Quote Originally Posted by jasonmcgilvrey83 View Post
so i got this new ball python from a guy that didn't take very good are of him feeding wise. under weight, under fed, and fed mice to small for him. since I've had him all he will eat it live. trying to switch him to frozen thawed and tried everything. rubbing the thawed on a love one so it has the live sent.make the mouse dance with tongs. even tap him on the nose to irritate him. which i do not like to do. im happy he's eating very well with live but rather him eat frozen-thawed for his safety. im stunning the live mouse that im feeding him so its not to big of a deal right now but want frozen/ thawed before he hits rat size.i use to breed rats and know how much damage they can do when defensive. also he will not eat anywhere other then his cage. i tried the rubbermaid container, a box, rubbermaid and box with his hides and stuff in it. even went out and bought another set up for him just for feeding with heat, substrate, hides and all. still refuses unless he's in his rank. lol. it wouldst be a problem if i wasn't the only one sticking my hand in the take everyday for maintenance since he knows my sent but im teaching my son responsibility and want him to clean it too. supervised of course. he's such a sweetheart. never bites, s curves, hisses. he even likes his head pet like a dog but since he's fed on his cage i don't want him to mistake my sons hand for a meal. anyone got and ideas what i could do. by the way he is a great eater now with live. never turns down a meal. just want rob switch for safety reasons.and i do supervise feeding to make sure nothing happens when fed live.
Some tricks when offering f/t rodents:
- Make sure the f/t mouse is completely thawed and warmed up before feeding.
- Try thawing it both wet (immerse directly in warm water) and dry (put roden in plastic bag and then in the water), and see if your snake prefers one over the other.
- Heat the head using a blow dryer so it's slightly warmer than the body.
- Brain the f/t mouse before offering it to your snake, some will go for the smell.

Kudos for teaching your son responsibility. I'm doing the same for my daughter and she helps clean the enclosures as well. Before cleaning I remove the snake and put him in a separate tub temporarily, as we don't want to risk him getting hurt if something falls or gets dropped when we're moving hides, water dishes, etc. I've also never had a BP even threaten to bite. The most they'll do is hiss if they're blue. OTOH my king snakes are very food driven, to the point I'm hook training them to break the response.