how to switch. . . . . . . .

[ballpythonmorph]

hi my ball python eat live small rats and i want to get him to f/t what do i do? please help

[Spirit]

I don't know, but I'm guessing you've got some tease feeding to do. Don't SHAKE the mouse though. Use tongs, and slooowwwly rotate it near the snake. If he's not biting, sometimes gently tapping it on the nose helps...

I don't what else to suggest, but I am glad you're switching to F/T. Good luck. :)

[CamHanna]

Just keep trying prekilled and don't feed live again until he absolutely has to eat. A lot of folks say it is easier to go from live to fresh-killed then to frozen-thawed, but all of mine went straight from live to FT.

First get the rat good and warm (110F or more, not enough to burn) then slowly 'jig' it around in front of the snake. It may take a while (15+ mins) to get a bite.

If that doesn't work you can leave the rat with the snake overnight in a smallish container. I've never had that work for any of my balls that hadn't already eaten when teased.

You've got to make sure that your temps and humidity are good. You could maybe even go a little more humid and a little warmer than usual. Make sure though that he is not stressed.

Good Luck
Cam

[Jeff_Favelle]

Tapping on the nose for BP's DOES NOT WORK! Holding it still about 1-2 inches away works the best. Ball Pythons are head-shy. Its counter-productive to poke them in the head.

[Spirit]

It's the only thing that works for my friends BP. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. Only one way to find out.

Edit: And by tap I mean VERY lightly.

What part of BC are you from Jeff? Curious. I'm in Van.

[ballpythonmorph]

ok when hes dne shedding i will try f/t but when i tried feeding him f/t mice when he was on them he only took2 out of like 10 attempts. is there a different smell? oh by the way i am probably going to get a male jungle pastel from rare creations when they hatch is he a good guy?

[BornboreD]

Yes, mice and rats smell different. Hence the many threads in the past about difficulties dealing with switching Balls from mice to rats. If your snake takes a rat ONCE, don't switch back!!! For any reason. Once you go rat, don't ever go back!!! :)

Colin

[Jeff_Favelle]

Victoria.

[ballpythonmorph]

he loves rats im saying when you kill them and freeze them and when it comes time you unthaw them do they have a different smell then when they where freshly killed?

[BornboreD]

They sure smell different to me!!! :(. Not exactly sure about that one, perhaps though. Some people do have problems even switching to F/T. I have one that seems to only like em thawed in hot water. Another that stopped eating until I used a blow dryer for his. They're funny little things.......:D

Colin

[ballpythonmorph]

lol ok if i dangle it by those hemostats or whatever they call whats my chance of that working? also i herd that if u dip the head in very hot water it usually works is that true? can some post a picture of a male jungle pastel preferably if it came from rare creations

[BornboreD]

There's hundreds of Pastel pics in past threads. Search the forum for "Pastel". Dangling from hemostats is normally how anyone would do it. Chances are good, not gauranteed. Dangle in front of them not overhead. Many people have had the hot water trick work with success. Try it, what's the worst that's can happen??

Colin

[ballpythonmorph]

hi my ball python sheded today so im warming up his f/t rat right now im going to get it unthawed and warm then im going to dip the head in really hot water. . . . should i dip its head in the water without it in a ziploc bag or with a ziploc bag?

[ballpythonmorph]

now i have gotten very very mad because i put the damn rat in his cage and moved it a little and he runs away from it hes a chicken $#!t and the rat wont stay warm it get cold in like 2 minutes or maybe 1 minute please help right away

[Vengeance]

I think you need to calm down first, if you Ball python is showing no interest in feeding right now then your best option is to either leave the rat with him overnight and see if he takes it or toss the rat and wait a week and try again. There isn't much you can do at this point as your Ball has already show you by moving away from the prey that he isn't interestead in feeding so your best choice and one that will cause your Ball python the least amount of stress is to try again next week.

[ballpythonmorph]

i already told you he runs away from everything he would probably run away from a FLY and im going to dip the head of the rat in chicken broth and see what he does oh and i really dont want to toss the rat it costed 3.50

[CamHanna]

Get the entire rat VERY warm. Slowly bring the rat within sight of the snake then slowly and gently wave and rotate the rat a couple inches in front of the ball. The trick is to be patient and not scare the snake. If your ball is intimidated then YOU are doing something wrong. Does your ball have a hide or two and is the enclosure in a quiet spot? You need to make sure that he's not stressed.

Good Luck
Cam

[CamHanna]

Also, it usually works better to do this at night, in the dark. I use a red heat lamp for light (not for heat). You'll need to be sure that the heat from the lamp doesn't distract him from the rat heat; this means having it a good distance away from him.

Cam

[ballpythonmorph]

sorry but i already tossed the rat ill try maybe today with a live one? if not ill wait till tuesday anyother advice on getting him to f/t is open

[CamHanna]

Feeding live rats wont help you switch him to FT. If he's healthy then he should be able to go months without food. There's no need to lose determination just yet. I would not feed live again until he actually NEEDS to eat. Until then just keep trying with FT.

[ballpythonmorph]

i no this im saying that i might buy a LIVE rat than KILL it and then feed it to him as P/K or F/K

[CamHanna]

Sorry, I guess I misunderstood the meaning of "live".

Good Luck

[ballpythonmorph]

ok sorry if it sounded like i was yelling