I need help?

So I got this pastel ball python at a reptile expo and its only been fed live. I dont want to feed live because of all the risks and I want it to eat F/T. Can you give me some tips of how to make my pastel eat f/t? I tried the tuna juice thingy. Gave it a long stare and then went away.
http://i295.photobucket.com/albums/m...2/P7270289.jpg

Him on vines. When I looked into his cage I was scared that he was gone cuz he wasnt in his hide or anywhere on the floor.

How long did you leave him alone before trying to feed him? I can't see the pic.. Does he have 2 small, tight fitting hides? Was the FT very warm? Offered at night when it wasn't very bright? From long tongs so you didnt scare the BP or confuse it from the heat of your hand?

You can also try dipping the head in chicken broth. Pre scenting with some dirty rodent bedding from the pet store placed in a corner if the tank before feeding.

It can take a few tries. With each rejection, toss the rodent, wait about 4-5 days, and try again.

How long have you had it?
How much does it weigh?
What's your set up like?

He's 3 year old pastel living in a wooden enclosure thats 2 and a half feet length x 2 feet wide x 3 feet high enclosure with two hides, a log, and leaves. Hot spot is 91 degrees cool is like 80 ish. I have had him a little less than a week. I just wanted to feed him on the same day that I feed my other juvenile ball python who eats f/t.

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Originally Posted by Foschi Exotic Serpents

How long did you leave him alone before trying to feed him? I can't see the pic.. Does he have 2 small, tight fitting hides? Was the FT very warm? Offered at night when it wasn't very bright? From long tongs so you didnt scare the BP or confuse it from the heat of your hand?

You can also try dipping the head in chicken broth. Pre scenting with some dirty rodent bedding from the pet store placed in a corner if the tank before feeding.

It can take a few tries. With each rejection, toss the rodent, wait about 4-5 days, and try again.

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Pic is up.

the hides are big enough.

But your pic tells us nothing about your set up

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Originally Posted by Foschi Exotic Serpents

How long did you leave him alone before trying to feed him? I can't see the pic.. Does he have 2 small, tight fitting hides? Was the FT very warm? Offered at night when it wasn't very bright? From long tongs so you didnt scare the BP or confuse it from the heat of your hand?

You can also try dipping the head in chicken broth. Pre scenting with some dirty rodent bedding from the pet store placed in a corner if the tank before feeding.

It can take a few tries. With each rejection, toss the rodent, wait about 4-5 days, and try again.

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After I thawed it I slightly put hot water on the mice. I offered it to him at night from long tongs.

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Originally Posted by llovelace

But your pic tells us nothing about your set up

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the pic wasnt about the setup but would you like me to post up a pic?

sure, a pic is worth a 1000 words :)

It sounds like you may not have given him enough time to settle into his new home. If he came from a breeder at a show, chances are he is use to being in a dark and secure tub that is much smaller than what he is in now.

Give him time to settle in and get hungry. Dont handle him for a week and then offer him a small FT rat which you have warmed very very warm with a hair dryer or hold it in front if a hot light bulb for a few minutes. Wiggle it a little in front if him too but not too much.

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Originally Posted by llovelace

sure, a pic is worth a 1000 words :)

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http://i295.photobucket.com/albums/m...2/P7270291.jpg

http://i295.photobucket.com/albums/m...2/P7270290.jpg

that is my enclosure

Another thing, offer it when he's in his hide. He's more likely to strike it if it's head is wiggling at the entrance of his hide when he's in it at night.

I doubt tuna juice will ever entice a snake that eat rodents to eat. Ever. I've actually never heard if that one.
The main thing I'm hearing is you've had the snake a week. He's stressed from his new home and even trying to feed now is only making your situation worse. Coupling that with trying ft on a sole live feeder and you've got rejection written all over your situation.
1. Give him a week to even 2 weeks from this point no handling, no food offering, only bare maintenance.
2. When that time frame is up offer a small live rat weanling. Or whatever size prey fits your snake. But go with live 100%.
3. Only when he is eating steadily do you try to switch him. No need to dip, slit, or debrain, or anything like that. He's either going to eat it or not. Try and go with ft prey that is the same as the live prey.

