Bp won't go back to frozen?

So, after a 5 month fast where she would eat neither live prey nor frozen thawed rats, I finally got my 1368g female pastel bp, Pandora, to eat a small live rat last week. Well, a week later, last night, I tried her on a medium f/t rat like I used to feed her and she seemed curious, but I couldn't get her to take it. I tried leaving it in with her overnight, but it was still there this morning.

So my question is, has anyone ever had a bp that suddenly went off of frozen prey and only took frozen? And if so, does anyone have any suggestions as to how to get her interested again, or should I just feed her live? Live prey is risky, expensive and inconvenient for me, but I have no moral issue with it, I just wish I could could get her back to eating the entire bag of rats I have in the freezer for her. Lol

I have males only, and and right around 700 grams, and/or I find a sperm plug, they usually stop eating regular during the winter months. Around December my big guys go anywhere from 3 to 6 months without eating. Come June and warmer temps outside, we’re back in business. I believe what so many have said, for a beginner species, they can be difficult eaters. That said, patience helps. I just picked up 200 jumbo mice on sale, because soon enough, I’ll need all of them. So maybe space out your feedings a bit more, till they’re ready to go back to taking frozen.

Did you change anything in the way you kept her? Have you started purchasing f/t rodents from a different place?

I've seen some switch from f/t and not go back, it's not highly common but it's been known to happen. I know that some can be picky about the color of the rat. If she was eating all white rodents, maybe make sure she's eating an all white one.

At the end of the day though it's just how ball pythons are.

Well, she stopped eating around thanksgiving and just ate the live rat last friday, she weighed 1500g at the beginning of the fast, and 1368 to so at the end. Conditions during that period of time changed only in the fact that her cool side went from being about 80 to about 77f, warm hide temps were the same at 87f

The frozen rats she is getting now are from rodent pro, and are varied in color, the rats the was eating before were from countrymax, and we're white, although I offered her some of those during her fast and she also refused them.

If she was fasting, then where from wouldn't of matterd. Now that she's off her fast though where you're getting them from could be the reason. I'm not saying it is, but could possibly be. I'm not a fan of rodentpro myself though, as I used them a long time ago.

Although we may not smell the difference, your BP could very well smell the difference, just food for thought.

True, and the live rat was also from countrymax... same company supplies both the frozen and live feeders... maybe I will grab a frozen rat next time I'm there and try it.

I hope that allows you to go back to f/t. I never was a fan of feeding live. Keep us updated though.

Thanks, I will.

Normally, I don't mind feeding live, but considering that I don't breed my own and that a small live rat costs 4 bucks a pop I would rather have her back to eating a more affordable food supply, especially since I'm hoping to breed her this fall and want her to gain some weight for that.

Update... tried a frozen feeder of the same source tonite, at first, she seemed interested, but once she crept in close for the "kill" she noticed something was off and lost interest. She last ate live the night of the 21st, so that's two live feedings since her fast, and two frozen refusals.

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Originally Posted by Alter-Echo

Update... tried a frozen feeder of the same source tonite, at first, she seemed interested, but once she crept in close for the "kill" she noticed something was off and lost interest. She last ate live the night of the 21st, so that's two live feedings since her fast, and two frozen refusals.

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Have you tried warming the feeder with a hairdryer seconds before offering??
That rarely fails if some initial interest is shown ...

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

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Originally Posted by Zincubus

Have you tried warming the feeder with a hairdryer seconds before offering??
That rarely fails if some initial interest is shown ...

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

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Yeah, I use a spare heating pad to heat prey before offering, doesn't seem to help much with her though, when I first got her and she was eating, she would even take prey at room temp.

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Originally Posted by Alter-Echo

Yeah, I use a spare heating pad to heat prey before offering, doesn't seem to help much with her though, when I first got her and she was eating, she would even take prey at room temp.

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Maybe just needs a little extra persuasion given he's had the taste of LIVE ... I'm wondering if a ten second blast with a hairdryer then offer INSTANTLY will work better than a heatmat .... if it's rejected simply give it another blast and again offer instantly .

Nothing to lose ..


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Zincubus

Maybe just needs a little extra persuasion given he's had the taste of LIVE ... I'm wondering if a ten second blast with a hairdryer then offer INSTANTLY will work better than a heatmat .... if it's rejected simply give it another blast and again offer instantly .

Nothing to lose ..


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

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Yeah, I may try that next time, rat held its heat well though, and after about 4 mins of playing rodent necromancer she crawled in her hide, annoyed and probably dissappointed.

Well, I'm stumped, she's still not eating frozen thawed. She will approach the rat, looking hungry, but then at the last minute pull back and want nothing to do with it. I've tried leaving it in overnight but to no avail. Warming trick doesn't seem to help any either. :confusd:

I've since talked to a few local keepers as well, nobody has ever had one that previously ate thawed suddenly demand only live again.... it's bizarre.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Alter-Echo

Well, I'm stumped, she's still not eating frozen thawed. She will approach the rat, looking hungry, but then at the last minute pull back and want nothing to do with it. I've tried leaving it in overnight but to no avail. Warming trick doesn't seem to help any either. :confusd:

I've since talked to a few local keepers as well, nobody has ever had one that previously ate thawed suddenly demand only live again.... it's bizarre.

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This is how they got the name "royal" pythons...they can be "royal pains", LOL. And yes, been there & seen this movie & bought the T-shirt. :rolleyes:

I don't like the risks of feeding live though: what I used to do was feed a small & helpless live "appetizer" (with the larger f/t thawed & ready to feed); if you feel
"lucky", you can let her swallow the live appetizer & hope she'll be pumped up enough to then just take the f/t rat also. She might But, if you're NOT feeling that
lucky, you can first get into stealth/ninja mode, & slowly & gracefully introduce the f/t rat's head right into her mouth before she closes it swallowing the "appetizer".
And if you're lucky & patient, you may only have to do this a few times to get her to where she'll take the f/t without the live appetizer first. Good luck...I feel
your pain. :weirdface They don't call 'em "royal" for nothing...