My plan to switch, what do you think?

[Little B-Py]

I was to try and switch my BPs to F/T from live and I have a plan, tell me what you think or if it is even a viable option...

For starters, after I feed them the "act" like they are hunting and still hungry. They used to just crawl back into their hides and you wouldn't see their heads poking out, but lately they have been. Here is my plan:

I am going to try and feed them f/t tonight but that is beside the point. IF they do not feed on them tonight I will wait until Friday, which is their normal feeding day, and feed them live like usual, and after they get done with it I am going to wait until they are sitting in their hides with their heads out and then present them with a f/t to try.

If that works would it be better to:
1. keep feeding them like that for another week or 2 then only present f/t
2. try feeding them only f/t if it works after next week
3. if they do not eat then wait a few weeks to feed and only present f/t

Any thoughts? The main reason I want to do the switch is because i can get f/t for free, that and it would be cheaper/easier to feed them f/t and not have to drive to petco every friday to get food.

[Slim]

Steffen, here's a few suggestions, some from Adam Wysocki at 8 Ball Pythons, and some I've hit on with my own collection.

1) Try switching to F/T on your normal feeding night. Believe it or not, BPs get into a kind of routine, and they will be much more apt to switch if you stick to their regular feeding night. Think of it this way. Going from live to F/T is already a change, and doing it on a different schedule would be like two changes at once.

2) I've found that heat it the key. Thaw your feeders by whatever method works for you, then right before you present each rodent, heat the dog junk out of it with a hair dryer. After doing this, often times you can just place the F/T a few inches in front of their hides, and they will come right out after it. What doesn't work as well is heating up the batch after thawing and then letting them cool while you present each one to each snake. They cool off pretty quickly.

3) Some BP's need scent, heat, and movement to trigger a feeding response. You may have to grasp the feeder by the nape of the neck with tongs and make it "Zombie Dance" around a little to get a strike. Mine will take F/T without the "Dance", but I only own 5, and I'm sure I'll get one sooner or later that will need the movement.

4) Feed closer to the evening if you don't already. Feed in a darkend room, if you don't already. Both are good ideas in general, but feeding when they are normally active, and in a more natural environment seems to help.

5) If they don't take it right away, leave it in there for a few hours. There is no danger with F/T, and some BP's take a little longer to figure out that F/T is food, even though it's not moving.

6) For your first F/T feeding, go with a rodent that's one size smaller than you normally feed live. I can't tell you why this works, but it does. Then once they figure out that F/T can be food, you can move them up to regular size rodents with little trouble. Like I said, I don't know why this works, but for 3 of my 5, it did the trick...the other 2 are garbage disposals and will eat anything.

7) If they won't take it this week. Just wait till the next scheduled feeding day and try all over again. Don't be suprised if one switches right away, and the other doesn't. Personally, when I'm switching mine over to F/T, which I do as soon as I get them, I don't have a real issue with letting them refuse for up to 3 straight weeks before I would start thinking about offering them live again. So far, all mine have switch with in 3 weeks.

Good Luck, I think you'll find F/T a lot easier in the long run.

[Little B-Py]

Well although you suggested to try on their normal day (I wasn't near a computer at the time) I went ahead and tried them. Hissy refused so I have left it in her tub, and well Oakley...tore it to shreds. Took a bit but he took it like he does a live. I actually used Adam's steps without thinking about it, minus the "routine feeding day" one. I sat them out earlier to allow them to thaw to room temp, then hit them both with a hair dryer for a few minutes. I think Hissy will take it and I'll just try her again on Friday after tonight.

Thanks for all that though!

[Slim]

Good to hear! I'm sure Hissy will come around in time.

[Little B-Py]

I'll just try to switch her on friday. I don't think it will be a problem though.