Coverting Live eaters to F/T

[valhalha30]

I adopted an adult bp a few months ago, and was informed she only eats live rats.... so, after having to keep rats alive for weeks and dealing with their smell and noise and not enjoying it one bit... I wondered if it would just be easier on the snake and myself to convert her to f/t.
She has one blind eye, and I noticed last feeding time that she seemed really stressed out about having the rat near her, so.. since they go off smell (usually always) instead of movement, I figured she really wouldn't notice the difference of live to f/t and probably go for it. I've heard blow drying it, dry thawing it, or dipping the feeder in meat broth would entice her to eat a f/t feeder.
I've also just heard, give it a shot without trying any tricks, because it could be that easy.. but.. in case it's not.. what tips/tricks can you guys offer? Anything is appreciated!

[ViperSRT3g]

Those seem to be the main ones, heating it up, blow drying it for extra warmth, broth baths, and zombie dancing. If you don't have a lot of rats, try using them all up then getting a F/T rat so you don't have extra rats around the place. Sometimes having live rats around can distract the snake and make them want the live stuff.

[h20hunter]

Sounds like if she is blind in one eye and hates rats you know enough history on why she is partially blind.

We thaw in a ziplock with hot water. Change out the water a couple times, make sure it is warm, feed it. No worries.

[martin82531]

When I switched one of mine from live to F/T, I really didn't do anything special. I made the switch around 700 grams, I wanted to make sure there was some weight to lose if he refused. I think it took about 3 feeding attempts to make the switch, I feed every 10 days. Every now and then I have to do the zombie dance but for the most part I just dangle the rat in front of the ball, they usually take it right away.

[valhalha30]

She went through a shed recently that had left her one eye blind because she rubbed that eye either too much or too hard on something inside her tank. I'm actually half blind... ironically... so I totally understand her fear of sudden movement of something.
I still tried feeding her live after that however because it's the only thing I knew she eats... I am really hoping that she decided to eat f/t this time and every time in the future. I'm expecting her to be stubborn and difficult... but also praying she eats a thawed out rat.
Wish me luck!

[200xth]

Hopefully she switches quickly. If she doesn't take the food offered quickly, just leave it at the entrance to her hide overnight. Sometimes the ones who don't want dances or shows are more than happy to pick a dead rodent off the ground in the middle of the night and eat it in the dark.

[patientz3ro]

I vacuum seal my mousesicles individually, but I can probably over think tying my shoes. For the initial switch to F/T, try braining a tiny little pinkie and smear the brain matter on the feeder. I'll bet $20 it gets nailed in no time at all. I don't know what it is about brains, but it flips the predator switch like a baby seal in a shark tank.

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[valhalha30]

huh.. never thought about that patientz3ro.. but I'll be sure to try if all else fails.

[patientz3ro]

I've done it with quite a few BP's when their owners were having issues. I don't know what kind of access you have to medical supplies, but I'll usually take a 3ml syringe with an 18 gauge needle and insert it through the eye socket of a thawed, warm pinkie, the just squirt it on the feeder. No mess, no problem.

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[jasonmcgilvrey83]

When i switched over i kept used rat bedding and let them thaw out in the bedding so they had the live smell to them and used a blow dryer to get them to the right body temp. After doing that for a month or two they switched.