new bp will only eat when fuzzies left in cage overnight? want to feed in speperte

[jjcunaz]

Unfournantly yes,
Pet store idiots have me feeding two fuzzy mice.grrrr poor zeta. Would you suggest trying live and if so what size? Ty

[SRMD]

try rat fuzzies

the rodent you feed should be 15% of your snakes body weight

[AK907]

Unfournantly yes,
Pet store idiots have me feeding two fuzzy mice.grrrr poor zeta. Would you suggest trying live and if so what size? Ty

You said your snake was 160g, right? Each fuzzy is probably in the 4-5g range, so both would equal 8-10g. That would equate to 1/3 to 1/2 of the amount of prey you should be feeding your snake. An appropriate sized prey item would be in the 16-24g range (10-15% of 160g). It may seem like a lot at first, but they are more than capable of eating even much larger than that without issue (although it isn't recommended). Following this feeding schedule is generally considered the standard for feeding ball pythons. Some folks alter it a little to their personal preferences (ie smaller meals more frequently, etc), but for a beginner this works best.

Live of f/t is up to you and your snake. Some balls will accept f/t without issue and if that works for you, all power to ya. Just keep an open mind because even the most seasoned f/t eater may require a live meal here or there or even decide to never eat f/t again and only want live. I feed live, personally. It isn't anything against f/t, but rather I have a lot of snakes and live is easier for me. We also breed our own feeders, so any meal that gets turned down is simply thrown back into its tub until next week. If you only have one snake or do not have a pet store close by to get live feeders from (and return if they refuse their meal) and don't want to deal with a feeder colony, f/t would be much easier.

[BPLuvr]

Since yours already eats F/T it should but not definately be simple to convert to striking. I have a male that now all I do and all I ever did was dangle the F/T (not live) by the tail using tweezers or hemos. Now the female I have would not touch F/T and I tried by the tail and holding the mouse by the back to make it appear as if it was walking. I gave up and started live, after the first two feedings I noticed she would sit in one spot and watch the mouse both times as soon as the mouse touched her she grabbed it and coiled it up. So I tried the same with F/T the next feeding. I held the mouse by the back and made it walk around. Then I got near her and backed away, the second time I actually touched her with the mouse and she coiled it up and ate it. Two more times since then the same method caused her to strike and eat but no other method has worked. Also warming the F/T with a hairdryer to 95-100 seems to work best anything lower and mine wont touch it, you don't want to hot either.

[jjcunaz]

Since yours already eats F/T it should but not definately be simple to convert to striking. I have a male that now all I do and all I ever did was dangle the F/T (not live) by the tail using tweezers or hemos. Now the female I have would not touch F/T and I tried by the tail and holding the mouse by the back to make it appear as if it was walking. I gave up and started live, after the first two feedings I noticed she would sit in one spot and watch the mouse both times as soon as the mouse touched her she grabbed it and coiled it up. So I tried the same with F/T the next feeding. I held the mouse by the back and made it walk around. Then I got near her and backed away, the second time I actually touched her with the mouse and she coiled it up and ate it. Two more times since then the same method caused her to strike and eat but no other method has worked. Also warming the F/T with a hairdryer to 95-100 seems to work best anything lower and mine wont touch it, you don't want to hot either.

I took your guys advice and let them thaw on top of cage. She stared sticking her hrad out.I heated the last two fz I had and used blowdryer. I zombied it in front and instantly she struck and missed. I dropped it bye acc. When I grabbed the tail and went to pick it back up, she slammed it and it was down in two min.
Swallowed it tail first, but it seemed fine.

The second fz was heated and I was zombie ie vertically and she struck and nailed it but again started to swallow backward. The hips didn go in smooth like the first. The hind legs were lodged. I didn't know what to do I was worried because when it finally went down it was upsidedown,backwards,and sideways.. it went down and zeta started like stickimg her neck up about 8 in and was shaking and pressing her head on the glass for what seemed a lifetime. She finally calmed down and went back inside. I hope she is ok and widd def fake walk next feeding with a much larger meal. Thamks guys I can't be any happier and have an awesome snake!!! And also she took it in cold side hide, should I move my light to that side orleave it to her to move where she wants to be. Many thanks to all

[Sky1982]

Congrats on getting her to strike! As for the lights, just leave them where they are. She will go where she wants and right now she feels like being in the cool side.

[SRMD]

congrats man, and when my ball eats he goes the cool side... then he will eventually go the warm side just so leave him/her

[gsarchie]

I read the whole thread for the first time just now and I have a genuine smile on my face. This is why this forum is such a great place! A new owner posed a question that was answered by multiple people. The OP then took the advice of the people on the forum and - voila! - problem solved. Too cool.

I am glad that what you did worked! Don't worry about the animal going in head or butt first, as they end up in the same place and are digested just the same. Also, the reason that she was acting funny after eating the second one was likely due to her still wanting more! They will often take a second or third item if the first one/ones didn't fill them up. Example: My wife fed our 3 balls on Sunday. When one didn't eat another happily took that one's rat as well as well.

Best of luck with your new snake and I hope you learn a lot from the people on the site. There is definitely a wealth of experience here to draw from.

[jjcunaz]

I read the whole thread for the first time just now and I have a genuine smile on my face. This is why this forum is such a great place! A new owner posed a question that was answered by multiple people. The OP then took the advice of the people on the forum and - voila! - problem solved. Too cool.

I am glad that what you did worked! Don't worry about the animal going in head or butt first, as they end up in the same place and are digested just the same. Also, the reason that she was acting funny after eating the second one was likely due to her still wanting more! They will often take a second or third item if the first one/ones didn't fill them up. Example: My wife fed our 3 balls on Sunday. When one didn't eat another happily took that one's rat as well as well.

Best of luck with your new snake and I hope you learn a lot from the people on the site. There is definitely a wealth of experience here to draw from.

I agree and apologize for type o-s I'm on my phone and it trips. Anyway thanks to everyones input without any rude comments. This site I give 5*

[jbean7916]

When you start feeding appropriately sized prey the odds of him taking it down backwards lessens a lot. Not to say it won't ever happen but when they are eating the right size, its much easier to eat it head first!

sounds like you are getting squared away!

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