Quote Originally Posted by lX V1P3R Xl View Post
Hello, need a bit of advice/suggestions here...

I have a Mojave BP, have always fed her live, and I have NEVER had her refuse a meal. She's always been a complete monster when it comes to feeding! However, the problem is I am going to be moving soon. I have looked everywhere and can't find any nearby reptile stores that sell live rats over there (the closest being aprox 40minutes away). That being the case, I am basically forced to switch to frozen/thawed. I have always fed her using tongs in case I had to switch to frozen at some point. I have been trying to feed her f/t for about 3 or 4 weeks now. The first two times I tried, I wobbled the rat around like they normally would do if they were live, she took them right away. However, both times after taking the thawed rats, she took an extra long time to finally eat them, about an hour and 1/2. Way longer then she normally would have. After those first two times, she has never ate for me again. I know she still wants to eat because when I begin the normal feeding routine, I can tell she gets excited. When I dangle the rat and wiggle it as I always have she slowly creeps up to it in her normal striking position. When she gets around to where she would normally strike, she suddenly relaxes, starts smelling the rat, does a slow disappointed U-turn, and then all interest is gone. I have tried dangling the rat, pulling it around the ground as if it was walking, cutting the head open and revealing the brain, and leaving the rat in the cage for a half an hour to an hour. She never eats it...
I'll be moving shortly after New Years, can someone help!?
First of all, it's definitely NOT recommended to use feeding tongs when feeding live. It can stress the rat out, etc.

I thaw my feeders, then warm them up I'm hot water (in a baggy of course). I have one girl who will occasionally strike off the tongs, or I'll just leave the rat in with her over night and check in the morning. It's usually gone.

How big is your Bp and the meals you are givin her?