Switching to f/t?

[AlfredoBP]

Hi everyone

My boy consistently eats live for me, but I've been hoping to switch him to f/t for his safety and my convenience. Today was his feeding day and I offered him f/t for the first time in a while, but he didn't take it. I was wondering if anyone had tips on getting ball pythons to start eating f/t? I'm interested in hearing others' experiences with switching their BPs over. I am new to keeping snakes so I have never tried this before. Anything helps!

[KMG]

You want to present it warm, very warm. A rats body temp is just over 100F so the offered food item should be close to that.

That with alittle wiggle dangling the food by the tail.

[Faith.luu]

You could transition your bp by introducing pre killed and then trying frozen thawed after being on pre killed for a few weeks.

At the same darken the enclosure as much as possible. Reduce handling to a minimum. Make sure humidity and temps are good, and place them in a smaller enclosure if you can. I’d wait a week so that they can adjust. Then offer pre killed, if they take it then awesome. Stuck with it for a few more weeks then offer ft.

When you do offer frozen thawed, I would definitely heat up the rat. I like to place it in warmer water that’s around 34-36 degrees for about 3-5 min. This will get the rat up to ‘normal’ temperatures which will make it seem more alive. If placing it in front of them doesn’t work, I would leave the rat in the cage and check on it the next morning to see if they ate it or not. It happens to my bp sometimes. I’ll offer a rat but she doesn’t strike. I heat up the rat again and 10-15 min later I leave it just in front of her hide, and it’s gone the next morning. I’m not saying this will be that same outcome for you, but it’s worth a try.

[Absololol]

Stuff that helped me:

*Defrost the rodent and let it thaw in the same room as the snake to get the scent wafting around.
*Feed at night. Balls are nocturnal. If you emulate the 'heat signature' of the rodent in the dark you'll have a better chance of success.
*Once the rodent is fully defrosted, take a hairdryer and heat it up, focusing on the head (it's hotter than the rest of the body which is how they know how to strike there.) I make sure my snakes vivarium is open so the hairdryer blows the scent around so she really knows it's dinner time.
*Don't hold the rodent by its tail. Use the tongs to grip its midsection because rats don't come flying down from the sky by the tail. Then just slowly attempt to emulate a bumbling rodent. If it isn't taken within the first few minutes I would re heat and try again.

Good luck.

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[Zincubus]

All the above ... plus ... try the hairdryer method ..I’ll send it to you ..




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[AlfredoBP]

Thanks all! I will be trying out these suggestions. I'm going to research feeding pre-killed before attempting

Just one question: if he doesn't eat the f/t or pre-killed I offer him, should I go back to live next feeding day? or should I continue to offer the f/t or pre-killed on the next feeding day?

[Zincubus]

Thanks all! I will be trying out these suggestions. I'm going to research feeding pre-killed before attempting

Just one question: if he doesn't eat the f/t or pre-killed I offer him, should I go back to live next feeding day? or should I continue to offer the f/t or pre-killed on the next feeding day?

I’d say you’re better having a few more tries first - leaving it 7 to 10 days between each attempt .


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