live feeding techniques

hey all, so mr. fred is still being picky on feeding and i was wondering if there is a technique that seems to work for others when feeding live rats. my techniques in the past have consisted of putting the rat in a small carrier on top of the cage for a while then removing one hide and water dish and then dropping rat into cage and watch, ive also tired setting carrier inside cage for a while, remove same items and when fred pokes his head out i release the rat and watch, removing only a hide with same scenting technique, removing all hides and bowl with same scenting . . . . anyways, all these methods have come with varying degrees of success. i have not yet found a technique that he prefers and was curious if ya'll had some ideas.

thanks

Chappy

I just wait until they are plenty hungry. 7-14 days for adults. Then leave the rat in its box, nearby the snake for a little while, so the snake catches the scent. Then i open the enclosure and drop the rat in there as quickly as possible, so i dont get bit! My snakes eat thawed rats like clockwork, if i gave then live they would strike it before it hit the floor!

what are your temps? I had a snake fast on me, and it turned out the ambient temperature was too low. Now that i have their temps all perfect, they all eat like clockwork

Never remove hides ever. Hides are places of security and cover. Removing them increases stress and levels of insecurity. What time of day are you attempting to feed? Ball pythons are nocturnal hunters so during the day and even into evening might not be the opportune time. Personally I would never drop a rat into a cage to allow it to roam free in any non venomous snake. My preferred method would be to prekill the rodent right before offering but some people are not capable of dispatching prey so I would not offer until your snake starts to exit his hide and then only dangle the prey in front of him, never drop it suddenly. That's me and it might not work for you. I also no longer feed live for convenience (can't find live rodents near me) and safety (too many time snakes get hurt with larger prey).

Is there a reason you are still needing to feed live prey? Does your snake not accept frozen thaw or prekilled? That can happen and no judgement on you just trying to understand the necessity for feeding live prey.

Don’t remove the hides, it stresses the snake and scares it rather than entices it to eat. Make sure your temperatures and humidity are correct and that heat sources are regulated by thermostat. Assuming your husbandry is on point, it may be the way you are heating or presenting the prey item. Does your snake poke his head out of/exit his hide or show any interest when you leave the rat carrier near him?

Frozen thawed prey is safer and more convenient to feed than live, if your snake will accept it. I would recommend it over live feedings, for those reasons.

I guess I’m lucky (so far). Tyrion starts inching his nose out of the hide as soon as I enter the room with the rat in the brown paper bag. By the time I have weighed the bag and rat (later subtracting the empty bag weight to get the rat weight - I’m a bit obsessive lol) he is practically at the glass with his snoot! I use forceps and put the rats face in front of his, and he strikes after about 1 sec. I don’t drop the live rat in there, and if he’s not interested (which hasn’t been an issue yet), I’d remove the rat and put it bag in the bag on top of his cage and try again in about 15 minutes, based on his interest.

I’d say “Don’t remove any hides!” But it’s already been said lol.


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Originally Posted by sparky767

I guess I’m lucky (so far). Tyrion starts inching his nose out of the hide as soon as I enter the room with the rat in the brown paper bag. By the time I have weighed the bag and rat (later subtracting the empty bag weight to get the rat weight - I’m a bit obsessive lol) he is practically at the glass with his snoot! I use forceps and put the rats face in front of his, and he strikes after about 1 sec. I don’t drop the live rat in there, and if he’s not interested (which hasn’t been an issue yet), I’d remove the rat and put it bag in the bag on top of his cage and try again in about 15 minutes, based on his interest.

I’d say “Don’t remove any hides!” But it’s already been said lol.


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Is a brown paper bag secure enough to hold a live rat !?



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Originally Posted by Zincubus

Is a brown paper bag secure enough to hold a live rat !?



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The place I get mine from double bags but anything bigger than a hopper gets a box. I have had a hopper make it through the first bag on the way home so I wouldn't suggest it.

sorry for the absence. thank you all for the replies, my temps stay in the mid to high 70's on the "cool" side and mid to high 80's on the hot side with a humidity around 50-60%.

as far as fresh killed, i have tried it and it has never worked for me. again, i dont know if im not presenting well or what.

the reason for feeding live is, that is what works more often than not and i can return a live rat to my supplier in exchange for a card which i can come back later and use to get another rat.

and finally the reason for removing hides is because the rats tend to run in them and stay there and im just trying to make it easier for the snake to eat

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Originally Posted by Zincubus

Is a brown paper bag secure enough to hold a live rat !?



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Considering they are more than capable of eating through a standard plastic mortar mixing tub, I would say no lol

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Originally Posted by KevinK

Considering they are more than capable of eating through a standard plastic mortar mixing tub, I would say no lol

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That's why I was shocked :)


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anyone else have any more ideas?

ok so its been about a month an a half and im getting worried. he still wont eat but he doesnt seem to be loosing any weight (my scale crapped out on me so im going by visual). does anyone have any other methods of feeding live? i dont really want to go to F/K because of the lack of feeding i feel ill end up wasting rats

You sure your husbandry is on point? You should give us some details on his setup so we can help you out if there's something incorrect.

IMO it's ok to remove clutter (i.e. unoccupied hide, waterbowl, decor, etc.) prior to a feed but do not remove any hide that contains your snake. it's not necessary tho b/c if your snake is hungry and everything is ok, he would smell the live rat and begin pursuit; or ambush it when it gets close enough.

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Originally Posted by MD_Pythons

You sure your husbandry is on point? You should give us some details on his setup so we can help you out if there's something incorrect.

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^ this. i think it's time to try troubleshooting your husbandry. what's you temps and humidity like? what's your enclosure like? is that lil BP next to the great big waterbowl in your avatar your snake? also what size "rat" are u trying to feed?

I have a pair of forceps I use to hold the mouse/rat by the tail then dangle it about 6" in front of my snake. I let them put their front feet down on the substrate so they try and move around. I've been lucky that my girl has never refused a meal. The second I put the mouse in there, her head pokes out of her hide and she nails it!

husbandry is ok, ambient temps around 78-80 deg F. hot side around 90 deg F. humidity is a little low around 50% (i cant seem to get it any higher) you think humidity could be a problem?

AX01, that is indeed my snake, it is an older pic but that is also a large dog bowl and i am feeding smallish mediums. snake is around 1k grams

Just wanted to play proud papa today! I had been feeding a large mouse every 5th day, and my girl was eating great and growing fast. So today I decided a large mouse wasn't gonna do the trick, and I got her a small rat. I was a little worried it may be too large, but she took it down like a champ without a problem.