Chances of going from live to f/t?

Hi, in your honest opinion, what are the chances of an adult snake that is fed live the majority of its life switching it over to f/t? I ask because I simply can't say no to this lesser, but she is reaching adulthood and has been fed live the majority of her life. Thanks

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Originally Posted by reno-cg

Hi, in your honest opinion, what are the chances of an adult snake that is fed live the majority of its life switching it over to f/t? I ask because I simply can't say no to this lesser, but she is reaching adulthood and has been fed live the majority of her life. Thanks

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I believe that if the f/t is done done right, thawing and heating with a blow dryer, it may be an easy switch, but then again se may be a live only feeder, and you may have a battle of wills trying to switch over. or.... she may take right to it :)

The ~3 year old BP I got about a week ago who, as far as I know has been fed live mice his whole life, ate two f/t mice for me last night. He hadn't been fed in a while and I think he was pretty hungry. He wasn't _exactly_ interested in the first one in the beginning, but he kinda figured out "hey, food" and took it. I let them both thaw in hot water, next to his "feeding container" (a shoebox with holes in the lid) for about 15-20 minutes, dried them with a hair dryer for 30 seconds or so and then presented with tongs.

Don't give up hope! If she's hungry, she might just give in and eat it for you. :) Good luck!

It's not impossible and if you happen to try to switch her after she lay eggs (if you breed) her I would VERY likely.

Each year my females go back and forth between live and F/T without any problem and female after laying tend to be voracious and willing to eat anything.

I find most of the time it's not very hard at all, I've switched many whole-life live eaters to F/T. You just have to do it right, and be patient.
Most people who say you can't, I find, haven't tried very hard or they want to breed them right away and don't want to wait for them to switch.

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Originally Posted by A.VinczeBPs

I find most of the time it's not very hard at all, I've switched many whole-life live eaters to F/T. You just have to do it right, and be patient.
Most people who say you can't, I find, haven't tried very hard or they want to breed them right away and don't want to wait for them to switch.

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any advice on how you do it would be great. I have a couple I'd like to switch to F/T.

they just shy away from the rat if its not alive. I warm up the rat with a hair dryer , but they show no interest in it at all. toss in a live one and its over in seconds.

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Originally Posted by pliskin

any advice on how you do it would be great. I have a couple I'd like to switch to F/T.

they just shy away from the rat if its not alive. I warm up the rat with a hair dryer , but they show no interest in it at all. toss in a live one and its over in seconds.

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The zombie rat dance... :)

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Originally Posted by pliskin

any advice on how you do it would be great. I have a couple I'd like to switch to F/T.

they just shy away from the rat if its not alive. I warm up the rat with a hair dryer , but they show no interest in it at all. toss in a live one and its over in seconds.

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Zombie dance, make sure it's over 100 heat, be prepared to be denied the first couple tries until they get hungry enough. Try a small live, and a F/T right after. Dip in chicken broth. Tons of ways to go, you just have to try hard enough and wait it out. If you can't be willing to wait, again, not willing to really try.;)

I always do the zombie dance, doesn't help. they just shrink away and go back into their hide.

chicken broth , eh?
might try that.

that's why I love my boa, she eats everything! hell, wave a car tire in front of her and I'm sure she'd try to eat it.:D

depending on how old they are, some tough love might be in order. If they are older and can handle a few weeks-months with no food then simply stop giving them live. If they are hungry they will eat.

I have also heard of people pre-scenting with a live rodent and offering the dead one. Some people even go as far as to keep the rodent in a closed transparent container inside the snakes habitat. That way it sees the prey item and is eager to eat. Then you wave the f/t at them.

:) It has been my experience that it is not that hard to switch from live to f/t and back again. I have switched a few times and no one has had a problem taking either.

What does your zombie dance look like? Maybe a video is in order here :)

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Originally Posted by luckycharm318

What does your zombie dance look like? Maybe a video is in order here :)

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Tonight is feeding night for some of our balls, I'll see if I can catch it on cam for people.:)

its been fairly easy for me for the most part to switch them over. Most of my collection doesnt care if its live or ft they just want to eat a good meal. Although i do have a few that will only eat live still working on them making the switch.

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Originally Posted by A.VinczeBPs

Tomorrow night is feeding night for some of our balls, I'll see if I can catch it on cam for people.:)

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Woops, meant to edit, not quote. Meant tomorrow is feeding, not tonight. :)

feed a small live prey item and when the snake is still "hyped up" dangle that f/t in its face and see if it dont take it, ive seen that work more than once. but dont do that alot it can present problems with back to back feeding.

I switched my snake to live and had to drip some chicken broth on it, it works like a charm. Tuna juice works just as good

My first ball was so picky he would NEVER eat F/T but Chumley, my current baby will actually go back and forth. He fed live mice at first, refused a few meals, took F/T mice with no dance, ate a live small rat (they were out of frozen) then went right to F/T rats!

I guess I got lucky with a little piggy of a bp :P