Live required?

[Jazz04]

Hello, new guy with a question for the group. I have previously owned a ball python who passed about 5 years ago. I am looking to get a new snake, preferably a late 2016-2017 ball python. My problem is all of the pet shops in our town have closed. I do not have a reliable source of live rodents. I am willing to buy frozen in bulk, but understand through research some BPs will only eat live. QUestion is, should I look at another species or take the risk with a BP? What would you do? I am also looking at boas and GTPs as alternatives.

Thanks

[Lizardlicks]

Ask the seller if the animal is on live or f/t, and if it's on live, see if they can get it switched over before they send it to you. If live vs f/t is a deal breaker, there are plenty of sellers willing to accommodate that.

[Craiga 01453]

Your best bet is to find a reputable breeder. They will be able to tell you what the snake has been eating. If feeding F/T is your preference, they will accommodate that and get you a snake that has been steadily accepting F/T already.
morphmarket.com is a great place to start if you can't find somebody local

[Jazz04]

So for clarity, if a young ball python is on f/t, there is a reasonable expectation they will continue to eat f/t throughout their lifespan? Thank you for the quick answers, that was the info I was looking for. I just want to ensure I have all my bases covered prior to buying an animal. The last thing I want is to be unable to properly care for it.

[Lizardlicks]

Yup. If they're eating f/t, they see it as a food source. The tricky part is usually getting them started on it, but once they're going they're fine.

[Stewart_Reptiles]

You want to find an animal that is already on F/T and a consist ant feeder at that.

Getting something that eats live might prove itself to be difficult to switch by yourself and I tend to always recommend to feed the same prey for at least 3 meals before switching to F/T otherwise you might end up with an animal that will just refuse food week after week, not to mention even after that switching can be as fast as one meal just like it can take a few months.

There are breeders that sell established animals feeding on F/T, some will switch them for you as well if it's the animal on a payment plan and has to stay a bit longer with the breeder, that being said taking one F/T does not mean the animal is switched, for example I only list or release animals as F/T feeders if they took at least 5 successful consecutive F/T (in my experience if they have taken less they might not truly be switched yet).

So when you buy your snake ask if the snake takes F/T, how many as he took and were those consecutive feedings (switching back and forth each week does not count)

[Hannahshissyfix]

Yep just look for a young one that has consistently been on ft and ideally NOT mice. I start all of my hatchling on ft rat pinks so this is rarely an issue. But if you find a dream snake and it's on live then it's still pretty easy to get young ones to switch to ft so I wouldn't worry about it as much since you're looking for a hatchling. I've switched many live eaters to ft when I was building my collection and have only come across 1 that hasn't switched for me over the last 2 years but I purchased her already as an adult that had been on live for years. But even with her, I still try ft every few weeks and will eventually get her to switch.