switching to rats

[yoshicjn]

i have 1.2 balls '03 circa june/july shipped over in sept . . . they are all about 1 foot long (eye ballin em) . . . how soon before trying to switch em to rats?

i was gonna try to feed em rat pups this week . . . the boy and the big girl slam 1 mouse a week . . .

the small girl hasnt eaten since i got her - i've tried dead, stunned and live but no dice - gonna try a rat pup and hope she finally eats . . . kinda worried - been about 6 weeks - do snakes stay stressed this long after shipping? they are all pretty young but the other two only refused twice and have been great eaters since then . . . the boy already shed for the first time for me . . . what do you guys think? :confused:

[mykee]

I would get them traded over to rats pronto. The sooner the better. Don't worry about the 'not eating' thing, I've had balls go 4 months without eating when I got them. At first, I would try a live rat pup (approx. 20g) and when they take it, feed them one or two every five days UNTIL they go into shed. That 7 days while they're in shed is magical, in the sense that EVERY hatchling I've had that was eating live, took dead(f/t) after that shed. This shed thing only works for a few months from my experiences, so go ahead and give it a try. Good luck, and keep us posted.

[yoshicjn]

the last i saw her was saturday night about 11:30-ish pm . . . she looked like she was trying to burrow her way between the hot hide and the waer bowl . . . i came back into the room (classroom - i'm a high school biology teacher) and was instantly greeted with the foulest smell i have ever had the displeasure of laying my nose on . . . i checked the cage and there she was - laying limply between the hot hdie and the water bowl . . . she must've died sunday during the day judging by the concentration of the smell . . . 6 weeks with me and she refused every meal . . . i emailed the dealer who sent her to me - i had been keeping her up to date . . . hopefully, i can get anopther girl from her soon . . . at least i hadn't named her yet . . .

peace