Tricks for feeding F/T?

[Running Elk]

So for my first 6 snakes, I've been lucky to have hefty boys who readily eat ANYTHING.

But now I have all of these baby(ish) balls (2014-2013) that I've acquired this year. They're irritating me to no end with their finickiness about accepting frozen. I'm seriously having the hardest time getting them to eat F/T, although they are all aggressively eating *live/freshly killed. One of them even was just transferred to F/T by the breeder right before I got her, ate one frozen rat pup for me, and upon being placed in my rack directly below one of my dreaded live-mouse eaters, she reverted back to only accepting live mice.

Are there any tricks to getting them to eat F/T without wasting a bunch of thawed rats? I'm tired of leaving them in there and finding them the next day, uneaten and unusable. I have also tried frozen mice. I've tried scenting the F/T rats like mice, etc. It's driving me nuts, because three of the bigger "babies" really should start taking rats that are just slightly larger than adult mice.

I have a hard time with the "tough love" approach too, as some people have suggested to me. I feed my snakes once a week every week unless they're shedding. I have a hard time "waiting them out" until they bend to my will. There has to be another/better way.

Thanks in advance.



*Live = Freshly killed/incapacitated

[artgecko]

Hmm.. I haven't had a problem feeder BP yet and feed f/t to all of mine. That said, how do you thaw yours out? I put them in a baggie (ziploc) and float in hot water until fully thawed and the right temp. I've read that doing it this way holds more of the smell in than just dumping them in a bowl of water.

Also, have you tried doing the zombie dance with the rats? I wiggle mine around on long tongs in front of the BPs and this seems to help them be interested, vs. just leaving them in their tubs.

Good luck with your problem feeders... I have a hognose that is the way and I hate to see food wasted and him loosing weight due to not feeding.

[bcr229]

Unfortunately you really do have to wait them out, especially as they get older.

I start converting my babies to f/t after their third live mouse hopper, when they're still little nippy garbage disposals and will hit anything hot that smells like food.

[purple python]

Hmm.. I haven't had a problem feeder BP yet and feed f/t to all of mine. That said, how do you thaw yours out? I put them in a baggie (ziploc) and float in hot water until fully thawed and the right temp. I've read that doing it this way holds more of the smell in than just dumping them in a bowl of water.

Also, have you tried doing the zombie dance with the rats? I wiggle mine around on long tongs in front of the BPs and this seems to help them be interested, vs. just leaving them in their tubs.

This..

Another thing I would recommend is dipping the head of the rodent in very hot water for a few seconds (like 10 seconds) just before offering it to the snake. Use tongs and hold the rodent by the back of the neck and "zombie dance" it a little.

As far as scenting, I recently found out that if I washed the rat with dawn soap (and well rinsed) before scenting it with a mouse I had much better results. Try placing the rat in a paper bag with a handful of dirty mouse bedding - which you can ask for at your local pet store - and shake it up a little.

I know it can be frustrating and it takes time but keep trying, they will eventually come around, and I think you're right not to practice "tough love", especially with young ones, a snake that is eating is a happy snake, even if it won't eat what we feel is best for them.

[OlyEric]

For the ones I converted from mice, I used a ton of patience and used what I learned when watching them feed on the live ones.
I learned how to "walk" the F/T rats on hemostats by watching them first with their live prey.

My BEL, for example, will not strike a F/T if you walk it right at her...if you give a quarter turn and give her access to the side of the neck like it is turning away, she hits with abandon.
My Super Pastel does not like a high approach angle when feeding and I have to get the rat down and looking like it is on 4 paws instead of walking on hind paws.
I also have a het pied that is picky on size...a bit too big and will not take, just strike without wrapping. Once I downsize a touch, she will take it aggressively.

I thaw in ziplocks floating on warm water until up to temp.

Each of my BP's eat differently and they all have different personalities especially when eating.

[bcr229]

Good point, I have one that won't touch a f/t at all if you attempt any kind of "zombie dance", but if you open the tub, put the f/t feeder down so the head is sticking in her hide, close the tub, and walk away, an hour later the feeder will be gone.

One of these days I'm going to set up a GoPro or other remote camera just to see what she does with it.

[AlexisFitzy]

Definitely try using a hair dryer. It's gets the scent of the rats really flowing and drives my snakes crazy! It helps to really get the rat nice and hot, to the temp of a live rat, so it tricks them into thinking it's alive I had a pretty picky one too that was started on live at first by the breeder but I really had to wait him out because it took a couple months to get him eating f/t rats consistently. Just be persistent and once they get hungry enough they should take it.


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[Eric Alan]

Are there any tricks to getting them to eat F/T without wasting a bunch of thawed rats?

Since everyone else has offered solid advice, I'll tell you what worked the best for me. I got more snakes! A few months ago I went from four in my collection to my current 16. Whatever rats get refused by one snake get offered up as seconds to another snake. Yes, I still have refusal or more every week, but I haven't wasted a single rat since I quadrupled my collection!

[JPR]

Since everyone else has offered solid advice, I'll tell you what worked the best for me. I got more snakes! A few months ago I went from four in my collection to my current 16. Whatever rats get refused by one snake get offered up as seconds to another snake. Yes, I still have refusal or more every week, but I haven't wasted a single rat since I quadrupled my collection!

I'm finding the same thing! Lol. Just goes to show, the answer is always more snakes.

[bcr229]

I have boas and kings as my clean-up crew. They will eat anything the picky BP's won't.