Help switching from live to frozen!!!!

[californiakingsnake]

I bought a ball python a while ago and it just got shipped today, and will be here tomorrow. But I made a huge mistake and forgot to ask if it ate live or not (stupid I know). But when I gets here im going to let him settle for a while and attempt to feed him a warmed up f/t. If he doesnt take it, does anybody have any ideas on how to switch an adult ball python? Im not really into feeding live, just from the possible danger I have read about.

[hucklecookie]

Everything I am about to tell you is strictly from experience:

I bought an adult female ball python in November 2011. She was raised on live rats and even has scars on her skin from them biting her. I was ignorant to ball pythons when I bought her, period, so I figured live was the ONLY option. I fed her live about 6 times before I switched to frozen because:
1. My mom couldn't handle the scream she claimed she heard.
2. I didn't feel like baby-sitting her during feeding.
3. All the warnings & suggestions that frozen is better.

The first time I fed frozen, she seemed like she didn't want it. You have to wiggle it until they snap at it because once they snap at it they think they struck it (hurt it) and now they wrap around it and constrict it so they think they are killing it. (all experience).

It took me about 30 minutes of wiggling it and making her think it was alive but in the end... Success!

The next time was similar but not as long... maybe 15 minutes.

Now I feed her frozen religiously on Wednesday, she knows when its coming, and she strikes it and coils around it and eats it immediately.

From December-February she wouldn't eat and I was told this is normal as it is a hibernating type season. She was healthy and everything (she really worried me so I called the vet) and once it got closer to spring she ate and I was SOOOO relieved. So if yours goes through this process don't freak out like I did. Good luck dear!

Hucklecookie

[Mike41793]

3. All the warnings & suggestions that frozen is better.

There are no warnings/suggestions that make frozen better. Theyre most likely myths.

Live, if done properly, is just as safe as frozen, if done properly.

[hucklecookie]

Lol, anyway....

A frozen feeder won't kill your snake.

A live will.

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/in...1213656AAZXEfJ

END OF STORY. It's not rocket science on which is the better choice.

[Bushido]

What do you do with the dethawed mice if they don't eat them? Throw them away?

[LadyWraith]

I'm new to the site, but not new to the subject and have been researching the pros and cons avidly for the last few years before owning one of these amazing creatures. The above comment, from all the info I have obtained, is not correct. To start off, frozen actually can harm your snake with improper thawing techniques. Too hot can burn the snake and not thoroughly thawed can drop the snake's internal temperature. And yes, can cause death in some cases. From an unbiased point of view, both methods have equal risks of potential harm and when DONE PROPERLY, both methods are equally safe, effective ways to feed your pet. Millions of snake owners all over use both methods and never have any issues either way. The link provided above is an instance of irresponsible feeding... leaving the snake alone with live prey over night instead of monitoring the feeding session.
<--- Unwise if you're trying to decrease the potential for harm to your pet.

[hucklecookie]

Show me one instance, one article, one peice of factual information where it shows a frozen feeder rat has ever KILLED a snake.

- - - Updated - - -

What do you do with the live rat your snake doesn't eat? Feed it? House it? Pet #12.

[I-KandyReptiles]

I feed both live and f/t. While it would be nice for all of my snakes to eat f/t, I doubt it will happen.

There's risks to both f/t and live. I prefer frozen due to convenience(I live 45 mins from the pet store).

If someone won't eat live, I put it back in the mouse tank I have for them.

A lot of people recommend defrosting the mouse onto of the snakes cage. Once it's thawed, take a hair dryer and warm the mouse up, concentrating on it's head. By doing this near the snakes tank, you are prescenting the room.

Switching to f/t isn't always easy and will take time and patience. You might have to offer multiple times in different ways before your snake will decide to eat it

[I-KandyReptiles]

What do you do with the dethawed mice if they don't eat them? Throw them away?

If you defrost over night, I'd throw the mouse away. I throw a refused f/t out no matter how ived defrosted it. Refreezing tends to make the mice explode when the snake goes for it, ive found.

[LadyWraith]

I don't have to provide evidence. It's common sense. Scalding hot food down the gullet of a snake can do irreparable damage to and quite possibly kill it if hot enough. Just as common sense also denotes that leaving a live animal with a snake unsupervised could spell trouble. There are pros and cons to everything in life. This is really no different and honestly, it's a choice. If everyone agreed upon the best methods for their lifestyle, there wouldn't be choices.

Put the live rat/mouse back in a holder tank with some food and water until the next feeding attempt. About as simple as throwing away a thawed rat/mouse if uneaten and thawing a new one at the next feeding attempt.