Question about feeding F/T mice?

So I've recently decided to switch Xander (my Bp) to F/T mice because it would be more convenient for my parents to feed him when i go off to college in about a month and a half. That way I can just stock up in the freezer lol

Well I did the trial run tonight. My ball is far from picky foodwise. But it did take about 15-30 mins of effort for him to take it. I thawed it...then had to reheat it w the hairdryer every so often and finally he bit into it.

The question is. How long does it take to fully transition them to F/T. Where they will accept it without any hesitance? A few weeks? I'm just wondering if he will eventually get used to it.

here are some pics.

He played with it for awhile. swinging it around by the tail.
http://i819.photobucket.com/albums/z...1/003-Copy.jpg

He decided to eat it tail first....
http://i819.photobucket.com/albums/z...el11/013-1.jpg

I just walked away after seeing this... figuring it would take awhile for him to figure out he needed to put the other foot in....
http://i819.photobucket.com/albums/z...shel11/023.jpg

http://i819.photobucket.com/albums/z...shel11/021.jpg

every snake is different

I would get him on f/t rats though! mice are a no no. and never even really need to be used.

you shouldn't feed f/t mice? Why is that?
I don't think he is big enough to do rats yet.

Rats are "preferred." There isnt anything wrong with mice, I fed my Lesser mice from the first feed til he was around 350g, then I moved him onto weened rats. All of those were f/t and there was never an issue.

However the best option is to bulk purchase frozen rodents, I got one bag of mice for him when I got him and that lasted him all the way through 275g of body weight gain. And I wouldnt have it any other way :)

Thank you!

Is it possible to order online f/t mice in bulk? Cause I def plan to stock up. That way i will be set for awhile! Hopefully the rents can get used to thawing out the mouse. :]

Do you think if they were to just put it in my bps cage...he would eventually eat it on his own? because i doubt my parents would be willing to wiggle it around in front of him.

My snake is on large mice right now. So im sure were will be making the switch to rats as soon as he can handle it. Im hoping he'll have a growth spurt in the next couple months.

If he is on large mice he can handle rats. A baby can even handle fuzzy rats.

There are lots of sites to buy bulk f/t's

I like this one http://www.themousefactory.com/


Weigh him and the pros here can tell you more about the sizes he could take than me! But I am betting he could take a small or medium rat.

They grow if you feed them enough. If you dont they get longer and look anorexic.

http://rodentpro.com/products.asp

That's where I get mine. And you should be able to move him over to weened rats pretty easily.

Good bit of advice is to buy a scale, and there are tons of threads on this site suggesting different ones. If you get one you can use it to find out the snake's body mass in grams, then take 10-15% of that and you should have the appropriate size of food for him. It will cost an extra 30 dollars to get it shipped, so you may want to tally up how much he can eat in 6 months and if it will be worth it (I suggest getting a bag of appropriate sized food and a bag of the next size up, so when he finishes one he can move to the next size).

As for if you have to wiggle it; try and find some hemostats. http://www.reptilebasics.com/hemostat-12.html

great site! Thank you!

I'm gonna go out tomorrow and buy a scale lol. After owning him for awhile it never dawned on me to buy one. But I am now quite curious. :rolleyes:

He was underfed when I got him, growing slowly but surely. And feeding him weekly.

Im def gnna go get a scale! Thank you so much for the advice also.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Generationshell

Do you think if they were to just put it in my bps cage...he would eventually eat it on his own? because i doubt my parents would be willing to wiggle it around in front of him.

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That is entirely up to the individual snake. Some will eat it if it's just laying there, and some require the dance. One way to find out is on the next feeding day, try just laying it about 3-4 inches in front of the hide. Leave the snake alone for an hour or so and see if he takes it. If not, reheat it up and zombie dance it...

Definitely get some feeding tongs or feeding tweezers. Remember, if you dangle or dance the prey by hand, you hand/fingers are about the same size as the prey, they smell like the prey, and as the prey cools down, the heat signature of your hand will remain...

Haha no wonder he kept inching more and more towards my hands today. Going past the mouse and just sitting in the air vertically. I wouldn't let him go up that high though.

He almost struck my hand once instead of the mouse. Thank goodness I moved. Im prob just asking for it one day. I don't mind so much as my parents would.

