HUGE prey switch! How I did it..

[decensored]

Hey Guys,

So as some of you know, I got a bunch of het. axanthics earlier in the year that were feeding on Live ASF. I hate ASF... I have tried everything to switch them over.

Lately I have been experimenting with a technique called piggy backing. Basically what this is is when you feed your BP it's prey of choice, in this case ASF, and while it is finishing swallowing the prey of choice, you insert the head of a F/T Norway in the snakes mouth. As it continues swallowing you hold the rat's head in the Ball Pythons mouth until it hooks in and consumes both prey.

Every time I feed I start by offering the frozen thawed Norway first. It took me 3 weeks of this technique before my female pastel het. ax finally took the F/T Norway!

Long story short - I managed to switch my ball python over from Live ASF to Frozen Norways in 3 weeks, with no steps in between.

I will try to post a video of the piggy backing technique once my other two Natal eaters come out of their breeding fast.

Thanks for reading .

[meowmeowkazoo]

I tried this once, but all I got was an extremely upset snake. Would be interested to see a video!

[decensored]

I tried this once, but all I got was an extremely upset snake. Would be interested to see a video!

hopefully ill have one next friday. My male just shed in the last couple hours so I'm hoping he'll take. I'll be sure to post the vid.

Cheers

[Annarose15]

So, hopefully someone else will chime in here as well, but I believe what you're calling piggybacking is also the definition of power feeding. The snake doesn't have the choice to refuse a double meal. I'm assuming that you're feeding much smaller meals when doing this so your BPs don't get overfed, but didn't want others to consider this a healthy way to get their BPs to eat more.

[OhhWatALoser]

I would call this more force feeding. I think of power feeding as just feeding more often than the "normal". Actually I don't see much harm if the meal sizes were cut in half, unless there is something I don't know.

[Annarose15]

I would call this more force feeding. I think of power feeding as just feeding more often than the "normal". Actually I don't see much harm if the meal sizes were cut in half, unless there is something I don't know.

Force feeding is when you actually have to massage the prey all the way down the snake's throat because they will not attempt to eat on their own. Feeding too frequently can be over feeding and lead to obesity, but the snake still has the ability to choose, so that is not power feeding.

[Evenstar]

This is not power feeding. First, I assume the prey sizes are a bit smaller than normal but even if they aren't... Second, there is no increase in the frequency of the feedings. Third, the "double feeding" is only short-term temporary until the snake takes the f/t rat. Fourth, as soon as the snake takes the f/t rat on the first attempt, the prey size is normal and appropriate. Fifth, the OP is not doing this to increase his BPs' weight/size, he's doing it to switch them off of ASF which is a whole other ball game.

There is no harm in a snake taking a bit larger meal (or a bit smaller meal for that matter) on a short term basis. Snakes are pretty adaptable. Remember, they are opportunistic feeders in the wild and they don't always have the choice to eat the most consistently sized prey when they're hunting.

There is a video on Moonlight Boas homepage showing this piggybacking technique with a Dumerils boa.

[Annarose15]

So, hopefully someone else will chime in here as well, but I believe what you're calling piggybacking is also the definition of power feeding. The snake doesn't have the choice to refuse a double meal. I'm assuming that you're feeding much smaller meals when doing this so your BPs don't get overfed, but didn't want others to consider this a healthy way to get their BPs to eat more.

This is not power feeding. First, I assume the prey sizes are a bit smaller than normal but even if they aren't... Second, there is no increase in the frequency of the feedings. Third, the "double feeding" is only short-term temporary until the snake takes the f/t rat. Fourth, as soon as the snake takes the f/t rat on the first attempt, the prey size is normal and appropriate. Fifth, the OP is not doing this to increase his BPs' weight/size, he's doing it to switch them off of ASF which is a whole other ball game.

This IS the same method as power feeding. As I stated in my first post, however, I made my comments with the assumption that the OP was feeding smaller prey items so as not to over feed, and that my only concern was for others to be aware that this is not an acceptable method for feeding extra (i.e. weight gain), which I acknowledged was not this situation here.

[JLC]

This IS the same method as power feeding...

While it may be the same technique used to "power feed" that doesn't make it the same thing as power feeding. Not even close. "Power feeding" is not a one-time (or even a two-time or three-time) event. It's a consistent pattern and routine forced on an animal over months or years to force it to grow faster than it would normally. To compare this benign technique for switching prey types to power feeding comes across as hyperbole and fear mongering.

[decensored]

Thanks guys,

I'm not slow, Annarose LOL . The BP I was using this technique with is 1200 grams and I was feeding small asf 20 grams ( its the biggest on the market right now in toronto), and a medium rat, around 80-100 grams. I was very careful not to exceed the 10% for the very reason that I did not want to power feed.

I was caught in a dilemma. on one hand I could have fed her nothing but ASF's which on the market right now are $5.00 each, and she was eating 5 every week! Or I could try something a little more unorthodox and see how it went. It went awesome.

I can appreciate the concern but I was very careful, and if she didn't take to F/T in the next few feedings I was going to stop. Yes, some people to use PiggyBacking as a method to power feed. I, however used them to ONLY to help me switch them onto norways, nothing more.

Cheers.