Converting Live to F/T Mice

[Natail]

Anyone have tips on converting a BP from live mice to frozen?

My breeder just informed me that they feed their snakes live prey, and that I should continue to feed live mice for at least 2-3 times/weeks before changing to frozen, so that there's a bit less of stress of change for the snake.

The problem is, the place where I live in, doesnt sell mice in the petstores, and no one here's a breeder of live snake food.

I can ask the petstore tomorrow, if they know where to get mice/feeding mice/rats.

So, if anyone has tips on converting snakes from live to frozen as quick as possible, that would be great.
I found 4 mice locally and will feed those for now when (and if i can) get them, they're a bit young but I guess it could do.

edit: i don't know if this is the proper category for this, sorry if it's wrong lol

[MD_Pythons]

Honestly, if you can't get live prey where you live you should just get a snake that's reliably feeding on f/t.

[mamaodie]

Honestly, if you can't get live prey where you live you should just get a snake that's reliably feeding on f/t.

I agree.

I know it might sting, but from experience the difficulty of setting up a snake that isn't readily eating the prey you have available to you is beyond un-manageable.

Is the breeder local to you? Perhaps you could work out purchasing feeders from the breeder if so. I wouldn't suggest diving into the idea of breeding your own just so that you can get a snake either. Personally, once I felt comfortable enough to try and switch to f/t we didn't have any trouble, but you don't want your snake to starve because offered prey items aren't recognized as food. (I drove 3 hours round trip every days for two months to aquire live prey for my first snake because he wouldn't eat otherwise, it sucked)

I can't suggest enough to get the snake that you can manage to keep healthy.

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[Lord Sorril]

There is no guarantee that a BP that has been fed live will not eat f/t on the first attempt.
It becomes an issue over time if the snake continually refuses and begins to lose body condition.
I have never had a live feeder that I could not trick to eat f/t (with enough work).

Dirty gerbil bedding is especially great for scenting f/t rodents for the BP with discriminating tastes...

Best of Luck!

[Cheesenugget]

Did you buy your snake already?

If not, I would suggest getting a different snake, like a corn or king, or already established feeder. Ball pythons are notorious for being picky feeders. I think that is the #1 complaint on forums and always mentioned in every bp care sheet published out there. I personally went through that stressful period myself with my bp and it was not fun at all.

If you already bought your snake, I assume it is still a hatching, I fed mine 2-3 hoppers at the start. You can go bigger and start with a small mouse or rat pinkie. Leave your mice in the fridge over night, then dip in the hottest temp water from your sink for 15 min, do it again for another 15 min, then blow dry it 20-30 on both sides, especially its head. Your mouse tummy should feel squishy (Don't pinch it too hard). Using the hemostat, grab the skin near the hind quarters area and present it to your snake. Do the zombie dance if needed. It should strike in a matter of seconds.

If it did not strike, try reheating it and offer again. If still not striking, you can leave it overnight and see what happens. I tried that method and it never worked for me.

I feed only at night, same time every week, and I always make sure his hide is facing away from me so I don't distract him when presenting his food. I also feed in the dark. I don't handle him 24 hours before feeding and 24 hours after. In your case, and I did this as well, for new snakes do not handle it until it eats its first or second meal.

Most importantly is the set up. If the set up is wrong, your snake will not eat. If it is in shed, it may not eat but I had fed mine during shed. If it feels insecure in a highly traffic area, not enough hiding spots or not snuggly enough, etc... It will not eat. Of course, if the mice is not warm enough, it will not eat.

I would recommend trying 1 attempt at f/t, then feed it what it ate before for at least 2 meals then try again.

Also, one huge decision factor you need to consider is access to a vet. If you don't have an exotic vet who has experience with snakes, forget about it.

