Want to order a ball python but.......

It's a young BP and it will be my second one. I've been talking to the breeder and he has been answering all my questions. The food for this young BP has been live rats when I asked the breeder. I asked if the BP is a good eater and he said it's a great eater. (He looks it) He said he has even taken frozen thawed. Well....that is were I get a little concerned. I really want to purchase this BP but I'm only a frozen thawed type of person. I cant deal with live and my wife will not either. I'm under the impression that this snake has been eating live rats. Should I take a chance on getting this guy or what ? The breeder did say he will offer frozen thawed this weekend and report back to me. I do like the breeder, he has been great with questions. What do you all think ?

Or do almost all breeders feed live or stunned live due to it being faster and maybe easier.

How old is it? If it's only a few months old chances are you'll be able to switch him over without too much trouble. I just got a 3 month old that had never eaten F/T and he took a F/T adult mouse the first time I tried feeding. If the breeder is able to feed him f/t this week than I definitely wouldn't worry about it.

There are a couple large breeders that feed f/t but most will feed live because it is faster. They will convert to f/t you just have to be more stubborn than the snake is. I have actually had more problems switching from mice to rats but eventually even they see the light.

I'd go for it, but that's just me. I wouldn't be too worried about making the switch.

Ask the breeder if he will convert the snake to f/t for you, even if you have to pay now and not take delivery for a few weeks. Once the snake has taken a few f/t rats it should be good to go.

When I sell animals and sell them as F/T feeders (usually upon request) I make sure that they eat F/T at least a minimum of 5 consecutive times, at that point I consider them switched, one time here and there is not consistant enough for me to feel comfortable enough to let them go as F/T feeders.

Some breeders will swith the animal for you some won't (It can mean a lot of extra work for large scale breeders to do so)

Live is much easier for breeders especially when you produce 100 hatchlings or more.

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Originally Posted by Skeletor

I'm only a frozen thawed type of person. I cant deal with live and my wife will not either.

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Been there, done that. Then I picked up a beautiful BP that would have happily starved to death before taking F/T. Just something to keep in mind for the future in case you plan on adding to your collection.

These days, I'm still a F/T type of person, but I also feed what a snake will eat.

Honestly, if you or your wife won't feed live, then maybe a snake is not for you. What happens if you have a snake that goes off feed after having them (and becoming attached to them) for a few years, and the only way to get them back is to offer live? What if that's all they ever take from that point forward?

I have 6 snakes. Five of the six eat F/T. The other little bugger wants nothing to do with them. So, every week I drive 10 miles each way to get him what he wants. Is it ideal? Heck no. I'd MUCH rather feed F/T. But, he is my baby and I would do anything for him. He was a rescue and I could have very well given him up when I realized the only way he would eat was live. It's kind of like having kids. We as "parents" sometimes have to self-sacrifice for the good of our "children."

Just get a boa. They will eat anything pretty much anytime. Both my gals would probably eat a rat in a hurricane if they could grab it fast enough :rofl: But more on topic, if it young, I would go for it too but be prepared to do the legwork needed to switch it if necessary. I personally just feed all my gals fresh killed rats which is kind of between the 2 worlds. Takes a little longer than live but not as long as F/T.

I wouldn't be too concerned, but I would also be prepared for the possibility of having to feed live if they really will not take f/t. I'm far from an expert myself as I only just got my first. The breeder had him on live mice, but said he was a great eater. He's young, hatched in August 2015.

He ate last Thursday, arrived here on Tuesday morning and was giving me hungry eyes by yesterday. I did a zombie dance with the f/t mouse and then left it in there for him and it was gone by morning. It was just a mouse fuzzy (way too small for him, but it's what we had on hand and thought we would test it out to see if he would take it at all), and when I went to go mist his cage he was giving me hungry eyes again so I'm going to pick him up the correct size later which the breeder said would be a weaned mouse.

I'm going to switch him to rats asap, but figured I would make the transition to f/t first, then switch to rats. One thing at a time.

Good luck!

The breeder sent me a video of the snake taking frozen thawed last night (awesome person to deal with). I would feed live if I had to and I have done it before, but for the last 2 years I've been feeding my BP frozen thawed. It's just safe and easier for me. Plus if my wife has to do it...she will. I rather purchase a BP that will take F/T and know he does for sure. I get mixed opinions and hear horror stories but the breeder sent some nice video of him striking and eating F/T. He's going to have him for a while anyway due to this snow we are getting. I feel good about this purchase now. You were all right...find a good breeder willing to answer all questions.

That sounds like a great person to deal with and nice to see you got video proof too! As others mentioned, it's soo much easier to switch a juvenile to ft from live. I've got most of my bp as babies and had them taking ft the first offering no problem. My one pied girl I got when she was just over a year, nope. I have tried every method online to try switching her to ft for over a year now and the longest I've let her fast is 3 months before caving and giving her live so she wouldn't lose more weight. Of course now I've been contemplating getting a 2 year old on live that I'm sure will be a huge PITA to switch. Anyways, glad to see it will work out for your new friend. What is it?

He was hatched 10/25/15 and the breeder said he will be fine taking F/T. He's going to have him for a while anyway....the weather needs to warm up a little more to get him here. He's a Pastel Lesser Enchi Male.

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Originally Posted by Skeletor

He's a Pastel Lesser Enchi Male.

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We're clearly gonna' need some pictures of this guy when you get him. PLE's are one of my favorite 3 Bang BP's :gj: