Feeding Experts help!?

Question 1. How long to wait after a failed feeding attempt?

Question 2. O she's 63 grams by the way! So far i've tried...

F/T Adult Mice
F/T Hopper Mice
and
Live Adult Mice (I think it was too big) But can't find smaller live mice I have looked everywhere!!!! Literally...

Question 3. Here's how I thaw my rodents any problem with this method?

Put in plastic sandwich bag... Put in hot hot water for 1 hour... Take mouse out put in front of heater for 20 mins and its heated up!!!

a little more of the situation in these threads===> http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showt...-two-enclosure

Adult mice are far too big for a 63g ball! Try live rat fuzzies if you can find them.

I believe 4-5 days between tries. Any source for rat pinks? How long did you leave the f/t Hopper in with her? What was she eating before you got her or is she a new hatchling?
Sorry if these questions were answered in the other thread. On my phone and it doesn't like to load multiple pages.

No way to get live anything except live adult mice... :( I did get a hold of the breeder and they said she was eating Live but ate frozen Hopper mice before they shipper her! And she had ate 3 meals before I got her!

Have you tried posting a Craigslist ad for local feeder breeders? You might be surprised with how close you can find private sources.
You've probably already tried this, but I'll say it just in case.
Let the f/t hopper thaw near the tub. So she can get the smell. When its fully thawed, blast it with a hair dryer on the head, dangle in front of hide (if shes in hide) and after a few moments if she doesnt strike leave it at hide entrance. Close up the tub and leave her alone with it until morning. (Feed in the evening)
Sorry if you've tried this. I'm a new owner too, just trying to help. Hope she starts gobbling up soon for you!

Where abouts in MN. If in SE MN around Winona I can get you some small live feeders.

That size snake needs mouse hoppers or rat pinkies. If she has not been converted to f/t, then contact the breeder and ask for assistance. I'm sure they are willing to help.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by GBR

Where abouts in MN. If in SE MN around Winona I can get you some small live feeders.

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Yeah, what part of MN are you in ?? If your in the cities, I can recomend a place to get live fuzzies, and hoppers.

Ya I live in wayyyy northern Minnesota about 30 mins from Canada... I might have to drive the 5 hours to the cities if she doesn't eat! I'm getting desperate! I'm used to all my reptiles being Tortoises and geckos being fatties and eating all the time! So no one recommends force feeding just yet?

No, force feeding or assist feeding should be done only as a last resort. Do you have a scale? If not, then please get one. Monitor the weight of the baby. At 63 grams, I would not attempt to assist feed unless there was around a 10 gram loss. Also, if you do have to get to that point, please find someone with experience to help you.

You have a few options. Like others have mentioned look for mice in your area on line. I believe there are places that specialize in shipping feeders (not live) and use dry ice to pack them. If you are in Northern MN, have you looked at the Brainerd or Duluth areas? I know you'd still have a drive, but it would be closer than the cities. Maybe you could call Twin Cities Reptiles and work out a shipping deal with them.

I am also relatively new to this but want to help like others have helped me. I was given advice to thaw the mouse over the top of the cage for close to a day. It's a slow process, and then when the rodent is at room temp, you can do a quick heat in warm, not super hot water and/or use a hair dryer and heat it up just before you feed.

I usually wrap the rat/mouse in a paper towel and having done this several times, I drop the paper towel (same one I always use) in an hour before I feed and blow it toward the area of the snake. I usually see a head pop out soon after and her tongue starts flicking. Our snake was a live only feeder when we got her and it only took 1 refusal and a week long wait and she hit the FT'd mouse and we've been doing fine since.

Does your snake show any interest in the prey? You may have to wait a week or 2 and try. I don't think anything is critical yet.

Don't stress out and keep trying and disturbing the snake. Let it settle a week and try the paper towel trick once you get the proper sized rodent.