The main thing is he needs his acclimation period. Give him as long as he needs. Offer 1x time if he doesn't eat take the prey out and do it again in a minimum of 1 week. He needs to be on a consistent schedule before it's even feasible to switch him to frozen.


Check out what's new on my website... www.Homegrownscales.com

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Originally Posted by Homegrownscales

I doubt tuna juice will ever entice a snake that eat rodents to eat. Ever. I've actually never heard if that one.
The main thing I'm hearing is you've had the snake a week. He's stressed from his new home and even trying to feed now is only making your situation worse. Coupling that with trying ft on a sole live feeder and you've got rejection written all over your situation.
1. Give him a week to even 2 weeks from this point no handling, no food offering, only bare maintenance.
2. When that time frame is up offer a small live rat weanling. Or whatever size prey fits your snake. But go with live 100%.
3. Only when he is eating steadily do you try to switch him. No need to dip, slit, or debrain, or anything like that. He's either going to eat it or not. Try and go with ft prey that is the same as the live prey.

The main thing is he needs his acclimation period. Give him as long as he needs. Offer 1x time if he doesn't eat take the prey out and do it again in a minimum of 1 week. He needs to be on a consistent schedule before it's even feasible to switch him to frozen.


Check out what's new on my website... www.Homegrownscales.com

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I would feed it live, but the fear I have with live feeding is that the rats have parasites and they can bite my snake.

Not if you supervise. Besides, up until a couple years ago, everyone fed live exclusively. Most breeders still do. It's so difficult to get hatchlings on FT that most breeders start babies on live. Very few people ever have a problem with bites unless you leave the rat unattended and the snake does not eat right away or the rat is too big. A small rat is generally not going to be aggressive like a large rat will.

I feed most of mine prekilled. Solves the problem of not wanting FT and being worried about walking away from the tub with a live rat in there.

when feeding in a different tub, how do you move it back into its enclosure?

I've been trying to get my normal switched over since early May.
Things I've tried and had recommend.

-Thaw then heat to 100f in a temp gun.
Don't use enough heat as to cook it.
Dry = thaw at room temp then heat with a hair dryer or lamp
Wet = thaw and reheat in a ziplock bag in warm water.
- Zombie dance, with feeding forcepts make it move similar to a live one.
- leave it overnight in its enclosure
- put it in a snake bag with your bp overnight in the enclosure.
(I did't like this, she couldn't drink or thermoregulate, I ended this attempt after 3 hrs)
- rodent potpourri
A cloth bag full of dirty rodent litter set on top of their tank the morning before the attempt to get the smell in the air.
- gradual transition
Live, prekilled kicking, prekilled still, frozen overnight, then normal f/t
(mine stopped at prekilled kicking)
- assisted feeding
I can't explain how to do this safely, I had a breeder friend show me this today and it worked, after 3 months of trying she ate her first f/t today.
( my last straw before giving up and staying with pk)

*** do not starve your bp while making the transition***
My advise, and what I did is to try f/t if it didn't work (never did), wait 3 days and give what ever he will take.

are live more expensive or frozen?

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Originally Posted by Maddumpling

are live more expensive or frozen?

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Yeah, unless your breeding your own, but that's not cheap either

For me, Petco is the only viable supplier for live, mice are $3.25, rats $7.50-$10.00
I have a supplier of f/t that charges $0.75 adult mice, and $2.50 med rats. But this person is a 45 min drive away, so a weekly run for live is not a real option.

Yes they are. I suspect he (?) needs some time. Give him a chance to settle a week or two with nothing but bare maintenance as suggested. I have had no problems converting the live feeders I have including a wild caught rescue. It takes some time to get the snake settled down, in two weeks offer live what ever it was feeding once the snake is eating then convert it, don't try too many things at once.

A rat is a rat and a 'happy' healthy royal will eat when it ready to.

