Can’t get my pastel ball python to eat anything but mice.! How to switch to rats??

[bcr229]

One other suggestion: buy dissolving-sutures (MUST be the kind that dissolves!!!) & stitch together a f/t mouse & small f/t rat. If he accepts that a few times, he may come to associate the rat smell & flavor as acceptable to eat also. Obviously you offer the mouse-side first, & you don't need any fancy sewing, just a bit to hold them together (rat nose to mouse butt). I'll see if I still have a link for buying dissolving sutures...I think it was bcr229 that posted about doing this a few years ago, but if not, you could explain to your vet why you need this & they might give or sell you some.

Yes, that was me. I used it to convert an adult female genetic stripe retic from jumbo rats to rabbits, because according to her prior owner she could put back ten jumbo rats per feeding (do the math on that food bill). I got her cheap because she was costing $50 per week to feed and he couldn't afford it. Boy was he PO'ed when I sent him a picture of her eating a rabbit a few weeks later. Long story short: I converted her by sewing a f/t rat's rear end to the f/t rabbit's head. Just make sure the total weight of the two feeders doesn't exceed a correct-sized meal.

I got them from a company called Mountainside Medical out of NY. They also sell silvadene without a prescription, so if you get the sutures go ahead and pick up some of that as well, since it's good to have on hand for snake boo-boo's.

[Bogertophis]

Yes, that was me. I used it to convert an adult female genetic stripe retic from jumbo rats to rabbits, because according to her prior owner she could put back ten jumbo rats per feeding (do the math on that food bill). I got her cheap because she was costing $50 per week to feed and he couldn't afford it. Boy was he PO'ed when I sent him a picture of her eating a rabbit a few weeks later. Long story short: I converted her by sewing a f/t rat's rear end to the f/t rabbit's head. Just make sure the total weight of the two feeders doesn't exceed a correct-sized meal.

I got them from a company called Mountainside Medical out of NY. They also sell silvadene without a prescription, so if you get the sutures go ahead and pick up some of that as well, since it's good to have on hand for snake boo-boo's.

I'll BET he WAS PO'd! But hey, you did the work & he didn't. $50 a week would be some food bill for one snake.

I've only done "chain feeding" without sewing items together, but if I ever needed to, I wouldn't hesitate.