Urgent

so i was feeding my ball live because she won't take frozen and i bought the mouse as usual. the mouse i got her was a bit larger than all the other ones i've given her but not yet a medium (mines eats small). my ball is 9 months old so she has had her go of food but this one was a fighter. today i forgot to spin the mouse in a pillowcase (make it easier on the mouse and my ball) because i've been so busy; long story short the mouse bit my snake and left a pretty sizable hole. i will post pictures if i can when she is done eating but what do i do!?!?!? how do i treat her or will she treat herself. i can't afford an exotic vet bill

First off, never spin the prey item. Try to post some pictures so everyone can see the extent of the damage.

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Originally Posted by ballpythonluvr

First off, never spin the prey item. Try to post some pictures so everyone can see the extent of the damage.

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This! A calm prey item is a safe prey item. Respect your rodents.

im actually really confused now. i'm pretty sure i saw a hole but no blood, she is in her hide and can't take pictures but ill post when she at any point is out. also how is spinning them bad? i give mines a 40 second spin so they usually don't know they are getting eaten or are too dizzy to fight back.

If you spin, stun or stress your rodents in anyway you have NO BUSINESS feeding live, stick to F/T.

The reason you have no business to do so is that first you are basically describing animal cruelty and second you are actually putting your snake at more risk. A stressed, injured or partially stunned rodent can turn on you or your snake.

I don’t particularly like rodents I breed them because I have too, however I make sure that they are treated humanely as they should.

Now if you want to feed live here are some pointers


Pre-scent the room, this is done by leaving the feeder nearby the enclosure 1 hour prior to feeding to entice the snake, during that time provide water and food to the feeder (it's very important if your feeders are store bought as you want to make sure that they are well fed and well hydrated)

Feed an appropriately size feeder.

Do not stress the prey (no stunning, no restraining when offered.

Offer the prey in the enclosure, drop the prey on the cage floor.

Monitor feeding.

Remove the prey after 10 min if uneaten.

A well fed, well hydrated and stress free feeders will generally room around for a lap or two and then go fall asleep in a corner or groom themselves.

I have fed well over 20000/25000 live preys over the years (stopped counting a long time ago) and never had any issue and never had the need to stun a feeder prior to feeding.

Food for the thoughs between your inability to responsibly feed live and provide for vet care if necessary, you might want to reconsider owning a snake.

Why not try this method for feeding thawed frozen ???

This method WORKS if done properly ...

I wait until evening as they're nocturnal of course . I let the rodent thaw out in the reptile room so they get the smell ..
Then I warm up the mouse / rat with a hairdryer and offer with tongs IMMEDIATELY whilst still warm . If refused simply repeat the heating and offering as many times as needed. .
A couple of mine will only strike feed from within their hides so I dangle the warm rodent in front of the hide's entrance - usually works but if it fails simply reheat the rodent with a hairdryer and immediately offer again whilst it's still warm , continue until it's grabbed ...
I always wait until evenings to feed as they're nocturnal of course .

Incidentally , if it shows no interest at all not even a tongue flicker maybe it's best to leave for a week or so .

Worth a try , surely .


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Why does everyone try to over complicate feedings?

At 9 months the prey size is also a little small.

i've tried everything when it comes to frozen, braining, scenting and even rubbing a frozen on my friends pre-killed (it's hard to explain) but none work. i will try to treat the rodents a bit better then too, im the amerture and you guys are the experts, if i should invest in a temporary little home for the mouse so it can be a bit "happy" before it gets eaten, i will do so. also my mistake as i thought there was a hole in my ball, i know she did get bit but i mistaken one of her black spots for a hole

We need pictures to see how bad the damage is. Hopefully something that can heal on its own without a vet trip needed. If you're having trouble posting, Tapatalk is a mobile phone app and it's super easy to upload photos straight from your gallery. Sorry this happened, I'm sure you're quite worried. Just try to keep what the others have said about stunning in mind, as well as having means to provide vet care. I have an "emergency fund" for my animals that I sit aside a small amount of cash for every paycheck, sometimes only as much as 5 bucks, but something-- over time it adds up, and I've thankfully not had to bring any of my exotics to the vet as of yet (domestic vets are much cheaper). Just an idea? I think it's something everyone should have for their pets.

EDIT: Oh great! Just saw your new post, I'm so glad she's uninjured. :) I'm curious how you're preparing/heating up the f/t rodent though, as honestly it's usually not this much trouble to convert a hatchling/juvenile ball from live to f/t.

sorry i over reacted, there is no wound but instead i confused one of her black spots with a hole since that's where the rat bit. she is pastel so her black is really defined and i'll consider the vet fund. i have a half empty jar full of coins that i will be definitely be adding a bit of bills to. thank you everyone for all this new information, sorry about the stress but at least i know to be more caring to rodents when feeding them to my ball

I will say this though, it's essential for anyone who feeds live to have a temporary set up for the rodent ready before it's offered. 1.) To provide some food and water and a place to chill before being fed off, so the animal is "primed" for offering and 2.) for the possibility (eventuality) that your snake will refuse a meal, if you have no other snakes who will take the rodent.

You can look up cervical dislocations for rodents or how to make a gas chamber for the rodents. Both are more humane and safer than just spinning g the rodent around. Plus, offering fresh killed allows to not have to monitor the way you should when feeding live.

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Post #1 was a small mouse and post #10 you say it was a rat??