First snake - when to switch to f/t food?

I just picked up my first pet snake. Its a female (so I'm told) normal 2012 BP.

My LPS told me that she had taken delivery of the BP 3weeks ago and she has had no problem taking a live hopper mouse one a week. She always feeds of fridays. I want to keep the same feeding schedule at least until I know she is feeding regular. This friday will be her first feeding with me. When I bought her i also bought 2 live hopper mice that where actually set to be food for her and her siblings.

From everything I have read over the last year+ I want to go to f/t food if I can. Should I wait for a couple weeks and see for my self that she is eating before I try f/t? This is what I'm leaning towards but I want to make sure.

BTW she just had her first poop with me and she seems very healthy and happy. No strikes or bites. She doesn't even ball up when I handle her, she just holds on till I sit down then slowly explores. I have been researching snakes for a couple years now and learned alot from a really good breeder that has a weekly youtube show (not sure if the forum would frown on me giving out the name).

Thanks for any info.

I would feed her normal food at least the first time. If she takes it no problem then try FT the next time. You should consider getting her switched to rats before attempting FT IMO. Just because it will be cheaper and easier to feed her 1 rat VS a few mice when she gets older. I would try a rat pink or fuzz (prolly fuzz), but that's up to you and what you'd like to do. Trying to switch her to rats and FT may be hard to do at the same time. Then again, some are fine with it :) just depends on your little one!

Good luck whatever you decide!

I disagree with Zombie. I say just go for it and try a f/t rat right away.

Why switch to f/t at all? Live is a thousand times easier, imo.

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For a single snake or a couple of snakes, I agree that f/t is easier. I would not raise rats if I didn't have over 100 snakes. It would all be f/t. Since you already bought a couple of hoppers, feed those off first. No sense in wasting food. Then you might want to feed a f/t mouse hopper, then the next week try a f/t fuzzy rat. That is the progression I use to convert my babies over to f/t rats before they are sold. Good luck!

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Originally Posted by DrDooLittle

Why switch to f/t at all? Live is a thousand times easier, imo.

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I don't think that live is easier if you only have a few snakes. I like being able to buy and store food for a few weeks or months in advance. I've kept rats and mice as pets before and I really wouldn't like having to keep/breed my own feeder rodents, LOL. They're kind of messy and smelly if you aren't really diligent about cleaning. I'm also not totally comfortable with pre-killing rodents on my own yet, but that's a personal thing.

I can see how it's economical for a large collection though.

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Originally Posted by Xaila

I don't think that live is easier if you only have a few snakes. I like being able to buy and store food for a few weeks or months in advance. I've kept rats and mice as pets before and I really wouldn't like having to keep/breed my own feeder rodents, LOL. They're kind of messy and smelly if you aren't really diligent about cleaning. I'm also not totally comfortable with pre-killing rodents on my own yet, but that's a personal thing.I can see how it's economical for a large collection though.

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In my opinion pre killed is the best. Its safe for the snake and its the FRESHEST meal you can provide. When you.get frozen you have no way of knowing how long the mouse/rat has been in the freezer. Not trying to insult anybody but as a snake owner you have to be willing and able to provide a.fresh kill to your pet

Thanks for the feed back.

I have looked at all the business in my area that deal in rats and mice and none of them sell FT. They only deal in live. Lucky for me they are all clean well run stores. The only bad one just went out of business. I have seen the breeding rooms first hand and was impressed. One of the stores is only a mile away.

So if I go FT I will need to kill my own to keep cost down unless I want to order big quantities (the girlfriend would not like a freezer with a ton of rats in it). Pre killing is not a big deal for me. Keeping a few live on hand is not a problem for me either. I have no desire to raise my own for 1 snake. With the places available to me I should always be able to get what I need on short notice.

I'm mainly concerned with the safety of my snake. I have read that sometimes a snake can get hurt by live food. Now is probably not a big deal but when she is bigger a rat can do some damage.

My snake was on live rats for 3 months and she took f/t on the second go. I think. The first time she didn't eat it because I didn't warm it enough. My snake eats like a champ when the rat is heated up to 100F. Good luck!

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Originally Posted by jwill226

Thanks for the feed back.

I have looked at all the business in my area that deal in rats and mice and none of them sell FT. They only deal in live. Lucky for me they are all clean well run stores. The only bad one just went out of business. I have seen the breeding rooms first hand and was impressed. One of the stores is only a mile away.

So if I go FT I will need to kill my own to keep cost down unless I want to order big quantities (the girlfriend would not like a freezer with a ton of rats xin it). Pre killing is not a big deal for me. Keeping a few live on hand is not a problem for me either. I have no desire to raise my own for 1 snake. With the places available to me I should always be able to get what I need on short notice.





Yea live food can injure or kill your snake. I put the rat in a bag and slam it on the ground. It sounds bad but its quick and painless then i use tongs to feeed my snake. I never keep any rats at home





Ye

I'm mainly concerned with the safety of my snake. I have read that sometimes a snake can get hurt by live food. Now is probably not a big deal but when she is bigger a rat can do some damage.

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Originally Posted by jwill226

Thanks for the feed back.

