How to switch from live to F/T?

[patm1313]

I am soon going to be getting a BP that is feeding on live rat pups or live mice. What can I do to switch him over?

[Pandora]

Both my BPs have no trouble switching back and forth between live and F/T. Give it a shot and see if it works. With my girl, I have to use tongs, grab the rat in the middle and simulate live moment otherwise she doesn't respond. You can also use a blow dryer to heat their heads a bit for better response. Also, leave them in the room overnight to defrost and pre-scent the room. Some respond to the smell and some don't. Good luck

[JLC]

My little guy has been taking live mice since before I got him in August. Last month, I picked up some frozen ones because it's so hard for me to get live rodents around here. Anyhow....just warmed it up and dangled it (with tongs) by the tail....Spencer never seemed to notice a difference...just snatched it right away and has done so each time since. Once he grabs it, I give it a little tug to help him think he's killing it, then release it and let him do his thing.

I think most babies just wanna eat and they really don't care what it is. It's the adults that can give us finiky fits.

[starmom]

Well, Helena, you are one lucky girl!!!
With my snakes- meh- not so much!
I have one who might not ever switch to f/t. I have another one who finally did make the switch, but it was a process. I raised the temp to about 94F and increased the amount of time between her feedings. I also employed a fair amount of patience. In the end, she switched over and has been a really good feeder of f/t rats.
I would make certain that you pre-scent for an hour and make sure the rodent is *really* thawed. I'd blast them with a bow dryer to raise the heat signature and use hemostats to do the zombie rat dance. If he doesn't eat, try again in another 5 days (if the snake is a wee one) or another 7 days if the snake is older

[RichardA]

Most all of mine will freely switch between the two......as long as its warm and moving they dont seem to care....rofl

[what_stanger?]

Mine was on live rat pups/adult mice when I switched him.

I started with a 'fresh' pre-killed rat pup, it went no problem.
After that I went right into the frozen thawed, and he has been great.


I will note that he has an amazing feeding response though, which couldn't have hurt my odds of making a good switch.

[HypoPita]

I have all of my snakes on F/T now. The two youngest, I bought from BHB and they feed f/t...so that was obviously no change. The older two, it was a slight bit "harder". I use that term loosely. Neither of them really seemed to know what the hell I was dangling infront of them. Since Chester is a VERY responsive feeder...he didn't take all too long to snatch it. Lelu on the other hand, wont eat if the food touches her, and she was on live for a good 2-3years. It took a looooooong time of dangling that thing, leaving her be for a few mins, and then coming back with it for her to take it. Took what felt like an hour, but I am sure it was much less.

They both strike immediately...they feed very very well. It doesn't seem that they really care at all that it is prekilled anymore.

The one thing I think that helped chester along in the feeding was that I started dangling the live food for him, so it wasn't as dramatic of a change as it would be for the prey to go from moving to magically floating. So, that is always an option if your guy is being a little picky about the switch.

Good luck with everything! Like everyone's saying, it's really not nearly as hard as you would think!