whats the best way to get snake to go from live to f/t

[exiled reptile]

im having problems getting my spider to eat f/t any help would be greatly apreciated thank you

[Kaorte]

Sometimes tough love is the best approach.

My snakes have no problem switching from live to f/t and back and forth.

What methods have you tried so far? Make sure you heat up the rodent enough so it registers as a prety item to the snake. I use a hair dryer to heat the head up really quick before I offer it. Also makes the room smell like...dead rats...

[pavlovk1025]

Yeah make sure theyre warm enough is all I can suggest. I truly dont know, I was fortunate enough to have 10 live feeders switch to F/t all on the same day when I offered, just by chance.

As far as warming them up, I thaw them out throughout the day on a piece of newspaper in the herp room. When theyre thawed out, I sandwich them between two human heating pads I have on low setting to warm em up to prey item temps. Voila.

[mr. s]

You can try freshly killed first. That could help the transition.
You can also try exposing the brain of the mouse or rat.
Other people will dip the mouse in chicken broth or rub tuna on it.
There are all kinds of things that people do.
Then there are some EXTREME measures, which are kind of last resort.

Remember, a snake can go a long time without eating. Don't get scared and give in. I got an adult kingsnake that was eating live. He refused f/t for over 4 months before giving in and eating like crazy. I was tempted to give in and buy a live mouse, but glad I didn't.
Best of luck!

[Reptile King]

Once you have the mouse/rat thawed out place it in the room with the snake for 30 to 60 minutes. This will allow your snake to smell the food and as well as condition him/her that it is feeding time. Don't give up!

[saber2th]

You could try to heat up some water in a microwave to the temp. that you would drink coffee. Then dip the mouse in the water for several seconds and a
quick dry (just make sure the mouse is not hot) and offer it to the snake. You may have to hold it by the tail and move it around to to fool the snake into hitting it.

just a thought,

Dave

[jben]

please make sure that you use hemostats to hold the food item.

[saber2th]

please make sure that you use hemostats to hold the food item.

good call, jben!!

[exiled reptile]

ive done basically all that except the hairdryer thing it just worries me because i dont want to let my baby to get hurt and it gets a little messy feeding fresh killed because i dont know my own strength end up splattering mouse blood all over ps thank you all

[scutechute]

When I got a couple baby balls last year I started them on live mice, then switched to PK to get them used to eating inanimate food items, and then I made the jump to F/T.

Like was said earlier, I find it best if I thaw them out throughout the day. Not only do you make sure they're completely thawed, but you pre-scent the room also. I agree that you should try to bump up the temps on the food item right before trying to offer them to the snake - either through a heatpad or a dunk in some hot water.

Sometimes with my adult bp, if i'm dangling the food item in front of her and she looks interested but doesn't strike right away, I'll simply leave the rat in her tub and sometimes she takes it without a strike. Sometimes not though.

Good luck...and sometimes I think it comes down to that!

Tony