My little Pain in the rear...

[DooLittle]

I close my tubs. Rat goes in, tub gets shut. Then when they strike I open tub and peek, make sure all is well, then move along. I doubt yours will release his rodent. I've never had any of mine phased by me peeking.

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[RoseyReps]

Thanks That was my main concern because of how shy he is. I thought people actually stood with the tub open looking in to watch the strike / intervene if needed. I feel a lot better about it now knowing you guys shut the tub and peek after strike.

[MrLang]

I find mine much more willing to take F/T after the 200g mark or so

[mskeebster]

I've dropped a live rat into a tub ( with holes) with my young ball python and covered it. There are some tubs that are off colored that can help shy eaters.
Of course, I always watch with tongs in hand just in case the rat decides to try and move up the evolutionary food chain.

[RoseyReps]

Just got back from the pet store. Asked the guy for a small mouse, he came back with a pretty large almost breeder size. So I asked the other guy if they had anything smaller and he let me in the back to pick one. I noticed they had rat pups! So I eagerly said "how much are the rar pups? " (I had already paid, so wasn't sure how much difference in price there was etc. He replied "they're not for sale. They are still nursing! Smallest rat we sell is a small rat at $3something"

Now, in another situation this wouldn't have bothered me. Policy is policy. But I just bought 2 rat pinks from this store about 2 weeks ago...so.. yea. Anyways, got the small mouse because I didn't see the employees that I normally deal with.

I dropped it in the tub, and it went right into the hide with mojo in it. *squeak* hide jumps...and I had the tub open! So I lifted the hide and he's got a good bite, and leave him be.

Maybe there is hope for him yet! He didn't spit it out when I lifted the hide, so I'm happy!

Side note, I didn't weigh it prior because I was excited to see how the feeding went. It was smaller than I thought after seeing him gulp it down in less than 5 min. I think he's still hungry lol. I'll give him 3-4 days and get another mouse for him.

[DooLittle]

Congrats! Got love the sound of hide rattling from a strike, lol!

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[BHReptiles]

I find mine much more willing to take F/T after the 200g mark or so

You know, my boy switched about 250g. When I bought him, he was about 175g and only taking live.

To the OP, next time, feed him a mouse followed immediately by a F/T mouse/rat and just see if he takes it. If he doesn't, leave it in the tub overnight.

[Webley]

I was having problems feeding F/T to my ball pythons too. I was told a few tricks buy some fellow reptile owners. First, when feeding f/t put the rat or mouse in a plastic bag or two and put it in a big bowl of hot water. Next put a smaller bowl of hot water on top to submerge it to thaw. I usually wait 15 to 20 minutes before i take the mouse out. After the time has passed i take the mouse out and set him under a heat lamp. I use a 100 watt heat bulb. I let him sit till he's warm to the touch( i know its a little gross) And completely dry. The next step is really IMPORTANT: Move you snake to another tubs. I use a spare or empty tub. There doesn't need to be anything in it. The reason for this is that if he's still in his home he will respond defensively to movement/new prey being offered. I take him to a fairly dark room. In my case the kitchen with only the heat light on. I let them sit there for a minute to relax then i try offering the mouse. Its worked 100% of the time for me.

Edit: I also recommend feeding in a separate cage because hides and substrate can be health hazards. Most hatch lings do better when fed in separate feeding tubs.

[RoseyReps]

Freaking woot! Just did a live mouse followed up with a prekilled off the tongs and mojo took the prekilled! I just danced around the house in celebration. Definitely a step in the right direction! Yay!