Thanks Zincubus and others. First meal successful!

I used Zincubus hair dryer method and his recommendation to wait until night time. Freddy had his first meal (with me) tonight after getting him on Wed from breeder. I waited until midnight and he was already out of his hide coiled up and looking around. Rat fuzzy was 98f and he struck within 10 seconds. Thanks Zinc and thanks to the other members also with their tips and the feeding chart. I'm happy he ate.

Awesome! I'll be going through these same steps soon. How did you thaw the f/t? Hot water? Sit out at room temp? Etc....

Both will work... it doesn't matter the method. What's important is heating the head with the hair dryer so your ball thinks the rat is alive.

That's so great to hear !!!
As time goes on you will get more and more confident of course EVEN if he refuses the odd time or so .

Two of my five Royals eat every time but ONLY if I offer every ten to 14 days ... They're just not interested in eating every week ... Oddly the other three would eat every few days given the chance :)

Snakes are all soooo different !


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Beginner questions here. So if the BP is not interested in eating at the time, are you constantly thawing and throwing out the rat/mouse? How long do you usually dangle the f/t before giving up? Do you ever leave it in the cage for a short time and/or when do you try again?

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Originally Posted by ckuhn003

Beginner questions here. So if the BP is not interested in eating at the time, are you constantly thawing and throwing out the rat/mouse? How long do you usually dangle the f/t before giving up? Do you ever leave it in the cage for a short time and/or when do you try again?

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I thaw naturally in the snake room , sometimes on a heatmat and sometimes put the rodent/s in a sealed plastic bag and dunk in really warm water ( if I'm short of time)

So then when I'm due to feed , I make sure the viv is unlocked and there's some card on top of the substrate to minimise bark ingestion ... Then I get the mouse/rat by the tail in some tongs and give the rodents head / top half a 10 to 15 second blast with the hairdryer ( hottest setting ) .... then IMMEDIATELY dangle it in front of the snake . They're usually ready and waiting .... Mine all now prefer to strike from inside their hides so I dangle it in front of the entrance for about 15 seconds but no longer as it cools down quickly , if there's a hint of interest such as head movement or tongue flicking then that gives me confidence and I repeat the procedure .... Hot blast and immediately offer ..... repeat as often as it takes ... If there is simply no interest though , either it's going into shed or not hungry ( couple of mine eat every two weeks even though I offer every week just in case ) .


I've tried leaving the rodent in with my Royals but they simply aren't interested ... as soon as I do the hairdryer trick they take it instantly and that's if it's been left in with them for a few hours .

If there is no interest I just try them a week later .

Luckily with 20 snakes inc Boas , Burms , Corns and Kings there are no wasted rats :)

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Quote:

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Originally Posted by Zincubus

Then I get the mouse/rat by the tail in some tongs and give the rodents head / top half a 10 to 15 second blast with the hairdryer ( hottest setting ) .... then IMMEDIATELY dangle it in front of the snake

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this...i did exactly zinc said and it works like a charm. my girl is eating f/t!! [emoji1316][emoji16]
one question: how long can you keep the rats frozen in fridge? is 2-3 months ok? i'm planning to stock up cause delivery is hard and expensive.

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Originally Posted by halfnakedlife

this...i did exactly zinc said and it works like a charm. my girl is eating f/t!! [emoji1316][emoji16]
one question: how long can you keep the rats frozen in fridge? is 2-3 months ok? i'm planning to stock up cause delivery is hard and expensive.

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I'm so pleased to hear about your success !

Spend the word and help anyone else you see having troubles !!


As regards freezing I get a new batch every 6- 8 weeks and have no issues .

I'm sure someone will know how long you / we can keep rodents in the freezer though ..


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Quote:

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Originally Posted by Zincubus

I thaw naturally in the snake room , sometimes on a heatmat and sometimes put the rodent/s in a sealed plastic bag and dunk in really warm water ( if I'm short of time)

So then when I'm due to feed , I make sure the viv is unlocked and there's some card on top of the substrate to minimise bark ingestion ... a

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very helpful info but I'm not sure what 'card on top of substrate' means..... I've heard of the possibility of the BP ingesting some substrate but wasn't sure if it was a common / serious issue and how to rectify it.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by ckuhn003

Beginner questions here. So if the BP is not interested in eating at the time, are you constantly thawing and throwing out the rat/mouse? How long do you usually dangle the f/t before giving up? Do you ever leave it in the cage for a short time and/or when do you try again?

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If one of my f/t eaters don't eat I just throw it back into freezer. You can refreeze at least a couple times.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by ckuhn003

very helpful info but I'm not sure what 'card on top of substrate' means..... I've heard of the possibility of the BP ingesting some substrate but wasn't sure if it was a common / serious issue and how to rectify it.

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Just put some card or thin cardboard on top of the substrate and the rodent on top of the card / cardboard .


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Quote:

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Originally Posted by Zincubus

Just put some card or thin cardboard on top of the substrate and the rodent on top of the card / cardboard .


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So I have to risk having my fingers being chewed on by a hungry snake trying to get that cardboard in their before feeding time??? :tears:

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Originally Posted by ckuhn003

So I have to risk having my fingers being chewed on by a hungry snake trying to get that cardboard in their before feeding time??? :tears:

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Oddly enough .... I will sometimes put the card in using tongs ( Kings snakes ) but for the others I simply put the card in the vivs in the morning / afternoon when they are usually asleep or at least very docile ..


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Quote:

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Originally Posted by SPIDERBALL

If one of my f/t eaters don't eat I just throw it back into freezer. You can refreeze at least a couple times.

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Somebody is risking mouse grenades. :P

I always defrost mine in a spare tub in the racks - I think having the scent wafting around for a couple of hours gets them in the feeding mood more consistently.

LOL Dr. Del... I read all about those. Hope it never happens.. pretty messy.

Yep, feeding in late evening after pre-scenting the room has turned my boy from a skip-week feeder in the breeder's care to a weekly. He's even starting to pick up speed on striking these last few weeks with female rats.

So it has been 47 hrs since he ate and tonight I took him out for the first time (I waited until he was awake). He was really stiff and breathing rapidly, but I just held him and lightly stroke his side. After 20 min, tongue started flicking and he started moving around a little. He was out roughly 40 min and he went back in tub. Can't wait for tomorrow night, to do it all over again. Here are 2 pictures from a crappy point and shoot camera:

[IMG]https://ball-pythons.net/forums/cach...%2FQzoO4Sw.jpg[/IMG]

[IMG]https://ball-pythons.net/forums/cach...%2FzCFfiXM.jpg[/IMG]