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  1. #1
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    Transferring very shy bp from live to ft help?

    Good morning!
    For the last +2 months I've been trying to get my new ball python to switch from live to frozen. I've tried a few different things ( feeding him at night, braining, chicken broth,putting him in a smaller enclosure with ft rat) and he doesn't seem interested at all. He'll flick his tongue a few times and follow it for a bit, but he never strikes at it. If I try to much he gets scared and will go back into his hide right away if he's out and about. When I go to feed him he's usually always in his hide, if he is I leave the rat in front of the hide. I leave the rat in the enclosure over night but no luck either way. When I first weighed him he was 558 grams, he's now down to 516 ( he also pooped and shed during these weighings ) I don't handle him at all, unless it's to weigh him. Which has been 3 times. Should I feed him live or keep giving him tough love until he eats FT? I just worry he's loosing to much weight. His last meal was on April 13th. He turned a year old in June.
    Thank you so much in advance!

  2. #2
    BPnet Lifer redshepherd's Avatar
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    Give him tough love, and I would only offer once a week, or even skip a week and offer after 2 weeks. Otherwise to leave him be. I wouldn't worry unless he's lost enough weight that he looks too skinny in appearance.

    When offering the rat in front of the hide, definitely just hold it steady there at the opening with the tongs, even if it takes a few minutes. That has the higher chance of getting him to strike at the rat, since your hand naturally provides subtle movements. Don't wiggle it too hard or swing it around, which I see a lot of people do but does not look realistic.

    Heat the rat with a blowdryer before offering, particularly the head, and make sure the rat is dry.
    Last edited by redshepherd; 07-03-2020 at 09:07 PM.




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    BPnet Royalty Zincubus's Avatar
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    Transferring very shy bp from live to ft help?

    Quote Originally Posted by redshepherd View Post
    Give him tough love, and I would only offer once a week, or even skip a week and offer after 2 weeks. Otherwise to leave him be. I wouldn't worry unless he's lost enough weight that he looks too skinny in appearance.

    When offering the rat in front of the hide, definitely just hold it steady there at the opening with the tongs, even if it takes a few minutes. That has the higher chance of getting him to strike at the rat, since your hand naturally provides subtle movements. Don't wiggle it too hard or swing it around, which I see a lot of people do but does not look realistic.

    Heat the rat with a blowdryer before offering, particularly the head, and make sure the rat is dry.
    All the above. ^^

    Plus ensure the snake is settled under a hide then offer in dim/low lighting so the heat pits can sense the the heat signal of the warmed up mouse /rat ( hairdryer).





    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro
    Last edited by Zincubus; 07-04-2020 at 07:23 PM.




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    Re: Transferring very shy bp from live to ft help?

    Idk how useful this info will be, but here it is.

    I've had Lucie for almost 5 months. In that time she's eaten almost every week. The exceptions being on weeks she was shedding and the very first week I had her. It took a little trial and error to see what she would respond to, but I figured it out.

    At night, midnight or later, I let the rat thaw for a couple hours, check to make sure it's thawed all the way through. Then I soak it in hot water for 10ish min. I open the lid to the terrarium and lower the rat with tongs. Pinching the rat in its back or near the tail. If Lucie is out of her hide already she's usually already watching me as I'm doing all this, and just give the rat a slight bounce and she usually strikes and takes it fairly easily. If she's still in her hide I'll lower the rat and kind of poke its head into her hide a little bit, again just giving a slight bounce, just to get her attention. Assuming she doesn't immediately strike it, I'll start to slowly pull it back out her hide to get her to kind of "chase" it. She eventually take it.

    She's usually pretty easy to feed. At least so far. Only been a couple of times that I've had to sit with her for more than a couple min trying to get her to take the rat.

    Personally I don't like the hair dryer method of heating because I feel soaking the rat in warm/hot will more thoroughly and evenly heat it up, and retain that heat. Also, eating a wet rat (if you're snake will actually a wet rat) is another good way to help ensure hydration.

  7. #5
    Registered User ApathyAngel's Avatar
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    Re: Transferring very shy bp from live to ft help?

    Make sure you're not offering too often. That can stress shy snakes out and make them less likely to eat. Wait a week between offering.

    Double check all your husbandry. Humidity, temp, adequate space and hides, etc. I once rescued a ball from someone who said he wouldn't eat. He only had one hide on the warm side, so I added another hide on the cool side, waited a week, and he ate with no problem.

    Sometimes even a minor detail can be enough to get a picky eater to refuse.

    But if husbandry is good, I recommend the bucket trick. I used it with my retic, but it works for ball pythons, too.

    Put the snake in a circular container. Depending on his size, it could be as large as a bucket or as small as a cleaned-out deli container. Regardless of size, though, it needs to have holes poked in it for air, and a well-fitting lid.

    Put the thawed rat in the bucket. Lay it along the edge with its back to the wall. Then cover the bucket and wait 20 minutes (keep noise and light to a minimum, but make sure you're supervising in case your snake makes an escape attempt).

    What happens is the snake will move around the edge of the bucket, and will come across the rat. The placement of the rat, almost "blocking" the snake's path around the edge, makes them very likely to eat.

    I don't know why it works, exactly, but it works almost every time. And it seems to work with every kind of snake. As I said, I learned this back when I got my retic, and had to switch him to f/t.

    I've used it for ball pythons and a jungle carpet python, too. There's a breeder on YT who does the same thing with her colubrids, and it works. I don't really know why, but it seems to be pretty universal among snakes.

    I'd definitely try that. Just make sure the rat is warm enough. When I thaw out my rats, the water generally cools down too much by the time the rat is fully thawed. So just before feeding, I replace the water and let the rat soak in hot water for about 10 minutes, to get it nice and warm.

    Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk

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