I'll just lay the mouse in his tank next week and see what happens. and if it doesnt work I get to blow dry it while getting a wonderful whiff of the dead mouse.... :/ I swear that smell is ingrained in my nose. bleh!

Great Idea though! thank you!

I'll just tell my rents to use chopsticks :P ive actually done that before. It works!

hah ill be nice and ill buy some tongs just for them.

Also one question.
Is it possible to weigh your snake with a kitchen scale? lol

I just used one. He is 345 grams :]

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Generationshell

Also one question.
Is it possible to weigh your snake with a kitchen scale? lol

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Yes, quite a few people use the digital kitchen scales...

I just thought about it and my bp is 2 years old and only 345 grams.
Thats underweight isn't it?

I outta smack the ppl at the pet store. :P

Wow... I have a late '08 Fire who I'm freaked about being only 960g. But she looks anorexic (triangle body), hence being freaked ~_~

I have finally given up with her. I'm not going to try and wait her out any more, I'm not going to play all the games. I'm just going to start breeding rats, and this time I wont let her fake me out by accepting a F/T right when I get them and make me give them away thinking everything is fine and dandy just to go another 8 months of barely eating.

Wow I would love my snake to be that weight at this point.
Its because she wont eat?

My snake always eats. Has it down in 5 mins.

Im in shock. 345 grams and 2 years old.
Can it even be possible?

I think someone else has a similar sized snake right now... I actually tried arguing that there could be no way it was that small, they got a precise measurement (they had guessed before) and I was shocked. I really cant believe anyone could let a BP stay that size when they are so easy to feed adequately as long as you have the rodents.

My snake refuses to eat f/t unless she needs it to keep her body weight up. She has never lost weight, only gained it. But she has gone as many as 4 months not eating and usually eats every 1-2 months. No weight loss, though. At this point I wouldnt be surprised to find out she's 99.9% water.

And I have tried to set up 2 breeding operations for her in the past. The mice I ended up just all feeding to her ~_~ The rats, well she chose when I got them to eat 2 times in a month, so I thought things were fine, got rid of all but a female who was pregnant... the female rat was too young, I guess, and didnt take care of the babies. So before I start breeding this time I will either buy larger females or let the females put on more weight before breeding them.

It just makes you think how often the pet stores actually feed them. I couldnt believe mine was over a year old when i got him. Considering my friends snake was so much larger and only about 9 mo old

I'll never let him starve :]

Sounds like yours is a picky eater and stubborn. I def think you should continue breeding the rats. Sounds like she prefers them to the f/t.
haha now that I know how much snakes drink water she might just be mostly water. At least she isn't losing weight or that would be a neverending battle of trying to gain any weight at all!

I hope mine isnt mostly water! lol he needs to be packing on the muscle! and some fat! he sure does drink a lot! how can a snake sit and drink for 20+mins? It's beyond me. pshh.

Oh you think them drinking a lot is bad? Just wait, the moment he pees afterwards he will flood the entire enclosure ~_~ I have watched my now ~400g lesser coat the entire newspaper I have in his 32qt tub

If you ever travel up to Dallas-Fort Worth, you can go to the Big Cheese Rodent Factory and pick your order up. If not, they ship too. I use them and they have been great, very convenient if you or anyone in your family travels to North Texas.

I have wished I had a problem feeder to try this on as a test, to see if it makes any difference. My snake is in no way a problem feeder.

When I offer my snake a warmed f/t prey, I try to mimick the behavior of an ASF when I use tongs to put the prey into the tub.


I prescent the room by thawing and warming the prey in the same room as my snake. Actually right next to the tub. So she is usually out of her hide roaming around and smelling.

I open the tub to see where her head is at. When I introduce the prey, it will be from the opposite (most distant) part of the tub from her head. I do not want any sudden movements to scare them and take them out of feed mode. This is less likely to happen through distance than up close.

I slowly/causally dance it about medium distance from the snake. This is not anywhere near the snakes head.

When she takes an interest and smells and sees the prey, I have move the prey further away into the side of the tub. I make the preys movement more terrified/agitated.

She comes closer and I then close the distance slowly while dancing the prey never getting closer than 3 inches to her head.

BAM. She hammers it.

I had read a couple of places that ASF's behave differently than domestic rats when they are introduced to ball pythons. They get scared and go to the side of the tank, tub trying to stay way. Like they know they are the chocolate of the BP world and they are on the menu.