f/t ?

[Ace of Snakes]

Give my somce advise on how to switch my 1.1 balls over to f/t.

I tried the other day with no sucess. I brained it and left it in the cage a little after warming it up. I have had sucess on doing this with my boa's and western hognoses but amd new to the ball python world.

Oh, I have a blue eye lucy and a pastel calico. SWEET!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Jay_Bunny]

With ball pythons, just leaving it in the cage is not going to entice the snakes to eat a f/t feeder. Try using tongs and dangle the feeder in front of your snake. Wiggle it a bit. Also, just thawing it out might not be enough. I know that my snakes would rather bite at my hand than the feeder because my hand is warmer. Use a blow dryer or heat lamp to warm the feeders up before offering them to the snakes.

[Ace of Snakes]

With ball pythons, just leaving it in the cage is not going to entice the snakes to eat a f/t feeder. Try using tongs and dangle the feeder in front of your snake. Wiggle it a bit. Also, just thawing it out might not be enough. I know that my snakes would rather bite at my hand than the feeder because my hand is warmer. Use a blow dryer or heat lamp to warm the feeders up before offering them to the snakes.

I tried this. I tried thawing in water and after it was thawed, I used warm to hot water to get the temp up. I then grabbed the mouse by the scruff and did the mouse dance in front of it. I also brained it to give it more smell. They seemed interested but never struck. I know not to bounce it off their nose either by the way. I am going to try again this Friday. They bother are young so even a live meal is a meal right now. I just want to convert them ASAP if you know what I mean.

[hawaiianice99]

Dont try to soon, wait a week, if you keep constantly trying to feed them they could get scared and go off feed. In my experience braining f/t with ball pythons doesnt work, scenting them does also if you are thawing them out in water and the feeders fur gets damp the snake doesnt like that sometimes so try letting the feeder dry out.

I let my feeders thaw out all day in the snake room, no hot water just let them sit out. This prescents the room and the feeders dry out from being all iced up.

[WingedWolfPsion]

First step, get them used to eating off of tongs--dangle the live fuzzy from the tongs for them a few times.

Then, use scenting over. FT rats smell nothing like live ones, and it can be as challenging to get a snake to accept them as it is to get them to accept a different species of rodent.

Rub the thawed, warm fuzzy in soiled rat bedding, particularly in rat pee. This will give it the scent of the live rodents. Make sure the fuzzy is VERY warm when you offer it--above your own body temperature. Make it move convincingly with the tongs--not too fast or violently. Practice will help you figure out what triggers the snake's instincts best. After the snake has eaten scented ft prey a couple of times, they generally don't need to be scented any longer.

[Kaorte]

Was the mouse still wet? Sometimes they don't like wet food XD

Do you prescent the room before feeding?

I find that blowdrying the feeders in the room with the snakes makes them go crazy.

[Ace of Snakes]

Was the mouse still wet? Sometimes they don't like wet food XD

Do you prescent the room before feeding?

I find that blowdrying the feeders in the room with the snakes makes them go crazy.

I dry it a little with a paper towel but t is still damp.