switching food

[ssomerford]

My (let me qualify - my son's) bp has been eating frozen mice since we got him. Frozen is good with me. Anyway, for the first 1.5 years he has been finicky at best. Would eat well for a month, then not eat at all for a couple. When I switched to 'fresh' frozen mice - which I did under protest... The store didn't sell frozen anymore so we did the deed ourself (YUK)... he ate great. I guess liked the freshnes. Did well every week for 5 or 6. Then went back for more and they had frozen already - so of course I bought those. And, of course he didn't like. Tried 2 weeks in a row and no luck. SO I send hubby to buy 'fresh' small adult mice so we can make 'Squeezer' happy. Stuck those little boys in the freezer and just went to take one out for feeding and UGH he bought rats instead. And they are big! Like almost twice the size of the mice. What a shock that was. Have wondered if little Squeezer needed more than those small adults for a while .... how do you know? And, now wondering if I should try to feed him the rat.... Don't know why I started with mice -just did. What is the difference and obviously at some point you have to switch because of size. Should I try the rat? If it is too big will he just not eat? Will I stress him out really bad? Hmmmm - know someone here can help. Thanks! Squeezer's mom.

[elevatethis]

SO I send hubby to buy 'fresh' small adult mice so we can make 'Squeezer' happy. Stuck those little boys in the freezer and just went to take one out for feeding and UGH he bought rats instead.

Before I reply I'll go ahead and knock this out; did you put live mice in the freezer? Thats, well, somewhat inhumane and probably won't go over too well with most people if you ask them. You probably didn't know any better, so please avoid that in the future.

And they are big! Like almost twice the size of the mice. What a shock that was. Have wondered if little Squeezer needed more than those small adults for a while .... how do you know? And, now wondering if I should try to feed him the rat.... Don't know why I started with mice -just did. What is the difference and obviously at some point you have to switch because of size. Should I try the rat? If it is too big will he just not eat?

As far as the rest of your post, I'll say this: Consistency in care goes a very long way in caring for ball pythons. These are animals that act on instinct and conditioning. Switching from live to frozen and back again can be confusing to some ball pythons and results in a so-called "picky" eater.

Stick with one thing that works and stay with it. Mice or rats, frozen or live, doesn't matter in the long run so long as they are eating consistently.

Also, check your husbandry. Make sure your temperatures are where they should be. 92 on the warm side and 82 on the cool side. Measure these temps with an accurate thermometer (those pet store stick-on ones don't count!). Many new keepers tend not to keep their snakes warm enough through the winter months, which can result in feeding problems, as you have described.

[ssomerford]

TOTALLY AGREE with inhumaneness..... When I asked at the store about what I should do since they didn't have frozen anymore - THEY advised me to freeze. They said they do it in the store and 'it is no big deal'. Well, it was to me! And, my family - but Squeezer needed to eat and I didn't want to change to live. Honestly, he had never eaten so well.

So - I am definitely staying with frozen and after reading some other threads I see I can order them in and may try - but I have to drive 45 minutes to nearest store to buy and now I have these inhumanely frozen (larger than mice) RATS in my freezer ... so, should I try to feed one to him? Don't judge me too harshly - I thought I was doing what had to be done to keep him happy. Temps and humidity are fine - took me a while to figure that out too... but, Ball Phyons. net helped me there and with hard time shedding which was a result.....
I take scolding well.

[elevatethis]

No judging here and didn't mean to be a scolding at all...if you don't have access to good info prior to coming here than how can you really be held to it? The fact that your here asking questions says a lot in and of itself and if you keep an open mind, you'll learn a lot.

That sucks about the pet store...unfortunately that type of bad advice in common among pet stores and they often know much less about what they are selling than they lead you to think.

Some other tips,

- Leave the thawed rodent somewhere near the cage for some time to "scent" the area. Ball pythons don't like suprises - smelling a rodent for some time before its offered will "get them in the mood."

- Don't remove the snake from its cage or remove any hides come feeding time. A ball python's envionment is everything to them and altering that can cause their feeding response to shut down. Let them comfortably hunt from the security of their hides.

Hope that helps.

[ssomerford]

Thanks Brad - you can tell this hits a button with me because I WAS HORRIFIED at the thought! Anway - just want to make sure I hear you saying in your opinion, even if the rats are bigger than previous feedings of mice - it is okay to try. I do put the frozen rodent close to cage to scent. That was a big help in how he ate. When I quite trying to move to another container for feeding that too was big help. They had me convinced in the beginning it was bad to leave in living quarters to eat..... So - your vote is go for the frozen, larger rat. Right?

[elevatethis]

I'm not sure how much bigger the rat is...but I will say this...my vote goes for consistency. If he likes mice, stick with them, and just feed bigger mice or a couple smaller ones back to back if you think he needs more food.

[ssomerford]

Thanks - back to the store it is for this feeding as I know he is hungry. And those poor rats .... Maybe store will use them.
Does yours get more active when hungry?
Then, I'll search for quality place to order and have frozen mice sent. Any suggestions? I don't have very much room for a large quantity. Another reason going to store was handy.

[elevatethis]

Mine don't necessarily get active...but I notice that around monday-tuesday (i feed thursdays) they are poking their heads out of their hides staring at the front of the tub...and after feeding day they remain hidden. Something's definitely up there...

I've never ordered frozen rodents online. The store I worked for ordered mice from a place called Cajun Mice, though I'm not sure they are in business anymore, as they were shut down after Katrina.

There's plenty of quality places out there. Check out the search function...