feeding live to a baby

Changing to rats depends on the snake. My 3 y.o. ate live mice all his life till i got him 2 months ago and he switched to frozen thawed rats immediately. I havnt tried rats yet with my babies but id like to get them up to at least 200g before i do. I believe there similar to a person eating. Not everyone likes the same things and getting a baby to eat it, is far more challenging than an adult.

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Originally Posted by SnakeKB

Changing to rats depends on the snake. My 3 y.o. ate live mice all his life till i got him 2 months ago and he switched to frozen thawed rats immediately. I havnt tried rats yet with my babies but id like to get them up to at least 200g before i do. I believe there similar to a person eating. Not everyone likes the same things and getting a baby to eat it, is far more challenging than an adult.

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Not always - babies are eating machines (when they're set up correctly and not stressed out) - they're the easiest to convert to something new - because they're hard wired to eat as much as they can and be as opportunistic as possible to grow quickly (and be less of a prey item for other predators).

I've got hatchlings that take rat fuzzies as their first meal.

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Originally Posted by SnakeKB

I just fed my 110 and 130g babys adult mice. They took them easily. My 80g ate a hopper mouse real easy. I feed live by holding the tail with a pair of pliers. Squeezing just enough to hold the tail. That's my method that works for me.

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Why? There's no need to restrain live prey. :confused:

In fact, using your method makes the prey more scared and therefore more likely to lash out and bite anything that comes near it.

Just put it in with the snake and let the snake do what a snake does.

I do it my way because it works. I don't tell you how to feed your bps do I? And I didn't say that all bps are better to switch when older. The very first sentence was that it all depends on the snake. Some will eat rats. Some won't. Some take time to switch. Some will never switch. Everyone needs to stop taking everyones info with a grain of salt. Do what works for you. Try new things. I'm only posting from my little bit of experience. If you don't like it then don't read it.

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Originally Posted by rabernet

no - feeding prey too large will not break your snake's ribs - that's the silliest thing i've heard in some time! Lol

it's not good to feed too large, because it can cause regurgitation.

No "tricks", no stunning, no holding with tongs, or dangling by tails is needed.

Pre-scent by putting the mouse in a critter keeper near the snake's enclosure for about 30 minutes, then drop the mouse in the enclosure at the opposite end of the enclosure from the snake, and the snake will take care of the rest.

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x2,