Going live to frozen thawed...

[Joe balls]

Hi all!
this is my first post but I've been getting a lot of ball python info here and reading your guys tips for a little while now.
I've been bitten by the ball python bug, (forgive the pun) it started when I brought my two daughters to the pet store to get food for are bearded and chineese water dragon and they had hatchling ball pythons, they were so cute and very friendly not shying away or balling up ,just content being held! so I was sold. We got home set everything up and let our new baby just chill and get used to her new surroundings. The next day she came out to us and took her frozen thawed pinkie no probs, it's been a few weeks feeding is a easy. her eyes blued and from my insight gained here I knew it ment she was ready to be left alone, it's almost time to shed, her eyes cleared up and I bumped the humidity up alittle and as expected she started her she'd the next day. So I'm thinking I'm a pro now looking at rack systems and amagining all the beautiful morphs I can load it up with but I'm alittle more practical than that so I first look at Craig's list to find supplies and rack prices and came across a guy giving his son Bp away with an "enclosure" it was in my town so I went to check it out and the poor guy had stuck shed all over and bad on top of the head and eye caps too. From this sight I felt confident enough to take this little pastel home and give him the care he needed. We got home and I gave him a good soak and let him exfoliate climbing through a warm damp towel worked very well and he let me assist him with the eye caps no prob he also took a f/t hopper right after his bath so he was in his hew clean home all shed and fed warm and happy. Next was Butters and he is our pretty boy as you probly could have guessed he's a butter and amazing looking acquired from a girl in the next town that wanted to start breeding but never did it. He's alittle older maybe a year or 18 mo. If I had a scale I would weigh him. I'm thinking he is half the size of 1500 gram breeders so around 750
she told me he eats frozen thawed but this is where I have hit my first Bp step Thant haven't gone as expected. We got him home set him up all warm and hides and all a happy snake, I take him out to eat and his little tongue starts going and he strikes the frozen thawed meal but didn't coil up on it and left it alone just wouldn't take it. Tried again a few days later and same thing strikes at it but then leaves it . I'm wondering if he realizes it's dead and doesn't want it after he strikes it. I'd Rather not try to feed him live but I am now thinking that's what he was used to not frozen thawed like she said. so how do I make frozen more life like? my others eat like champs even taking the meals this guy has leftover my bearded dragon has a taste now for the thawed uneaten mice too so they didn't go to waste.
i also just got a adult female giant 4ft normal last week that is amazing. Holding such a strong snake is different. She is so mellow sitting wrapped around my neck and down my sleeve stayin warm watching tv with me. She also only eats live but I knew that coming into it this time and fed her a large live rat and I was glad my daughters didn't watch cause it screamed and faught! I was thinking next time she eats I'm gonna cut the rats nails before hand so it can't scratch her

well this got very long, thanks for reading it and any help or tricks you have found useful switching live to frozen thawed would be great

Joe

[DVirginiana]

You can thaw the f/t prey in a baggie in warm water, then hit it with a blowdryer after it's thawed to heat up the skin and make it seem more alive. If you aren't already, you can also use the tongs to make the mouse 'dance'. If you end up deciding to feed live, just remember to supervise the feeding (and probably be ready with a pencil or tongs or something to put in the prey's mouth if it starts biting your BP).