being difficult

ugh.. i've tried a few times now to feed Apollo p/k, but he just wont take it. he doesnt eat it if its knocked out. even when i didnt kill it once and it was all twitching and trying to run on its back, he just looks at it like "so?"

:? he's really puzzling me. how in the world do you get a stubborn snake to switch from live to p/k!? i need some suggestions.. he's going to end up eating rats one day, and i dont want to try and feed him a live rat. :(

Why don't you want to feed live exactly?

-adam

have u tryed the "mouse dance"?

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Originally Posted by Adam_Wysocki

Why don't you want to feed live exactly?

-adam

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i'm not going to risk hurting my snake. Apollo already almost got bitten once, and i'm not going to take that chance again.

Also, as First_Time_herp posted in July....

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Originally Posted by First_time_herp

http://ball-pythons.net/careimages/ballchew2.jpg < Thats why we feed frozen.

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looking at that picture makes me 100% positive that what i'm doing is for the best. :)

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Originally Posted by sk8er4life

have you tryed the "mouse dance"?

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tried. unfortunately, Apollo is not an idiot. he knows when its dead, and its his way or the highway. :(

Try skipping a few feedings, that did the trick for me when switching Roxy from live to pre killed.....then to F/T.

Its worth a shot.I would give it a try

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Originally Posted by Brandon.O

Try skipping a few feedings, that did the trick for me when switching Roxy from live to pre killed.....then to F/T.

Its worth a shot.I would give it a try

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thats what i'm going to do. no dinner for him next week. :)

I have 6 Balls and everyone of them eat live only. I have a sterilite tub I use for feeding my snakes. I put the snake in first for about 5 minutes and then introduce the rat. I keep a constant eye on the tub until the deed is done. I wear a thick leather work glove just in case. Not once have I ever had a problem. My snakes know that the tub means feeding time. 95% of the time the deed is done inside of 2 minutes. If they have not fed in 15 minutes, I know they aint gonna eat and I return the snake to its cage.

And as far as that old picture goes....that is the case of a total loser who obviously left a rat and a snake unattended for a long period of time. That picture is not the result of proper feeding procedures.

I will be the first to admit that FT or PK is safer and easier, but using proper feeding procedures with live is not that much of a risk. The key is knowing your animals eating behaviours and keeping a constant eye on the process.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Super_Smash

Also, as First_Time_herp posted in July....

Quote:

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Originally Posted by First_time_herp

http://ball-pythons.net/careimages/ballchew2.jpg < Thats why we feed frozen.

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looking at that picture makes me 100% positive that what i'm doing is for the best. :)

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That snake was left in a cage for weeks with a live rodent that didn't have food. Putting a mouse or rat in your snakes enclosure for a couple of hours will not cause that ... LOL ... I've been feeding a whole lot of ball pythons live rats and mice every week for more than a few years and I've never had a snake get bit. If you feed live responsibly you won't have a problem. :mrgreen:

-adam

I am SO GLAD to hear I am not the only person feeding live on purpose! I don't think p/k or F/T is really wrong, I just prefer to feed live. This whole thing of keeping snakes in cages at home isn't really natural to begin with, so I can't use that argument, but I feel live feeding does more closely represent what they would be doing, if out, free.

well.... lets not debate about feeding live. :)

in any case, i havent decided what i'm going to do. i'm going to skip a feeding next week, and just keep trying to get him on p/k.

Yeah, as long as he's nice and thick, it won't kill him to miss a feeding or two until he gets the idea. :)

Angela,

You may want to try using freshly gassed critters. My bp never wanted to eat f/t, always wanted live guys. So I built a gas chamber, and bought live and healthy mice to gas and give to him immediately with a little mouse dance from the tongs, he grabs em instantly.

I always thought you should air the rodents out after gassing, so the gas dissipates and doesn't get to the snake. I could easily be wrong though.

And she's tried fresh killed, I believe. Isn't that the same thing as gassing a mouse and feeding immediately? :)

Yep, skipping 1-3 feedings should get him primed to take fresh killed prey. One skipped meal may not leave him hungry enough to go fo it, so don't despair if it doesn't work your first try.

Cody,

The gas airs out within seconds of removing the rodent. It really isn't any concern. Very little actual CO2 is needed to euthanize the rodent in such a small container, it is really mostly used to displace oxygen very quickly. If you want an idea of how quickly the air dissipates, I can open the container and take a big wiff with no problem. And no, it's not just because I'm human: have you breathed straight CO2 before? It's not fun, trust me :). Just a throwback to my curious paintball days.... :roll:

MMPH!!



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