Ball python wont eat F/t Mice!

Ive had my ballpython for two weeks now, he is 267 grams. His Tank is a 20L with 2 hides a water bowl in the middle, and aspen. He just shed perfectly 2days ago so I thought now is a good time to try and feed him. I left two mice on top of tank screen while I napped let them thaw out. When i woke up, I blasted them with a hair dryer. I then took his hides out, and try to feed him one of the mice. He came close smelled it, then turned away and just ignored it. The guy I got him from is a local breeder and he was feeding him freshly killed, but thought he would take the FT no problem. Should I get live mouse and try that or give him some time and try again?

Thanks in advance I love this forum I read all day from my iPhone :D

Brandon!

Sounds like maybe rushing him... How old is he? If you want him on F/T I would wait a another feeding try the F/T if that doesnt work get him live but I would try to get him over to rats... Rats are far more nutritious for your snake

hes ab 267 grams, honestly idk the age forgot to really ask... The mice i have are kinda small, hoppers, but i was gonna try and feed two. Should i just go out and get rats? idk what size is good... ehhh

Hmmm 267grams I would go with a rat crawler or rat pup deffinatley with hair eyes just opening wobbly walking around to start with... I wouldnt worry about missing a meal or 2.... But yes best to be on a rat much better for him.... Get him used to live or fresh killed rats before you try to move him over to F/T rats.

Is he a pet or are you intending on breeding him?

i had this problem once and i realized it was taking the hide off.. if i take my snakes hide off then zombie dance it up he just leaves me hangin.. now i just dangle it off the tongs outside his hide he will come out and get it.. its a security thing.. as long as i leave him in the hide he comes out strangles it and takes it back in to swallow.. then like clock work after its down he goes and lays in the other side (above the uth) for at least a day..

2 weeks isn't that bad just wait a week and try again but don't take his hide off him, cus once he gets it he doesn't think he will have anywhere to go.. he doesn't know you are gonna put it back on lol when they have a mouse half way down their throat or are concentrated on strangling a dead mouse they feel vulnerable so they like to be hidden for the rest of it..

and i know ive seen videos were people remove them the snake strikes and they put the hide back down but these arent snakes that are being switched from pre killed to f/t.. and they have been in their environment for more than 2 weeks

idk it worked for me.. good luck!

Rats or mice...makes no difference. There have been no studies done (that I've ever heard of) that say what a ball pythons exact nutritional needs are...so how can anyone say one prey item is better than another? :confuzd: Whatever the snake will eat is what's best for it. ;)

You've only had him for two weeks. It can sometimes take longer than that for them to get over the stress of moving to a new home. And the new home itself might be causing stress as well. If it was born at a breeder's and kept in a small hatching tub/juvie tub and then sent to you...and got plunked down in a big glass aquarium, for instance....it might be feeling very insecure and unwilling to put itself in the vulnerable position of eating.

My suggestion is to re-examine it's entire enclosure to make sure he has as much security as possible...and that temps are in the proper range AND consistently held there. (Wrong temps or fluctuating temps can also put them off food) Then wait another week and try again.

Also, be sure to heat the prey all the way through. If you let them thaw at room temp for just an hour or two and then "blast them with a blow dryer" then they may still be pretty cold in the guts, even if the fur/skin feels warm.

Hopper mice may also be way too small for a bp that size. He can VERY easily take full grown mice. The tiny prey might have seemed not worth the energy it would take to eat.

Sorry then disregard my opinion... I will no longer comment on feeding

Someones a bit bent out of shape ^^

Anywho it takes patience to switch to f/t as it will not always work out first try. I fed f/t at first, switched to live and had a terrible time trying to go back to f/t.

In some cases it's like trying to force me to eat tofu, just not happenin'! Nothing wrong with live though if it's what you gotta do.

Take care

Also would like to add, two weeks is around the recommended time you give your snake space when you first get them to help him/her get used to their new place and get rid of the stress from the move. So it doesn't surprise me at all that your snake won't eat frozen thawed yet. In time friend

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Originally Posted by JLC

Also, be sure to heat the prey all the way through. If you let them thaw at room temp for just an hour or two and then "blast them with a blow dryer" then they may still be pretty cold in the guts, even if the fur/skin feels warm.

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This right here! I've gotten animals who have been "problem feeders" or who have never taken FT before in their lives to snap it right up just by adjusting the temperature. I think people get frustrated way too soon when trying FT.

If he's smelling it, he's definitely interested. Put your prey items in a ziplock baggie and float it in hot water for a few minutes to get them nice and warm to the touch. That'd be the first thing I'd try.

