Switching from live to frozen

[Cvossos]

I've just gotten a 156g butter ball python. The breeder has always fed him live rats. I use f/t for my other snakes and want to switch him over but I hear it's pretty hard... Any advice??

[Reinz]

Welcome to the forum CV.

I converted my 13 year old BP that had only had live. And a 4 yr old + Boa as well.

The two main things for me that contributed to our success were:

1) Skip a complete feeding cycle to insure hunger.

2) Heat the rat's head and neck to around 95 degrees + or - on both sides and back.
The rest of the body can be 10 degrees less, but the head is for the heat signature for the snake.

Stay in the fight, you can do it!

[Cvossos]

Thanks for the advice! I appreciate it. I thought about heating it too. I just got him so I'm going to leave him for a week and let him settle in then he should be hungry, hopefully he goes for it!

[tbowman]

Just try.

[200xth]

but I hear it's pretty hard... Any advice??

Depends almost entirely on the snake.

Some will take to it extremely easily. Offer FT food, the snake takes it instantly, there is literally nothing you need to do.

Some will take to it slowly and require a bit of time and/or effort.

Some will refuse it entirely and accept only live.

The only way to find out is to offer and see what happens.

I will say that at 156g, if your snake does not switch easily after a couple of attempts, you may want to feed live for a while and wait until the snake has put on some weight to try switching again. I personally feel at that size it's more important the snake eats and gains weight than what it eats.

[Cvossos]

I totally agree. I'm willing to feed whatever he ll eat until he's bigger and has some more weight on him. F/t is just easier for me but I will feed him live until I think he's ready to try again, he may only ever take live I guess I'll just have to see. Just looking for any tricks that anyone may have picked up

[PitOnTheProwl]

Just keep an eye on the weight.
Make sure he doesnt loose too much.
Also make sure your head is harder than his LoL

[Eric Alan]

I've never had much trouble getting the little ones to switch over to f/t. As Reinz said, make sure you're getting the f/t completely defrosted and up to the right temps (I personally aim for the 100-105°F range) and they will typically take it without issue. The one I had that was a little more stubborn I kept offering live weekly but would try f/t once a month or so to see if anything changed. It took her gaining a few hundred grams (from 300 to ~500 grams) over the course of a couple of months on live before she finally hit a f/t rat. I just had to be patient with her and let her decide when she was ready. Since then, she's been one of my most reliable f/t garbage disposals.

Patience and consistency are key.

[SCWood]

Mine is over a year old and was 196g when I bought him. I was told he ONLY ate live mice. When I got him, he was skinnier than expected so I offered him a f/t rat pup after 48 hours to line him up with all the other schedules and BAM no issue there.

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[chocolatepudding]

Also try to make sure the rat is completely dry, some snakes (like mine) just really dont like wet feed. I heat and dry mine with a hairdryer.