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Originally Posted by Maddumpling

So I got this pastel ball python at a reptile expo and its only been fed live. I dont want to feed live because of all the risks and I want it to eat F/T. Can you give me some tips of how to make my pastel eat f/t? I tried the tuna juice thingy. Gave it a long stare and then went away.
http://i295.photobucket.com/albums/m...2/P7270289.jpg

Him on vines. When I looked into his cage I was scared that he was gone cuz he wasnt in his hide or anywhere on the floor.

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Perhaps this photo is only showing a small section of the setup, but this doesn't look like an appropriate setup for a Ball Python. What does the rest look like? Perhaps it's not eating because it's home is setup wrong.


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Sorry, just saw the pic of the setup on page 2. my bad!

I agree with everyone else. Your snake used to live in a small, dark place where it was totally stressfree. It's now exposed and probably very stressed. Leave it alone, other then feeding it every week. If it refuses to eat, then try again a week later. I'd avoid all other contact.

I feed my over 50 balls live. I do yearly fecal checks for parasites and I supervise feedings. If they haven't eaten it within 20 min it comes out. I've never had a serious bite, I feed weekly, and I've never had a case of parasites. But keep in mind a frozen rat can transfer parasites as well.
I think without a good start on live with you he's going to just hold out until you try it. Better to get him eating sooner rather than later.


Check out what's new on my website... www.Homegrownscales.com

Depends. Usually f/t is somewhat less, but that is not universal. If your best buddy breeds rodents..... :)

I've got 5 snakes. 4 took f/t instantly. One little stubborn one won't touch it. I'm still working on her and she's starting to show interest but not striking. Some of them take a long time to switch over and a few won't.

You might think about offering live for a few feedings while your snake settles in and then try switching to f/t.

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Originally Posted by Maixx

Yeah, unless your breeding your own, but that's not cheap either

For me, Petco is the only viable supplier for live, mice are $3.25, rats $7.50-$10.00
I have a supplier of f/t that charges $0.75 adult mice, and $2.50 med rats. But this person is a 45 min drive away, so a weekly run for live is not a real option.

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Yikes. :oops: The OP and I actually live near each other, and I sold him his normal f/t-eating juvenile... and luckily we do have some cheaper options around here, since it's a big city with LOTS of pet shops. I recommended one particular shop to him, where they sell live mice for like $1.40 and frozen for only $0.50 - not bad, eh? So in that case it's definitely cheaper to go frozen, but I have about 8 snakes in my collection who only eat live.

Don't worry, you'll (OP) be fine doing live feedings if necessary... as I & another poster told you, it's safe if you're supervising and feeding smaller prey. Didn't my demonstration on Monday put your mind at ease?

there arent risks with live mice or rats. snakes has been eating them for millions of years. and if you really want it to eat f/t first start feeding live off of tongs. then the snake will see the tongs and think FOOD! make sure the rodent isnt wet. hoped this helped

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Originally Posted by stickyalvinroll

there arent risks with live mice or rats. snakes has been eating them for millions of years.

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I am going to disagree with you. Snakes have not been eating cornered rats and mice often. Unless you have massive enclosures where a rat can escape the snake the rat or mouse is cornered. Fight/flight... fight.

Cornered animals will defend them selves. A hesitant snake in the wild the rat will leave. There have been many captive snakes killed by rodents offered as food. Google it, rat kills snake, it is disturbing so I'll not post any photos. Live feeding MUST be supervised! There are risks associated with live feedings, more than with F/T.

There is a higher chance of internal parasites as well most wild caught snakes have them mites too for that matter. Most (not all) parasites will be killed with temperatures below -7ºC for 30-48 hours. The chances are higher of passing along parasites.

I am not saying one is better than the other but pretending that there are no risks is unfair to the OP. Understand the risks and make an informed decision.

once fed live he will only eat live its ok though its not harmful or risky at all :D:snake::banana:

My little garbage can Darthie ate 3 rat pups a few days ago--2 f/t, one live. Some snakes plain do not care as long as it stuffs their gut.