I Give Up On FT

[Mike Cavanaugh]

[QUOTE=eel588;1654753] When I move to San Diego in a little over a year I will start breeding my own rodents again and offer fresh pre-killed. [QUOTE]

Do whatever works for you... but do you mind if I ask why you would pre kill?

[JulieInNJ]

I'm in a tough spot myself.

My family is okay with my snakes, but not so okay with the thoughts of having live rats or a rat colony in my home. Also, it would be really hard for me to raise something just to watch it die or kill it myself - I'm an animal lover through and through, no matter what the animal.

BUT, I have a hatchling that's having a hard time feeding on F/T. She'll coil, but she hasn't had a strike yet. It's to the point where I'm considering giving her live, but I'm concerned that she'll stay on live...which leads to the problem of live rodents in my home.

I feel your pain...

[Raptor]

Hi,

All mine that I keep or have bred eat F/T - it's a whole lot of hassle to start them off on occasion but I have never let one starve to death and they all gave in at the end.

Very, very few people in the UK feed live. Not because it is illegal ( despite the misinformation out there by PETA et al ) but because it is illegal to buy rodents under 6 weeks old from a pet store.

So it is breed your own or feed F/T. In my case the landlord wouldn't allow rodents in the flat so I don't really have a choice.

Live is a lot easier but F/T will eventually work. Though bear in mind I had one hatchling take almost a year before she started eating F/T on her own.


dr del

Really? Do you have a link that I could use with that information? I get into plenty of debates concerning ft vs live with some snooty ft feeders (not saying they all are, just ran across many with the "if you feed live you're a snake abuser" mentality) and I'd like to those this at them.

Do whatever works for you... but do you mind if I ask why you would pre kill?

Safer for the snake without the dangers of ft (improperly thawed/heated food, contaminated with bacteria, etc) or live (getting bit or clawed). Plus you can get a stronger feeding response, depending on how you kill it.

[MasonC2K]

I wish I could have one of those rat racks in my apartment. And OMG rats smell so bad. Prefereably I would like find a local breeder at this point. I have had one guy tell me he breeds for his own for his snakes and occassionally have an overstock and he'd let me know.

It's unfortunate there aren't any Mom and Pop stores here anymore. We have 3 chain stores in town and only Petland sells feeders. There is a Mom and Pop one town over that sells them for less but right now the gas money to go to them negates the money saved.

[PitOnTheProwl]

I have had one guy tell me he breeds for his own for his snakes and occassionally have an overstock and he'd let me know.

That is the time to "sell" yourself and work something out.
He has the place to breed and the breeders, you just have to find a way to get him to increase production a little. Buy him a couple xl rats.........buy him feed..........help him clean........you get the idea

[meowmeowkazoo]

I wish I could have one of those rat racks in my apartment. And OMG rats smell so bad. Prefereably I would like find a local breeder at this point. I have had one guy tell me he breeds for his own for his snakes and occassionally have an overstock and he'd let me know.

It's unfortunate there aren't any Mom and Pop stores here anymore. We have 3 chain stores in town and only Petland sells feeders. There is a Mom and Pop one town over that sells them for less but right now the gas money to go to them negates the money saved.

If you add vanilla extract to their water it helps change their odor to be a bit more pleasant, but yeah, they are smelly. My husband is fine with the snakes, but would love it if I got rid of my rats.

[Saboduh]

i feel really lucky too, my BP will eat anything I put in there. If I feed him f/t i have to heat it up with a blow dryer a bit warmer than im sure a live mouse is, atleast to the touch. he ate a babysitter and a trick or treater too but we dont talk about that around the house.

[DemmBalls]

I wish I could have one of those rat racks in my apartment. And OMG rats smell so bad.

I breed rats in my apartment. Rats don't smell bad at all if you take care of them and clean them regularly. Mice on the other hand...I could not deal with the smell.

[ballpythonluvr]

I will never waste my time and money again. I have tried everything I have read about. I am just unlucky. None of my snakes young or old will go near the things.

I guess if my collection gets much bigger I'll have to try and breed my own feeders or luck out and find a local breeder who sells cheaper than the pet store.

You guys that feed FT are absolutely lucky 100%.

I totally hear what you are saying. My male normal used to take f/t very readily and then one day he just decided to quit eating it. I have tried all of the tricks and tips and have even tried the not feeding him for a few weeks trick and nothing works.

[purplemuffin]

I think Maru was holding out on eating f/t until I said "I give up!"..after that he took f/t with no issues, seems he just wanted to see me give in!

Just kidding. But honestly f/t worked best when I stopped worrying so much about it. I'd try everything desperately to get maru to eat and it just freaked him out. Once I relaxed and just put the (temp gun checked) hot rat in front of him like it was no big deal, he struck like he hadn't eaten in a year!

But it did take us like, 3 years to get to that point. Not three years of constant trying, but still. Now he eats them like crazy and even sniffs around when I dethaw dead ones! Never thought I'd see that!

I hope you can find a local breeder, that would really help your situation! Good luck! Sometimes you can meet them and find out where they are at shows. We have a local breeder who is also willing to sell live or pre kill rodents for us/freeze them ahead of time who we met at the last expo. I hope you can find someone like that! I understand not being able to breed your own rats, it's not an option for us either!