Switching to f/t

[MARV]

I m trying to switch from live to F/t for my 14 albino female ....I tried for a few times but she just don't take it. I'm sure she's aware of the mouse or even interested in it , she flicked her tongue and following the mouse when I move it with my tongs. She even showed the striking position but whenever I thought she will take it then she turn her head back quickly;( what to do?


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[Eric Alan]

How are you going about getting the frozen mouse to the point where you're feeding it to your little one (i.e., how are you defrosting, warming, etc)? There are a few different ways, so I don't want to start recommending something that you may already be doing.

[Mustang5]

This was happening with my female, I waited it out and a couple trys later she ate it no problem. Or you can try Fresh Killed for a few meals then try to go back to F/T

Hope this helped, good luck

[scalrtn]

I think the most important thing with f/t is the temperature of the feeders. There are various suggested methods of heating them, but I first thaw the feeders at room temperature, then use a stovetop plate warmer at the lowest setting, and monitor the temperature carefully and repeatedly with a temp gun, turning the feeders over with each reading to insure uniform warming. When they get to about 100 degrees F, they're ready. I finally use a blow dryer to scent the snake's room to help trigger a feeder response.

I'll wiggle the feeder with thongs, but if the snake doesn't take it, I leave it at the mouth of his hide for at least 3 hours. He's only left a few untouched, but that was in midwinter.

[MARV]

How are you going about getting the frozen mouse to the point where you're feeding it to your little one (i.e., how are you defrosting, warming, etc)? There are a few different ways, so I don't want to start recommending something that you may already be doing.

I put them in cool water until they gets soften then I switch my tape to the hottest side and leave them in for ard 20-30mins .Also I tried dip them in boiling water for ard 5secs at the end. I thought they could be hot outside but cool inside so my girl can't recognise it as a prey with the heat pit?


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[Atrox]

I thaw mine out for 10-15 minutes using warmed water, I just set up a bowl and fill it with warm water with a tiny bit of boiling water. I then put the prey in a small bag (such as a sandwich bag) and fill that with a tiny bit of warm water too and keep it pressed to the bottom of the bowl with a pair of tongs (balanced against the wall, I'm not waiting there with the tongs). Finally I'll just heat the head and a little bit of the body with a hair-dryer. There are many methods to try, but whatever you do don't change the feeding regime.

[Lynchman18]

Well today was my first attempt at F/T.. I fed 2 out of 3 of my balls (1 is in shed), my yearling Gopher snake and my Kingsnake i got when i was 8 years old and i'm 37 now.. None of which had had F/T before today. 4 out of 5 of my snakes took them. What i did was i Googled "how to feed a snake a frozen mouse" and it went to this link http://www.wikihow.com/Feed-a-Snake-Frozen-Food.. I followed the steps on the site and watched the youtube video at the end of the steps. The video is very helpful.. I did exactly what the steps and video said and it was a success. Until today my 29 year old kingsnake has always taken live mice i wasn't sure he would even give a F/T a chance...

[Eric Alan]

I put them in cool water until they gets soften then I switch my tape to the hottest side and leave them in for ard 20-30mins .Also I tried dip them in boiling water for ard 5secs at the end. I thought they could be hot outside but cool inside so my girl can't recognise it as a prey with the heat pit?

It sounds like you've got a pretty good system in place already. The clarification I would make is that they must be completely defrosted the entire way through (not cool at all on the inside) before feeding to your snake.

Many people use the water method, but it's just not my cup of tea. On feeding day, what I do is pull the frozen rats I'll be needing out in the morning and set them on a paper towel or foam tray to thaw in the snake room during the day. When it's feeding time (I feed at night), and they've completely thawed, the only thing I need to do is heat up their heads with a hairdryer for a few minutes. Sometimes I use a temp gun to make sure that I've gotten them up to the ~100° F temp that a live rat would be. When they're nice and warm, I offer them up and have had good success doing so.