Switching live to frozen for older snakes

[footballpythons]

I'm in high school and its fourth quarter. I now have my final project which can be anything new teach the class. So I chose to do something I've been wanting to do for a while. Switch my snakes from live to frozen rats. And I need all the help and tips I can get thanks for any help

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[Craiga 01453]

Unfortunately, I've only fed F/T so I will be no help here. I just wanted to comment and say that sounds like a pretty cool project. Please keep us posted on how it goes. Thanks and good luck!

[Stewart_Reptiles]

With adult snakes it's mainly about patience, it can take a week like it can take MONTHS so you have to use tough love and not offer live in between (of course this requires a good body weight)

Thaw at room temp near the enclosure (this help scenting the room and entice the snake), warm up with a hair dryer and offer the rat (hold the rat behind the neck and move it around as if it was alive)

[Lizardlicks]

Caveat that I have ONLY tried this on younger snakes, so they shed and empty out much more often and need/want more calories to sustain growth, but in theory you should be able to do it with a larger snake. I take a consistently feeding live animal and continue their pattern up until the point that hey shed. They get to skip that feeding, regardless of if they finish the shed before feeding day or would otherwise normally eat anyway. Doesn't matter, they get their food withheld to the next feeding scheduled AFTER that one.

Heat appropriately and offer as normal. I've yet to have any animal refuse that first offer, but an older snake could be more stubborn. They are not the same ravenous pits of rat death as juveniles, and if they have good reserves, they may not feel compelled to take the first offer, or the second.

Second method that my buddy swears by is kind of the opposite. Take a live feeding animal, offer it a smaller that usual feeder. As soon as it's finished getting that one down, IMMEDIATELY offer the F/T item. In theory they should already be so deep in feeding mode that they just snarf the next thing that is vaguely rat like enough. For an adult that might be stubborn, I would actually try this method first, and then the one I use if this one doesn't work. If you try this one after holding out, it will just reinforce that the snake can totally wait for a live animal.

[redshepherd]

The basics are thawing them at room temp, and warming them up with a hairdryer. Hold them by the scruff of the neck instead of the tail, and offer that way.

Unless you're in a hurry to put on weight on a snake (if they're a female you want to breed this season, or they're very skinny, or a hatchling), it's really just offering only once a week or longer, depending on their weight, and waiting them out... Some convert right away and have no problems, some snakes reject a few times and act picky, but most of them will eventually take it.

A common issue seems to be people trying to offer every day or every other day, which is too frequent, and stressing the snake out, which just makes them more likely to refuse.

[footballpythons]

I attempted to feed them thawed today and it actually worked this time for both snakes!!!! And so I already finished my final quarter project a few days after it was actually assigned!!!

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[Lizardlicks]

Awesome job!