coverting to prekilled

[k2mag360]

I have a 2ft ball python feeding on live adult mice. I want to convert to prekilled then eventualy F/T. I tried feeding him a Prekilled mouse but he wouldnt take it. Any suggestions?

[Infectrix]

"starve" him/her a few days and try again.. your snake already enjoys adult mice so it shouldn't be hard..

[honduranfreekk]

I have one here that is the same on rat,s and what work,s for me every time is I run hot tap water over the head of the rat for a couple seconds 2 heat it up and hold it in front of her with tongs and she takes it everytime.Try it nothing 2 lose.I hope this helps :) :)

[mango]

my female bp came to me eating prekilled so I'm not much help on getting her on dead prey but she took a f/t the first time I offered. when you do move to f/t try thawing it in warm water in a baggie. Make sure you can feel warmth when you hold it in your hand. Don't want it to be hot, just warm. Good luck!

[MontyPython]

Yeah, try what everyone else has said, and try moving it around to make it look like it's still alive. I've heard that the feeding order is usually F/T, F/K, then live?

[sapphire_moon]

you don't start snakes off on frozen/thawed then move your way down to live! I've only heard of live/ fresh kill/ then frozen/thawed .....Just my 2 cents!

[MontyPython]

I guess we read different books and listen to different people... We can agree to disagree

[BurmBaroness]

The object is not to feed live, so I have to disagree with the order of f/t, p/k, then live. Some babies have to be started on live, but you can quickly convert them to p/k, then to f/t. Feedign live has many drawbacks, I only do that with neonates who refuse other prey, and switch them ASAP.

[Hamster of Borg]

I don't see why this has to turn in to Yet Another Argument About Feeding Live. A simple question was posed.

My suggestion would be to feed him a live one (smaller than ususal), and as soon as he's finished it and still in feeding mode, offer him a prekilled one (or even f/t) - use tongs or he might prefer your finger. It might take a couple of tries, but it hasn't failed me yet, with several imported ball pythons.

Ham

[Invictus]

I think what people mean by this pecking order is, always TRY to feed your snake F/T. If they take it, awesome! If not, try fresh kill. Keep trying that. If they take it, again, great! If they don't, use live as a last resort. I don't think Monty meant that you should progress them from F/T up to live. This is just the pecking order of getting a picky feeder to eat.

[MontyPython]

Yes, that is what i was getting at!
Thank you Invictus!

[ANACONDASAURUS]

Most BP's I've seen only eat live. What I've done is straved him for about 3-4 weeks without a snack and sometimes they give in to their hunger.

[MontyPython]

Starving sounds so cruel.

[sapphire_moon]

It does, but considering they can go up to and more than a year without food......a few weeks is not going to kill them (always make sure your snake is healthy before trying this approach though!)

[ATC813]

however it also depends on your ball..... mine is one of those finiky eaters, she'll only take live prey, even tho i've tries the pre killed as well as frozen thawed.... my experience is that they can each prefer something different........ however there is way too much to consider when feeding live that's for sure.

[jncoclub]

For the longest time mine would ONLY eat live black medium gerbils. She took her first dark rat only after I scented it with a live gerbil and bedding for an hour. Then we weened off the scenting process. Now she'll eat white rats. We've gotten her to eat f/t, but she is occasionally stubborn. I think it's just the fact that she is a ball and so she's being finicky, but overall, I think we got her changed for the best!

[snakehunter]

try switching from live to stunned, then p/k then f/t it worked for my bp, but he's a little piggy, hope your snake switches
-Jacob