Feeding f/t for the first time

I have a couple hundred ball pythons and they are all eating frozen thawed. I'm at the point where I can start most of my babies on f/t as well. Most breeders don't do this but it works for me. If I was going to give one tip to someone trying to get there ball python to eat f/t (or get them to eat in general) it would be...make them feel as secure as possible.

I would suggest you make sure the tank is in a quiet place without foot traffic, kids, cats, etc. You may want to cover three sides with some dark paper. Also, make sure the hides are small so the ball python feels snug when it's in there.

Not that it's the worst thing in the world but don't move it to a different container. Once it's pounding food it will probably eat anywhere but for now it's the opposite of making it feel secure. I would wait a week to let it totally settle in. When it comes time to feed I would, as quietly as possible, dangle the food item in front of the hide it is in. I would only do that for 10 seconds or so. If it doesn't take the rodent you don't want to stress it out. If it doesn't eat, then lay the rodent right outside the hide but make sure the snake can get in and out, don't block the opening of the hide with the rodent. If you are worried about aspen lay the rodent on a piece of paper towel.

Do this a couple times and it should eat. Once he is eating well they will eat anywhere. Mine all eat in their bins and are only food aggressive when the smell of rodents is in the air. I reach my hand in these bins every day and never get bit unless it's a nippy baby defending itself.

I wasn't just speaking to you Pyrate81, it was more to the way everyone else was talking to me & defending my part in how I wasn't not listening, I took in what everyone has said but somehow it kept coming back to the enclousure stuff. Nothing makes a first time owner more stressed than having a whole bunch of people throwing all these harsh things at them bc I decide to do things a different way than they do. & i did misread the post from Pyrate81 about the jumping down peoples throats, so I apologize to that. Its a lot to read especially since I'm on my phone replying to this. But thanks to all the others either defending me or giving me advice, all in all outside or inside his enclosure I want my Legolas to eat. Period. Sorry for any misconceptions. I'm just getting tired of trying to defend myself & it just gets me stressed because I can't do everything you guys tell me to do, this stuff will keep me up all night days. But at the end of it all, I don't care if I have to run to the end of the world & back, if it'll get him to eat & be healthy & happy, I'll do it. That's the end of it.


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Originally Posted by goshelby

I wasn't asking to be beleaguered, I just needed to know when I should try again & I don't think that question has been answered yet. I know what I'm doing, whether it's in his cage or not. I know of plenty BPs that eat out of their enclosure.


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From what I've been told, you should wait 5 - 7 days and retry. I too, feed my BP in a separate enclosure even though her previous owner always fed her in her tank. We had no problem with her eating outside her enclosure. The reason we do this is to avoid her accidentally eating substrate along with her kill. We just switched from live to f/t and she wouldn't take the rat when we dangled but once we placed it in the enclosure in front of her (head first) she went for it right away!! :D