I have looked at all the business in my area that deal in rats and mice and none of them sell FT. They only deal in live. Lucky for me they are all clean well run stores. The only bad one just went out of business. I have seen the breeding rooms first hand and was impressed. One of the stores is only a mile away.

So if I go FT I will need to kill my own to keep cost down unless I want to order big quantities (the girlfriend would not like a freezer with a ton of rats in it). Pre killing is not a big deal for me. Keeping a few live on hand is not a problem for me either. I have no desire to raise my own for 1 snake. With the places available to me I should always be able to get what I need on short notice.

I'm mainly concerned with the safety of my snake. I have read that sometimes a snake can get hurt by live food. Now is probably not a big deal but when she is bigger a rat can do some damage.

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If your snake does convert to p/k and f/t you can buy some f/t in bulk from online suppliers. I personally feed 32 out of my 34 snakes f/t and it's much more convenient for me and my preferred feeding method. IMO feeding live over frozen isn't "better" nor significantly more nutritious. You can keep some f/t in the freezer in a opaque tub or brown bag so your g/f doesn't have to see them and they're not right next to your food. Snakes can be injured by live feeding of larger feeders which is why you always need to supervise feedings: that way if the snake strikes and wraps the feeder where it can still bite your snake you can intervene. If feeding live anything bigger than a ~medium rat can cause damage so most people feed their adults live small rats.

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Originally Posted by Gerardo

In my opinion pre killed is the best. Its safe for the snake and its the FRESHEST meal you can provide. When you.get frozen you have no way of knowing how long the mouse/rat has been in the freezer. Not trying to insult anybody but as a snake owner you have to be willing and able to provide a.fresh kill to your pet

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F/t, live, and p/k are all safe. All of these methods have their own risks associated with them. P/k means the animals already dead. So youre wrong in saying its the freshest. If you want to feed the FRESHEST, then live would be it. Youre right, you dont know how long the rodents have been frozen, thats why you buy f/t from someone you trust. Not trying to insult you, but the snake doesnt need a "fresh kill".

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Originally Posted by Xaila

I don't think that live is easier if you only have a few snakes. I like being able to buy and store food for a few weeks or months in advance. I've kept rats and mice as pets before and I really wouldn't like having to keep/breed my own feeder rodents, LOL. They're kind of messy and smelly if you aren't really diligent about cleaning. I'm also not totally comfortable with pre-killing rodents on my own yet, but that's a personal thing.

I can see how it's economical for a large collection though.

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I don't pre-kill. They eat live. And if they don't eat, rat goes back in tub for next time, no waste. I hate the time consuming process of thawing and heating f/t, and waste if they don't eat. Live is just easiest for me.

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Originally Posted by Mike41793

F/t, live, and p/k are all safe. All of these methods have their own risks associated with them. P/k means the animals already dead. So youre wrong in saying its the freshest. If you want to feed the FRESHEST, then live would be it. Youre right, you dont know how long the rodents have been frozen, thats why you buy f/t from someone you trust. Not trying to insult you, but the snake doesnt need a "fresh kill".

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i meant the freshest safe food. But you are right that they dont NEED fresh killed food
As long as its safe for the snake and works for you there is no wrong way to do it. Pre killed works for me and my BP.

Her first feeding with me went great tonight. I fed her live and she took it about 30 seconds after seeing it. So im happy. I think next week i will try fresh killed and see how that goes. My. Only worry is it seemed to be the movement that got her attention.

Thanks again for everything.

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Originally Posted by jwill226

Her first feeding with me went great tonight. I fed her live and she took it about 30 seconds after seeing it. So im happy. I think next week i will try fresh killed and see how that goes. My. Only worry is it seemed to be the movement that got her attention.

Thanks again for everything.

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That's where the zombie dance comes in :) Just use some tongs and wiggle the rat around. Just be careful to not hit her with it, might make her defensive and not want to eat ;)

I tied to get her to pay attention to the mouse while i held it with tongs and she ignored it and was trying to get out of the plastic box i put her in for feeding. I fed her out of her home so i would have easier access if something went wrong. Once i put it down the mouse walked over to her tail she turned around, set up an struck catching the mouse behind the front legs in the side. Once she was ready she worked her way to the head and took it proper.

Next week i will give the pre killed a shot.

I left her for about 15 minutes after she got done before moving her back home. She is sitting in the open on the hot side near a hide and seems content. Was that the right thing to do?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by jwill226

I tied to get her to pay attention to the mouse while i held it with tongs and she ignored it and was trying to get out of the plastic box i put her in for feeding. I fed her out of her home so i would have easier access if something went wrong. Once i put it down the mouse walked over to her tail she turned around, set up an struck catching the mouse behind the front legs in the side. Once she was ready she worked her way to the head and took it proper.

Next week i will give the pre killed a shot.

I left her for about 15 minutes after she got done before moving her back home. She is sitting in the open on the hot side near a hide and seems content. Was that the right thing to do?

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Feeding in her home will cause less stress. When u try FT or PK, try feeding in her home. Make sure when you wiggle the prey, to move it around back and forth, similar to how it would move naturally.