I agree with Shadera. Put the f/t prey item in a baggie and put it into some hot water until it is thawed out. I then let mine sit in the hot water for a little while before I present it to the snake. After that I dangle it in front of the snake doing a little dance and then the snake strikes and coils around the prey item.

I just kinda skimmed the thread. Here is what I do to get my female BP to eat and to get my colubrids going nuts.

1. Thaw prey. Don't worry about how long you forget about it if it's not longer than 3 hours.
2. Get a cookie sheet you don't care much about, put foil on it.
3. Preheat a toaster oven (or put a normal oven on 'Warm') to about 135F. Use a thermometer with a probe to check the temp. I suction cup mine to the door of the oven and bend the wire so the probe is in the air kinda in the middle of the oven.
4. Place prey on cookie sheet and into toaster oven.
5. Check every 5-15 minutes to see when the prey is HOT. I mean HOT, too. Not SCALDING hot, but definitely hotter than a live item (ask a pet store to see a calm rat or mouse to get an idea of this). Takes 30-60 minutes for me, but my toaster oven bounces around from 140F to 90F. This is why I say keep an eye on it.
6. Take the cookie sheet with the prey (use oven mitts please!) to the area you feed at.
7. Get your BP ready to be offered prey.
8. Get a secure hold on the prey by the back legs with some long tongs (can find in reptile area of pet stores).
9. Hold the prey close enough for the BP to see but not far enough that if he strikes he'll go flying.
10. As he shows interest in this hot item, wiggle it well. You'll be able to figure out if you just need a little movement or if you need to really try doing the zombie dance.
11. As he closes in, get ready to let go, but keep a good hold on the prey still! I've both had my BP coil around the tongs and miss the item because I either didn't let go or did too early. ...Actually, all three my colubrids have tried strangling the tongs, too...
12. Either reap the rewards of your work or find someone else to nom the prey if you fail. Don't be afraid to try again if he coils and lets go. Also, don't be afraid to leave it in the cage overnight.

This is just, as I said, what I do, but I have never failed to get a strike from any snake this way. I even got my female BP to eat in deep blue this way.

Thanks for all the help guys, This upcomming saturday Ill be going to a reptile show in wheaton IL. I will get rat pups there or full grown mice! Yeah he used to be held in a little tub! I heard a week was good! I guess not :D Umm IDk if i want to breed him or just have him as a pet yet, because he is HET ALBINO which would be cool.. to get a female albino :D But for the mean time I am keeping him in his tank because hes right next to me in my computer room and I like to peek in on him! His temps are wonderful I have a room heater that keeps the ambiant temps of the room at 80degrees, warm side is 92, and cool side is 82/84. Although I think maybe his hides might be a little small because every once in awhile on either side he like pushes them off the glass! Anyways thanks for the feedback

Brandon:taz:

Quote:

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Originally Posted by bdevo

Although I think maybe his hides might be a little small because every once in awhile on either side he like pushes them off the glass! Anyways thanks for the feedback

Brandon:taz:

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Unless it gets to the point where they're wearing the hide like a hat...there's almost no such thing as "too small" with these guys. :P

http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showt...8DU-Warning%29

I guess the one thing to remember is dont rush him, he will get stressed out...
BPs like small places where they can push against both sides in their hide...

Im sorry a gave you my opinnion on the feeding.. But based on experience for 8yrs now rats have more substance seeing a rat is capable of getting 5 times or so larger that way you wont be there all day feeding your snake when he gets to 3 or 4 feet.. Rats dont smell as bad as mice (I have bred both) rats also are easier to breed and all the breeders in my area do rats... BTW Im a town away from NERD and I know for a fact he uses rats... We all use mice to start them off on their 1st couple meals then quicly switch them over to rats

Jon Graham
5GsReptiles

Mine ate once when I used the OP's method of warming a thawed mouse. But...he only ate the mouse after it had been sitting for 8 hours in the enclosure. And it was the first time I fed him after I got him, so maybe he was REALLY hungry.

After that, he went for a month without eating. I would thaw the mouse, warm it, then dangle it. He would approach, taste, but not strike. I was a bit worried after a month. Then, I spoke to a guy at the Repticon show, and he advised me to put the (refrigerator) thawed mouse in a sealed plastic bag submerged in 190º water for about 4 minutes.

Since I've started doing that he strikes as soon as the mouse gets in front of him. Three weeks in a row now.

I had no problems switching my Spider to F/T when he was just 112g, I just placed a thawed and warmed mouse in the feeding tub with him and he has eaten every time. I tried that with my bumblebee and had no luck. So I went with live for 2 feedings, then on the third feeding I went with a small live followed minutes later with a F/T and warmed, and she ate it too. Ever since then she has been eating F/T.

Note I feed both my BPs in a seperate container layered with paper towels and nothing else inside the container.