How to feed "Live" prey

[dr del]

Hi,

Have you been pairing her up with any males? Have you tried palpating to see if you can feel any follicles in her?

With the F/T have you tried any alternate prey - mice or ASF's for example?


dr del

[L.West]

Hey Kaorte,

I just spoke to the breeder (a friend of mine) and he has offered to take her home with him and get her eating again - would you go that route??

[L.West]

dr del, I have tried f/t mice, f/t rats to no avail.

I have not paired her up with any males - I do not breed. In regards to follicles - I have no clue even what to look for - sorry.

I thought about trying ASF's but was told that I would probably still need to go live with that also - I was trying to avoid going live.

[Kaorte]

Hey Kaorte,

I just spoke to the breeder (a friend of mine) and he has offered to take her home with him and get her eating again - would you go that route??

If she were a baby snake and was loosing weight I would send her back to the breeder. Fact of the matter is, she is a healthy weight for an adult female and has not been loosing a lot of weight. Some ball pythons will fast seasonally for 3-6 months. It is not uncommon nor should it have any adverse effects on your animal. I would not worry about sending her back. Ball pythons are notorious for going on long fasts for no apparent reasons.

She isn't broken and there really isn't a reason to fix her.

You can try giving her a live meal. It could help kick start her metabolism.

[L.West]

Thanks Kaorte,

I think next week (Wednesday) at her next scheduled feeding I will offer a live rat but how do I present it - should I dangle it from tongs or just put it in her enclosure?

I would really hate to part with my girl for any length of time it would take the breeder to get her eating again - so I will do as you have said and offer her live and just give it more time if needed.

Thanks.

[Kaorte]

Thanks Kaorte,

I think next week (Wednesday) at her next scheduled feeding I will offer a live rat but how do I present it - should I dangle it from tongs or just put it in her enclosure?

I would really hate to part with my girl for any length of time it would take the breeder to get her eating again - so I will do as you have said and offer her live and just give it more time if needed.

Thanks.

You can hold it from tongs by the scruff of its neck, or you can just toss it in the enclosure. Its your call. As long as your supervise, it shouldn't be an issue.

perhaps you could start offering her food every 2 weeks instead of every week? Just a thought.

[pavlovk1025]

Tuna, chicken broth, or any kind of scenting using "smelly" foods will not work. It just won't. Why would a ball python be more enticed by a rat that smells like a fish? Or a rat that smells like a bird? It makes no sense.

I dont know about the fish, but I do know that you can feed chicks to BPs so the chicken broth kind of makes sense.

[Danounet]

I wouldn't hold a live feeder, but that's just me. It makes them very aggressive/defensive and upset. Just drop it in the snake enclosure and let your snake take care of it. Like I said, just make sure the feeder isn't hungry or thirsty and everything will be fine.

[pavlovk1025]

I wouldn't hold a live feeder, but that's just me. It makes them very aggressive/defensive and upset. Just drop it in the snake enclosure and let your snake take care of it. Like I said, just make sure the feeder isn't hungry or thirsty and everything will be fine.

You ever hold a rat/mouse/ASF by the scruff of its neck? They don't move, theyre instantly immobilized with a stupid look on their face. Its quite funny actually.

Holding a live rat by the tail though...man that was a lesson to learn.

[Danounet]

Yes I have, I bred ASFs for a while. Some were chill while holding them by the scruff, some were definitely not. In any way, I dont see the point of holding the feeder if it's alive.

I feed live weaned or small rats usualy. No problem grabbing them from the tail most of the time. Anyways I just drop them in the snake tubs. Hopefully I will never have to grab a big rat by the tail ever.