Ball python live feeding

[gusanr14]

Hello,
Tomorrow is the first feeding day after a week of acclimating. I am going to feed live for few feedings, but question came up on my mind. I saw that I have to leave the mouse/rat for 15~20 minutes and watch what happens. The feeder size is going to be at fuzzy rat/small mouse. Probably feeding mouse since he was on mouse before. What do you guys do if the snake has not eaten prey after 15~20 minutes? Taking the prey out was one of the step I saw but do you guys just keep the prey in separate tub and feed the same prey after a week? I don't have any food, bedding or enclosure for the mouse/rat. I know it did not happen yet but it could happen and I think it is better to know before hand so I can prepare for it? I know I can dispose F/T but for live, I have no idea what to do.

[CALM Pythons]

Hello,
Tomorrow is the first feeding day after a week of acclimating. I am going to feed live for few feedings, but question came up on my mind. I saw that I have to leave the mouse/rat for 15~20 minutes and watch what happens. The feeder size is going to be at fuzzy rat/small mouse. Probably feeding mouse since he was on mouse before. What do you guys do if the snake has not eaten prey after 15~20 minutes? Taking the prey out was one of the step I saw but do you guys just keep the prey in separate tub and feed the same prey after a week? I don't have any food, bedding or enclosure for the mouse/rat. I know it did not happen yet but it could happen and I think it is better to know before hand so I can prepare for it? I know I can dispose F/T but for live, I have no idea what to do.

First feeding.. Should of put this under his Progression thread so you have a Timeline of the progress, questions and answers you got to look back on. Remember I explained that last week. You wont be able to find the 135 threads you start everyday if you want ro review my man.
Anyways, a lot of us have a 10 gal tank laying around or even breed Rats/Mice so we can keep them until our snakes feed. If you have a tank laying around all you need is a little dog food or something for a couple days and water in a small dish. It will last a week like that. The smell of a mouse is terrible though so be prepared for that stink.
PS : don't touch that mouse then try and put your hand in the snake enclosure.


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[gusanr14]

First feeding.. Should of put this under his Progression thread so you have a Timeline of the progress, questions and answers you got to look back on. Remember I explained that last week. You wont be able to find the 135 threads you start everyday if you want ro review my man.
Anyways, a lot of us have a 10 gal tank laying around or even breed Rats/Mice so we can keep them until our snakes feed. If you have a tank laying around all you need is a little dog food or something for a couple days and water in a small dish. It will last a week like that. The smell of a mouse is terrible though so be prepared for that stink.
PS : don't touch that mouse then try and put your hand in the snake enclosure.


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Yea, so I see some people suggest to try 15~20 mintues and if not eaten, try again an hour later? or is it just one chance of 15~20 minutes then just try week later?

[CALM Pythons]

Yea, so I see some people suggest to try 15~20 mintues and if not eaten, try again an hour later? or is it just one chance of 15~20 minutes then just try week later?

Yeah wait a week if he doesn't take it. Make sure you try at night and be quiet. Sit still etc..


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[Tonald Drump]

I mean, if they're healthy, they should strike at the mouse in less than a minute, but if they haven't for 10+ mins, I usually take them out and keep the mouse till next week.

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[gusanr14]

Yeah wait a week if he doesn't take it. Make sure you try at night and be quiet. Sit still etc..


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Alright will do! Can ball pythons get stressed by being with a rodent? I am guessing since 15~20 minutes are suggested, they can get stress if left with prey longer?

[krampvs]

My beep doesn't even let the mouse's feet hit the floor of his viv...

[Godzilla78]

My beep doesn't even let the mouse's feet hit the floor of his viv...

Yeah, the average lifespan of a live rat in a ball python enclosure is about 6 seconds. Sometimes, the rat barely gets to walk a few steps, lol. Seriously, if the snake doesn't eat the live rodent within 2 minutes, it is not going to happen. I would never wait 15-20 minutes, snakes are not going to wait that long to take an opportunity for a live meal. They are going to kill and eat immediately, or ignore it.

[cchardwick]

When I started feeding live I left rodents in for 15 minutes. One time I had a rodent that was too big for the snake and took a couple bites out of the snake before I checked on it. Now I only wait five minutes and use rodents that are much smaller compared to the size of the snake, so small to medium rats for adult ball pythons. Feeding rat crawlers is harmless, doesn't matter what percentage of body weight they are, you can go up to 10% of the body weight of the snake. Mice are pretty harmless too.

The best way to use up extra rodents is to have multiple snakes, if one doesn't eat then try to feed it to others. The more snakes you have the easier it is. I feed about 50 rodents per week, all live from my rat and mouse racks. I usually pop in a live rodent in each tub, wait five minutes, then go back to the beginning and if they haven't eaten it I'll move it to another tub for a second round. When I check the tubs I mark the ones that have eaten and are aggressively looking for a second rat, then if I find uneaten rats I move them to those tubs. With just one snake it's a bit tough, especially if you have a live rat pup that won't survive without it's mother. For mice you can set up another tank and keep it alive, bring it back to the pet store or breeder or find another snake person to take it off your hands. For rat pups you can either euthanize with CO2 or find a rat breeder with nursing mothers to take the pup. You can also set up a chicken egg incubator and keep it alive for a few days at 99F, that's what I did for the short term when I started out, works pretty good.


As far as mice smelling bad - it's really only the males that smell bad. And when you get mice from the pet stores they usually throw in males and females all in the same tub. The males end up fighting and release a 'musk' scent and makes all the mice really stink. See if you can ask for a female mouse instead. When I'm breeding mice I'll feed off all males in tubs of babies as soon as I can tell the males from the females. You never really want to put two mature males in the same enclosure, even without females around they still fight really bad, sometimes to the death. Females will never fight, and one male smells worse than a whole rack of females.

[CALM Pythons]

Alright will do! Can ball pythons get stressed by being with a rodent? I am guessing since 15~20 minutes are suggested, they can get stress if left with prey longer?

Idk how much it stresses them but i know if they dont want to eat they dont want the mouse in there. My 6 month old takes a while to eat. When she first came to me she was really hungry. She ate twice a week small prey.. Then after 2 months she was caught up to a healthy weight and now doesn't run out of the hide so fast to grab it.. She parks her head in the doorway and the rat can go by four or five times within 15 minutes until she finally decides to grab it. I sit there the whole time to step in if I needed to. Its not good if the prey goes into the hide with the snake. For 1 if the prey lasts long enough to go into the hide with the snake then the snake doesn't want it and for 2 they can nibble on the snake.


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