Live to F/T transition tips

[LostElise]

Okay, so I am looking for more tips on switching an 8month old (ish) pastel to frozen when he's been eating live. I have not been handling him since I got him (2/17), but I offered a thawed mouse last Sunday. He did not take it, so I left him alone until tonight (unlike my female who didn't seem to need much acclimation time, this boy is very shy). Tonight I had a rat pup. I rubbed a thawed, warm/hot mouse on the rat's and had kept the rat's little plastic cage over the tank to prime the snake with the scent. I stuck the mouse in on tongs and the pastel struck after a while, but mostly defensively. Wouldn't go for it.

So I put the live rat pup in the cage and within 5 seconds, the snake attacked. I didn't even have time to clear the crumbled newspaper in the tank, so I couldn't/didn't see what happened. Oh, but I heard the screaming.

Live feeding is not for me. I have nothing against the practice when done safely. Unfortunately, I am weak of constitution and couldn't handle it. I feel like I pick my pets according to what I can give. I don't own an iguana, because I don't have the time and energy necessary to please them. Likewise, I don't believe that I should be brought to tears when I feed an animal I do care for. As a result, I am wanting all the advice I can get on switching him over--or I am going to have to find him a home that can suit him. I can get away with this type of partially supervising his feedings while he's still on rat pups. Once he gets older and needs bigger rats, I won't have the luxury.

So what do I do? I have heard the suggestion that I thaw and refreeze a rat to make it extra smelly. I have heard the idea to feed him live for a few months just to condition him to eat the food and then eventually he'll eat whatever I throw in there. I have heard to leave him in a cloth bag in the tank with the dead warmed rat pup over night (and he'll eventually eat it). I have heard to offer f/t pups exclusively over and over until he finally accepts, the idea being that he will get hungry enough eventually to eat them (and because BPs can go so long in between meals, that such won't be cruel and tantamount to starvation).

I am wanting to try something that will work, but I don't want to hurt the snake. Ultimately, it's care/health comes before my own as it did not choose to be a carnivore under the care of a vegetarian with an over-abundance of "it can't die with me listening" hypocritical conscience. What should I do, besides calm down? Obviously, the rat pup feeding was none too long ago, and I am still shaken.

Thank you in advance.

[daniel1983]

Put calm down first

Sometimes a transition takes a little time...so be prepared to work a bit. However, you could get lucky

It sounds like you have had a very good attempt at making a transition. I would just keep repeating what you are doing now. Make sure the rodent is warm and scent the area well....you should get it to take the f/t rodent eventually.

There are a couple other things that you could try, but I would just stick with this for a couple of weeks......then take some alternative methods.

....that is just how I would handle it. Maybe someone else could offer some additional options

[LostElise]

Make sure the rodent is warm and scent the area well

How do I scent the area? I was sorta winging it when I left the rats near the tank. What should I actually do to scent the room? How long should I scent the room before presentation of f/t rat? i am assuming the idea is the you prime the snake, but I don't know.

[Topher]

When I transitioned from live to F/T I would start by placing some used mouse bedding in the snakes enclosure, normally on top of the opposite hide that the snake was in. If you have a screen top, just put the bedding on top of the screen. When my BP would come out of his hide with his I'm hunting look (kinked neck and flicking tongue), I would dangle the mouse in front of him and move it just slightly until he struck. I learned that my snake didn't like to be touched with the mouse and doing so would cause him to lose interest and hide again, so you might want to keep some distance. I've also read that if your snake refuses you should wait two weeks before trying again. Hope this helps.

[tmlowe5704]

As Daniel said, be prepared to work for it. I was trying to switch snakes over to f/t for 2 or 3 months to no avail and gave up and started raising my own rats because they took live no problems.

[Fearless]

Just another one of those things i have heard to try is dipping the f/t mouse in a little bit of chicken broth, never had much luck when i tried it but cant hurt to give it a try!

[Sadie]

I've been told that "starving" the snake into accepting a prey item only makes the snake an inconsistent feeder. Mine have all switched easily to f/t and it sounds like you're on the right track- getting a strike means he's paying attention anyways. I wasn't clear if your snake is eating live rat pups or mice....? Try to stick with one species or the other, they smell different to the snake and you'll have more trouble switching him from live rats > f/t mice than live rats > f/t rats. I've also found pastels can be picky eaters, so just be persistent. Keep offering f/t first, especially right after a shed when he might be more hungry. When my girl first switched to f/t, she struck and coiled but it took a couple tries for her to swallow. It just takes time. Good luck!