Converting a BP to frozen

[Paysons Bps]

DONT FEED LIVE, try your hardest to reframe from feeding live. I just saw the most graphic pictures of a ball python that was destroyed by a live mouse, yes a mouse. Little inocent mice can cause major injury to your snake if your not monitoring it. Those pictures totally changed the way i feel on feeding live. If you want to see the results
http://www.ball-pythons.net/forums/s...d.php?t=119328 Warning GRAPHIC...

[Sariel]

to BP.net...

I put my F/T's in ziploc bags. Then I place them in a pan of room temperature or lukewarm water for about 30 minutes. Then about every 15-20 minutes I will change out the water getting it hotter each time. After about an hour or so the rat will be thawed. Then I take the rat out of the bag, grab it by the scruff of the neck with the tongs and warm it up with a blow dryer and blow the smell at the enclosure for about 30-60 seconds. this will give the rat a definite heat signature for the snake to pick up on. Then I use the tongs to "walk" or jiggle the rat about 3-4 inches in front of the snake. If the snake is in its hide then I just walk it around about 3 inches in front of the hide. You don't want to shake it too much because if it appears too aggressive it might scare your snake. I keep the pan in the room near the enclosures with the top of the open bags sticking out from under the pan lid so the snakes can start smelling the prey thawing...

Ok I never thought of thawing the rats in the snakes room, thats an awesome idea.

[BuckeyeBalls]

DONT FEED LIVE, try your hardest to reframe from feeding live. I just saw the most graphic pictures of a ball python that was destroyed by a live mouse, yes a mouse. Little inocent mice can cause major injury to your snake if your not monitoring it. Those pictures totally changed the way i feel on feeding live. If you want to see the results
http://www.ball-pythons.net/forums/s...d.php?t=119328 Warning GRAPHIC...

I feel there is nothing wrong with feeding live. Unless ur a complete moron who has no brain and is a waste of breath and should not have a snake. Which is why things like that happen.

[CeeJay]

DONT FEED LIVE, try your hardest to reframe from feeding live. I just saw the most graphic pictures of a ball python that was destroyed by a live mouse, yes a mouse. Little inocent mice can cause major injury to your snake if your not monitoring it. Those pictures totally changed the way i feel on feeding live. If you want to see the results
http://www.ball-pythons.net/forums/s...d.php?t=119328 Warning GRAPHIC...

That is horrible. BUT it was due to NEGLECT by the owner. All live feeding should be monitored. The mouse or rat should never be left in there if the snake shows no interest. I feed one of my BPs live because she's stubborn. I use tongs and dangle the mouse. I don't let it run around.

[het.pied]

DONT FEED LIVE, try your hardest to reframe from feeding live. I just saw the most graphic pictures of a ball python that was destroyed by a live mouse, yes a mouse. Little inocent mice can cause major injury to your snake if your not monitoring it. Those pictures totally changed the way i feel on feeding live. If you want to see the results
http://www.ball-pythons.net/forums/s...d.php?t=119328 Warning GRAPHIC...

that is straight up owner neglect and ignorance. there is no problem with feeding live. the owner must have left that mouse in there for more then a day.your jumping the gun a little to say not to feed live because of something you saw.
i personally wouldnt leave any live mouse/rat in the enclosure for more then 45 minutes, but even then i do put a few pieces of lab block in there for the mouse or rat.


EDIT: to the OP if you want to switch to f/t and your snake is refusing for the first couple times, just try the tough love method. just keep offering until it takes it. because believe me they will eventually take it.

[jsmorphs2]

The hair dryer thing may not be necessary. If you change out the water in the tub/bowl you use to thaw to hot water and feed right away the rats should be warm enough for the snake to lock on to. If you have a laser thermometer then the thawed rats should be at 85-90 degrees, about what a live rat's outside temps read. Just don't want to make things seem more complicated than they are.

One way to help convert to f/t, I've found, is feed a SMALL live pray item and usually the snake is still hungry, then offer a f/t right after they swallow the live pray. They get used to the scent/feel that way and after a few times taking live first then f/t, offer the f/t pray first. I've gotten snakes converted many times. This also works to get them on to different pray types. Such as trying to get them off mice and onto rats.