refused before. I know they are picky eaters but still. Suggestions on methods of feeding or feeding in general?

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Heat it with a Hair Dryer!

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Originally Posted by Megz

I picked up a live gerbil on the 8th and she ate that. I am feeding her adult mice the size of her girth her girth is definitely not as big as it use to be so i dont want her eating something too big. If i made it unclear before sorry I never switched her from ratsshe has been eating rats since she was born except when i fed her that gerbil. She was eating fine for a long time and now shes just not and im not sure what to do here. the scale isnt wrong i double checked with another. should i take her to a vet i am trying not to worry. When i gave her the gerbil she ate it and i was told just to wade her out for her to eat the frozen. The problem with the live feed is if they scratch or bite so im much more comfortable with the frozen. i just dont understand why she would just stop eating and for so long :( I'm really scared because she rams her cage alot as if she is searching for food and yet she wont eat. when i put the rat in she came out of her hide so fast with her tongue flickering but then just lost interest so i can safely assume she is indeed hungry. I left it in there in case she wants it a bit later but i checked on her just a second ago and she is just sitting there with the rat in there totally not interested. Has this happened to anyone else. im really scared for her because she never did this and its all of a sudden now

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Im confused.....Your feeding her adult mice, but "I never switched her from rats she has been eating rats since she was born except when i fed her that gerbil". :confuse:

If your snake doesn't eat for a few week, it's ok and stop switching foods. My pastel didn't eat for 13 months. Yes there is some weight loss but not very significant. You just have to monitor the weight.

If after a few month of fasting, you can then start feeding a mouse or african Soft fur rat just to get it started and continue feeding its original food prey. The time you wait before taking action depends on the weight of the snake.

Sorry I definitely screwed up with that message. I have never fed her mice. She was born eating frozen rats and has been on rats ever since; except for wen I fed her the gerbil. I tried the entire method that "pickenpod" suggested. I woke up this morning thinking oh she are it and no no she didn't merely curled up with it. I don't understand. She was eating fine and now just stopped. I'm worried because the last time she ate was August 8th. Should I try frozen again or live rat and then frozen after that? I'm just worried about her. I knew from the beginning that bps were fussy eaters but this seems excessive. :( And to top it off I have frozen rats in the freezer right so ideally I would love for her to go back to frozen but do u think she will only eat live now? It doesn't seem to make sense how she just stopped eating the frozen.

If her weight is Ok you can keep trying f/t, if she's looking skinny I'd go with live... but not a gerbil

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Yah I went with gerbil because pet smart had the worst possible selection. Ok well her weight is at 937 so she hasn't lost too much. So ill try live and hopefully that kick starts it. Ill go with rat though :P if I do feed her live though my question is will she ever eat frozen again? I always get scared feeding her love because I don't want her getting hurt so frozen is ideal.

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Originally Posted by Megz

Yah I went with gerbil because pet smart had the worst possible selection. Ok well her weight is at 937 so she hasn't lost too much. So ill try live and hopefully that kick starts it. Ill go with rat though :P if I do feed her live though my question is will she ever eat frozen again? I always get scared feeding her love because I don't want her getting hurt so frozen is ideal.

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On the 30th you wrote this "she went from 954g on the 11th to now 906g" so if today she is 937....she is doing good on her weight! She has gained some weight back.

yah im not sure if that scale was right its weird i double checked but maybe it was wrong not sure how else she would have gained weight. what weight should i worry (as in if it goes down)?

Nobody freezes and thaws their rodents in the wild. They are built for live prey. Make sure the rodent is fed so its not hungry. Put it in with as little stress to it as possible, meaning don't dangle it for minutes by the tail. Stick close and have something you could stick between them if you see the rodent can get a bite out.


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Originally Posted by Crazymonkee

Nobody freezes and thaws their rodents in the wild. They are built for live prey. Make sure the rodent is fed so its not hungry. Put it in with as little stress to it as possible, meaning don't dangle it for minutes by the tail. Stick close and have something you could stick between them if you see the rodent can get a bite out.


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so your saying frozen is a lost cause now :(

Not necessarily just depends on if you can wait her out. Or if she looses too much weight

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Sorry hit send.... you can try to get her feeding response back with a few live, after she's eating good try to switch back
Don't be afraid to feed live
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Mine go back and forth between frozen and live with no issues. So no, I wouldn't say it's our of the question. She might just need a few live to jump start her feeding response. Give a few live if you're really worried, then attempt f/t again. Good luck!

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Originally Posted by Crazymonkee

Nobody freezes and thaws their rodents in the wild. They are built for live prey. Make sure the rodent is fed so its not hungry. Put it in with as little stress to it as possible, meaning don't dangle it for minutes by the tail. Stick close and have something you could stick between them if you see the rodent can get a bite out.


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I agree. I understand your concerns about feeding live, but unfortunately with some BPs it can't be helped. I have 19 BPs all of which ate F/T as babies. Now of the 19 I have 3 that once they got older will only take live rodents. As far as the amount of time that has passed between her eating I wouldn't be at all concerned unless she is starting to look unhealthy. I have a female that just started eating again after refusing everything that I offered for a whole year. Like your snake she ate every time food was offered until she got to about 900 grams, then nothing. She stayed completely healthy during that time and over that year she only lost approx. 50 grams. Switching to live may lead to her only accepting live from now on, it happened to the 3 BPs that I spoke of but it may be just the bump she needs to get her started again. I have had some go off of feed and fed them live to get them started again then they resumed eating F/T without a problem. I have kept several species of snakes and I have learned that BPs are possibly the most hard headed snakes there are. They will test your patience like no other and they won't do anything until they're ready. I know you would ideally like to keep her on F/T, but sometimes you just have to do what is best for the snake and not what is necessarily what you want. If you are determined to keep her on F/T wait her out for a little while longer and keep an eye on her weight. She will start eating again when she is ready. But if you switch her to live ( if that is what she wants ) you may save money in the long run by not having to throw away so many F/T rats. Sorry for the long post. Good luck with her.

Last try tonight with the frozen hope it works using the same method as posted (thanks again). I weighed her earlier today and she is now 885g so im going to get her a live in the morning if the rat isnt gone :( hope she eats

This is what i don't get she roams around all night like she has always done when she's hungry and the rat was offered and now is in the warm side hide and she just doesn't care/isn't interested like whats up with that :confusd:

Get a live one, bet it works

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Some snakes go well between eating live and thawed. Give her some live and see how she does. My babies are none too picky. I can alternate them between f/t and live pretty frequently in fact. If someone is refusing their frozen mouse/rat (depending on size) I will feed that snake a live one to get the interest back and then go back to the frozen thawed. I heat mine up just a wee bit and then use tongs to move it around for the snake to see and just wait, one of my snakes is so non-picky that he will freely take his rats at room temp and not even consider it an issue.... But he is the only one of the three that I have had for a while.

Yah yet again didnt eat it :S live one today hope that works cause I won't know what to do with it if it doesn't

OMG SHE ATE!!!!! I woke up and she wasnt in her warm hide so I checked and the rat was there and I thought ugh so I wiggled it again and nothing so I got the hair dryer and zapped it on high heat as i did the night before and got the head super warm and the body the wiggled it again and she was hesitant but she took it :D thank u all for the help and great suggestions :D