Tips?

[royal]

Hey all.... I was wondering what tips people have for changing a balls eating habits from live to f/t. Mine is a male and only 2 months old, so thats the other side of the question.... When should I switch to f/t.

The reason I ask is that I cannot always get (almost never) fuzzy mice, or anything that is small, while they are live. I live in a town with a very small pet store.

Any help is as always, much appreciated.

[norman]

make the switch as soon as possible.
as for tips, ive never had any problems switching over, but id say get a live one and whack it so its still twitching and give it to him, then eventually ease him into just killed, then once he takes those it should be no problem getting him to eat frozen/thawed.
but as i say ive never tried this as all the stuff i have took F/T first time i fed them,so you might want to get some other opinions on this, or just try feeding it F/T and you never know, he might just take it.
hope i helped,
pete

[Pixie]

I would definitely recommend to switch to prekilled prey as soon as you can. It will be much harder down the road, better to do it while your snake is still young.

Like Norman said, try with a freshly prekilled prey. In a pillow case and a good whack against a hard surface. It may still be moving which will attract your snake but if it's not grab some tongs and dangle it near your snake. It almost always works.

Good luck :)

[snakemann87]

hey, i found that moving the mouse along the ground quickly back and forth, then slowing moving up to your snake, triggers a response.

[Lisa]

Now is a good time to switch.

you can find indepth info on switching at this url http://www.proexotics.com/FAQ_answers_Why_do_you_suggest_feeding_thawed.html


mostly i find making the rodent warm and wiggling it some makes a big difference.

[Xetox]

I have a question on the same matter....

Myself I have always raised rodents for feeding so I have had access to most everything I needed, plus I have about 20 pet stores withing the 30 mile radius that I sell to so what ever I cant come up with they can!

But I just wanted to know from you all that do use f/t how do u thaw ;) u pop em inthe microwave or what?

[Big Mike]

You should never thaw in the microwave because some parts might be frozen while other parts are way too hot.

I put mine into a ziplock bag and thaw them in hot tap water. Some people leave them at room temp for a day. You want them to be totally thawd but not cooked. It's also helpful if they are slightly warmer than room temp when you feed them.

[ross2k]

From what I've heard its best to thaw via the water/zip loc trick. If you leave it out for an extended period of time pathogens can take over.

Also I recently converted some adult BPs from live to thawed/fk. Be patient, when they are ready to eat they will accept what is in front of them. Every snake is different. I have some that wont eat when you do the dangle thing, they'll ONLY accept it if you throw it stone dead into their enclosure and seal it up and turn off the lights. I have others that won't even consider eating if you don't put on a show with it.

I think everyone remembers the first time their snake takes from the tongs...man thats an experience.

[Xetox]

Speaking of tongs, anyone know a place to get some fairly cheap?

[Lisa]

Originally posted by Xetox
Speaking of tongs, anyone know a place to get some fairly cheap?

Dollar store or super market.

[LdyDrgn]

I bought a set of hemostats from Harbor Freight (1 straight, 1 bent nose, $8 USD all together). They are located all across the States. I don't see one near Kansas City, tho... to find a location click here (http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/retail_stores.taf)

I think hemostats are much easier to work with than tongs, but that is my opinion :)

[Xetox]

Yea thats what I meant was hemo's my mom works for a dentist so maybe she can get them for me :)

[snakemann87]

hey if you go to the post Live or Frozen by GECKOMAN2, i have a link to a site with pics of snakes bitten by live food.

[Linds]

Originally posted by royal
The reason I ask is that I cannot always get (almost never) fuzzy mice, or anything that is small, while they are live. I live in a town with a very small pet store.

Ball are capable of taking hopper mice, some are even able to take adult mice, as soon as hatch out of their eggs. Fuzzy mice are too small a meal size for even a fresh hatchling. General rule of thumb is to feed prey roughly the same size prey as the largest part of the snakes girth. Some snakes may refuse meals that are too small. Hope this helped ;)