Switching To F/T?

[NightLad]

Hi everybody,

I’ve had my 2m/o BP since Nov 18th, and he last ate on the 16th. He has since gone potty, but has refused two f/t meals. At first I tried to keep up with his established feeding schedule, but after the first refusal I left him alone for a week. Tonight I pre-scented the cage by leaving the thawed and warmed fuzzy rat
(proper size) on top of the screen, under the CHM – and I was highly encouraged by the fact that he ventured out of his hide to sniff around. He even reared back to extend himself toward the rodent on top of the cage. “This is it!” I thought with glee as I slowly lowered the rodent into the enclosure with tongs.

Salzedo sniffed it, and explored it a little, but then retreated back into the enclosure. I made the rat dance, and I even placed it outside the enclosure for a couple minutes (and he ventured out again to sniff, then retreated).

He was eating only live before I got him, so now I’m at a loss. How can I better switch him to f/t? I know he is hungry, and he always shows interest… he just won’t strike!

Are there any guides for this sort of thing already posted?

Thanks so much for any hints or advice you can give.

[dr del]

Hi,

How are you preparing his lordships dinner? did you try heating the head a little (with a hairdrier or something)?

There are a few threads on switching but mainly it consists of slowly trying everything till you find the one your snook likes.

Patience is the key - that and fighting the urge to sit in a corner and whimper occasionally.


dr del

[NightLad]

Sorry, I should have mentioned the preparing step, too.

I take the selected ratsicle out of the bag in the freezer the night before and place it in a ziplock baggie. I then place the baggie in another red-colored plastic bag, so people know what its purpose is. (It is well known not to mess with the Red Bag!) I then place that bag in the bottom of the refrigerator to thaw.

At feeding time the next evening I place the baggie in a bowl of tap-hot/warm water and submerge it for 5-10 minutes. After that I take out the still-dry and warm rat and place it on top of the screen enclosure top, under the CHE to prescent. When Salzedo shows signs of being interested (especially by coming out of his hide and sniffing around, and even trying to move closer to the rat) I initiate feeding.

Thus far, he shows interest and sniffs the rat, but does not strike and eventually goes back into his hide. As I mentioned, he was being fed live before I got him. I’m trying to find the best way to make the switch to F/T.

Should I buy a live just to see if he will eat, and then the next week fresh-kill a live before offering it? I’m just trying to think of different things to try.

There is a pet store in my area that sells live feeders, but I can’t keep live rats because someone I live with has allergies.

[dr del]

Hi,

I would try a quick heat blast on the head right before offering it, leaving it in his tank in case he just feels a little too insecure to eat out in public yet. Since it's only just over 2 weeks since he ate and he has had the whole new environment thing to deal with I really wouldn't worry too much at this stage.

Just keep the handling and interactions to the minimum to help him settle until he has eaten a few times for you.

For tonight I would hairdrier the head and gently zombie dance it then, if he doesn't strike, leave it in his tank overnight and remove it in the morning if you have to.

It might be worth double checking with the breeder to find out how he offered the food just in case he was doing something different.

Then next week try again - the main thing is to keep an eye on his weight/body condition to make sure he is ok. Their bum does get skinny when they've pooped though so don't let that freak you out.

They are all slightly different as to the tricks and fads they have - one of mine will eat cheerfully if I show it to her from a couple of feet away then lay it on the floor of her tank but will completely refuse if I come too close to her with the nasty thing before laying it down - you have no idea how long it took me to notice that pattern.


Stick in there.


dr del

[Sparky1]

Well this is what i did, when i first switched to f/t my male pastel was all over it! But the last three feedings he acts much like yours, acts interested but just wont strike at it. So i adopted the if he is hungry he will eat it theory of just placing into his enclosure, on something of course. I just throw it on top of one of his hides and leave. After about an hour i go to check up on all of them since feeding day is the same for all. Low and behold everytime it is gone! I can do the rat dance for 5 min at it does nothing, i think its a comfort issue because i believe they know you are there watching closely since we are playing with the food and it freeks them out. So you could try this, maybe it will work for you to.

[MelissaFlipski]

Yeah, good idea to leave it in the tank for a bit. Maybe he needs more time to try. Our BP eats F/T happily, but we notice an occasional pickiness if it cools down too much - if the warmth it gained dissipates too much. So we take it out again and hold the mouse head-up toward the CHE - this allows the entire body to warm up more, but especially the head, as Derek said. Mammals heads are the warmest part of the their bodies, and snakes know that. It also helps them find the head easier and swallow faster, instead of having to move their mouth slowly along the body and up to the head.

How were you feeding live? Can you try to make the F/T process similar in more ways - like how long you leave it in?

[NightLad]

Thanks everybody for your kind words of advice. I’ve tried to follow them all, but it seems, without luck thus far.

Last night I took a thawed fuzzy rat out of the fridge (having left it there overnight) and warmed it up in a ziplock baggie by submerging it in hot water. When it was warm all the way through I left it atop the screen on the snake enclosure, with the CHE above it. The smell of rat permeated the air of Salzedos enclosure and, as in the past, he emerged from his hide with his little tongue flickering excitedly. He even ‘stretched’ upwards towards the rat after a few minutes, prompting some hope on my part.

I took the rat in a set of 16” tongs and slowly lowered it towards him. As before, he examined the offering with seeming interest, including a few ‘striking’ poses. I thought for sure this was going to be it. However, his attention quickly turned to the tongs and he stretched up further, past the rat, to examine them!

What is his fascination with the feeding tongs?

After examining the tongs he started to retreat to his [cool] hide, so I placed the rat on top of the hot hide and left. This was around 11pm.

I had hoped that by this morning the offering would be gone, yet there it remained; a warm white fuzzy mockery of my parenting skills. (It was still quite warm.) Oh, and Salzedo was sleeping in his hot hide, right below it.

How were you feeding live? Can you try to make the F/T process similar in more ways - like how long you leave it in?

Sorry for my lack of clarity; I’ve never fed him live. He was raised on live by the breeder before I got him on Nov 18th. (His last meal was on the 16th) I’ve been trying to switch him to F/T since. He shows interest and signs of wanting to eat, but then shies away.

Any more suggestions are more than welcome and very much appreciated!

[Brimstone111888]

I would suggest getting the animal eating correctly before pushing f/t so hard. I'm all for trying f/t for the first meal, you might get lucky. I did. Then in the case of my spider she refused one f/t and I have never offered her one since. She has since became my best and most aggressive feeder.

As I said one try is fine, but now it is time to get the animal eating. Worry about your conveniences later.

I would buy a live fuzzy rat and let it scent and then offer it. You can leave the fuzzy rat in there since they have no teeth and pose no harm to the snake. He also might like a bit of privacy to eat.

[NightLad]

Thanks for the tips!

For the record, I’m not pushing F/T for my own convenience so much as a person I live with that has acute allergies to furry critters.

Frozen/Thawed is fine, but a living critter isn’t smurffy.

Tomorrow I’m going to get a live fuzzy from a store that sells live feeders. You are right in that I just want to get him eating at this point. After that, I can devote time to a more gradual shift to f/t. Hopefully he will switch over smoothly after a feeding pattern is established.

Any suggestions on how many ‘live’ meals to wait before trying f/t again? I realize that all snakes have their own little personalities, but a general guideline would be helpful.

Thanks again.

[Brimstone111888]

I would go at least 3-4 consecutive feedings without a refusal. Of course you can always make the time shorter or longer.

I actually switched from f/t to live, because my snakes eat so much better on it. Not to mention some of the horror scenes I have opened from Petco f/t.