[WhompingWillow]

How old is the snake? I was a little worried when we got Clark because, at ~2 months, he was eating live hoppers from the breeder. But after leaving him be for the first week and using advice on here (ie, hair dryer trick to warm up a thawed mouse) he's taken F/T no problem so far. We haven't had to feed him live at all. 🙌

[BC's Balls]

I have successfully converted all my '17s to FT except one. As my collection grows I am starting some breeder colonies of mice and rats (actually tomorrow) but for now and the next couple months FT is all I have as well although I have access to live. Every one that I got from breeders were being fed live and all took FT on the first try with one exception. The key seems to be the temperature of the prey. I generally thaw at room temperature in my snakeroom which seems to elicit feeding activity. Then I heat the thawed prey with a hair dryer until the entire rat-mouse is over 100 degrees and the head is about 110 measured with a heat gun. My Pastel Vanilla girl is being stubborn. She even hit and wrapped on two occasions but left it and never ate it. I am picking up a live rat pup tomorrow to try that.

Most will switch over once 200+g without much issue but there is an occasional stubborn one like my Pastel Vanilla. She will get it but as my breeder rodents start to produce I am probably going to switch to live prey I produce for cost and ease of feeding. Once my breeder collection reaches 20-30+ FT will be a huge pain and every breeder I know feeds live prey with no issues at all. I was a HUGE holdout on only wanting snakes that are established on FT but its not always possible when searching for specific genetics.

[Natail]

Thanks to all of you for the helpful responses. Sorry for the late reply, for a while the first 2 replies was all I saw, and it wasn't very helpful.. So I forgot about the thread, but now am checking back.
I got my snake on the 26th, and I've fed him every 5 days, since (as some people that I've asked said that) he might be a little underweight. When I got him he was around 230g with 9months.
I've gotten 4 live mice and just fed the 3rd yesterday.

Dirty gerbil bedding is especially great for scenting f/t rodents for the BP with discriminating tastes...
Best of Luck!

I'm definitely gonna try that. I'll keep the mouse bedding, and if that doesn't work, I'll just get a little scoop from my cousin's pet gerbil's enclosure.

Also, one huge decision factor you need to consider is access to a vet. If you don't have an exotic vet who has experience with snakes, forget about it.

Thanks for the helpful (hopefully) answer!! Yes, I've researched and found an exotic vet around 30 minutes away from us.
I will take your tips in thought.

How old is the snake? I was a little worried when we got Clark because, at ~2 months, he was eating live hoppers from the breeder. But after leaving him be for the first week and using advice on here (ie, hair dryer trick to warm up a thawed mouse) he's taken F/T no problem so far. We haven't had to feed him live at all. 🙌

He's around 9 months already. And, so far, he eats good. Live mice though. One time he struck and then let go and stared at the dead mouse for around 20 minutes. But other than that, he just struck and ate immediately 3 of the 4 mice i've gotten.

I have successfully converted all my '17s to FT except one. As my collection grows I am starting some breeder colonies of mice and rats (actually tomorrow) but for now and the next couple months FT is all I have as well although I have access to live. Every one that I got from breeders were being fed live and all took FT on the first try with one exception. The key seems to be the temperature of the prey. I generally thaw at room temperature in my snakeroom which seems to elicit feeding activity. Then I heat the thawed prey with a hair dryer until the entire rat-mouse is over 100 degrees and the head is about 110 measured with a heat gun. My Pastel Vanilla girl is being stubborn. She even hit and wrapped on two occasions but left it and never ate it. I am picking up a live rat pup tomorrow to try that.

Most will switch over once 200+g without much issue but there is an occasional stubborn one like my Pastel Vanilla. .

I hope my boy converts as easy as (most) of your 17s!!

[enginee837]

All of our babies start on live left in their enclosure. After a few good meals I will start trying to get them feeding from tongs. Once they are used to taking food from tongs I start feeding fresh killed. Once they begin taking fresh killed I start with f/t.
Make sure you are feeding at night for the best chance of success. Use a hair dryer to get the head of the f/t mouse up to 100-108f. It seems they take f/t more readily when they are nice and warm.
Good luck.

[Team Slytherin]

You never know. Your snake may convert without a second thought. I don’t have a bp, but I did pick up a Dumeril’s Boa last year and they’re about as food finicky as snakes get. When I got her, she’d only been fed live. But ironically, she refused food so often, I decided to switch her over to f/t because I got tired of trying to keep a mouse alive for a week until we could try again 😂 She accepted on the first try, no trickery needed.