Still not eating and VERY active

[Dracoluna]

Yeah, the mouse does get wet. I keep them in a ziploc, but they get wet inevitably. I pat them dry, which is what I gathered other people did. I'll definitely try heating by other methods though. Never thought about the water reducing the smell, but it must. My BP seems more receptive to smell than anything else, and my main gripe about trying F/T is that even when fully thawed, they don't smell as much as prekilled or live.

And I'll resort to braining if I have to. Thanks for the info.

Snakes go strictly by heat and smell when it comes to what is food. If it's the right temp and it smells like a rat, they should be alright.

Forget a rat under a heat lamp for 30 minutes and that will smell much worse than live or prekilled. Last time I did that, the second I walked into the snake room, every head was out and a couple were striking the sides of their containers. Honestly, a live rat shouldn't smell that much different than a f/t. Neither should have a strong odor to them. You could always try 'overheating' a little like that and then letting the rat cool back to temp for him. It still had that strong rodent smell to it once it cooled to 'live' temperature. Better yet, let it cool in the room he's in so he's sitting there smelling it. That will also help get him into a more receptive feeding mood.

Also, just be patient. It took me a bit to convince Reg (adult male who'd had nothing but live all his life) that he really could eat the rat I was holding. It was warm, dry, and he could smell it just fine but it wasn't live like he was used to. I still have to do a little rat dance with it though I've found that just the natural bit that my hand shakes is enough to entice him. It makes it vibrate which seems to work better than dragging it around the cage as if it were alive and free to roam. Another trick I've used is to leave the lights off in the room and just use the light from my phone, pointed at the ceiling. It keeps them more at ease especially if they are just switching over.

Hope something helps. I realize that I've gotten lucky in all of mine switching over immediately to f/t but animals also have different personalities. Eventually, you'll figure out what works best for him and it will all be gravy from there.

[Marduk]

5 weeks, and the little bugger still won't eat
He's only lost ~15-20g since he started refusing, but he's def. looking thinner..
Keep going? (any encouragement for the reluctant newb is welcomed)

[lX V1P3R Xl]

I had problems switching my BP to f/t. I finally found a way that worked, you should try it.

Thaw the rat (in a sandwich bag) in bucket of hot water till its mostly thawed. Dump the water out and fill the bucket again with hot water. Let it sit till its fully thawed. When its done, take the rat (still in the bag) and put it in your sink, let hot water drain onto its HEAD ONLY for about 3 minutes or so. After that, take it out of the bag and with a pair of tongs, drag the rat on the bottom of the tank like it's alive and moving. My BP goes for it a good 75-90% of the time!

I used to feed my BP live and she was just like yours, a non stop eater (I even fed her twice a week). When I switched to frozen, I tried every trick people told me and nothing ever worked. I randomly tried what I just explained to you and it seems to be working great! I've been feeding her like this for about 3 or 4 months now.

Good luck!

[mercerasian]

I have no clue why your BP would still be refusing to eat F/T but maybe my method of preparing F/T rats for feeding will help you.

I get my rats freshly gassed from a rat breeder near me in a big ziploc bag. When I get home, I weigh and individually bag each rat and throw them all in the freezer. When I am ready to feed one to my BP, I just take one of the ziploc bags out without letting it defrost slowly or anything. I then get hot water from the tap in a cup. The water is hotter than most people want to put their hand under. I then place the cup in the same room as my BP and open the ziploc bag. I then slide the rat down to one of the corners of the bag so its head is in a corner (this is because the bag tends to want to float). I then use my fingers/tongs to push the ziploc bag into the hot water in the cup until the portion of the bag with the rat in it is underwater, careful to not get the open end of the bag in the water, then just place tongs or something over the top of the bag so it'll kind of stay down in the water and not float up too much. Leave the rat for a bit and come back later to check on it, it should be mostly thawed and soft now, I then get a fresh cup of hot water and put the bag back in for just a little bit to get the body temp up on the rat. I then take the rat out and place the head under the heat lamp (Note: The rat never gets wet) for a few seconds, this usually gets my BP out of his hide and sniffing for the rat, then it's time to feed him and it usually takes less than 10 seconds for him to strike and coil.

If needed, I'll take pictures on Tuesday when I feed him.

[Marduk]

I have no clue why your BP would still be refusing to eat F/T...

You and me both.

Last week I prepared a frozen mouse purchased from a local pet store. I heated him up well under a CHE to avoid getting him wet. The mouse became so soft, his stomach ripped open when I picked him up with tongs. The room reeked of dead mouse. My BP was very responsive to the smell and became SUPER active. I tried feeding him the opened mouse but no go... Mouse temp was about 98 degrees, and his head was 103 (according to my IR gun). He "smells" the food when presented and just stares at it. Zombie dance does nothing; leaving it overnight does nothing.

So envious of all the stories I read where people say, "Hey, just tried F/T and he just took it!" Grrr.

[Dracoluna]

You and me both.

Last week I prepared a frozen mouse purchased from a local pet store. I heated him up well under a CHE to avoid getting him wet. The mouse became so soft, his stomach ripped open when I picked him up with tongs. The room reeked of dead mouse. My BP was very responsive to the smell and became SUPER active. I tried feeding him the opened mouse but no go... Mouse temp was about 98 degrees, and his head was 103 (according to my IR gun). He "smells" the food when presented and just stares at it. Zombie dance does nothing; leaving it overnight does nothing.

So envious of all the stories I read where people say, "Hey, just tried F/T and he just took it!" Grrr.

I'll admit I'm one of those lucky people with my guys though my big male still occasionally looks at me like I'm crazy and goes back in his hide but he was on live for 2 years before being switched. He prefers if I dangle it right outside his hide and let it just kind of tremble. If I move it too much, he won't touch it. He also pulls it back into his hide immediately.

A trick for thawing them out without having them pop like that (nothing smells worse than that!) is to let them thaw in the fridge or on the counter (fridge is safer) before heating them up slowly. Every time I've tried to quick thaw whether it's in the oven on low or under a heat lamp, the strikes either have to be to the head or I'm cleaning rat guts up off my snakes and cages. Only my corns will eat an exploded dinner but they'll eat anything... My bp's lose their appetite. When heating, try it in the room with him. If it gets a little too warm, it will smell more and if you can get him in that excited mood before trying to feed it to him, hopefully it will help with a strike and constrict. Just let it cool off some before offering so he doesn't get burned.

[Marduk]

Another bump..

Can anyone chime in for me re: how long a 6 month old ball python can safely go off feed? I'm approaching 6 weeks at this point. I know adults can go much longer, but I have no idea what's safe/appropriate for 6 months. He's holding weight at 465g pretty steadily at this point (see pic above).

[Annarose15]

I let my F/T rats sit at room temp to thaw (3-4 hours for smalls, less for smaller). I then hit the head with a hair dryer (on high) for ~30 seconds and offer it to my BPs with tongs (holding the scruff, not tail). My BPs are so conditioned to this now that I don't even attempt to feed any that aren't out roaming the tub within a minute of me switching on the hair dryer.

Add: As long as he's holding his weight, he's fine.