1rst try on frozen no go..

[peterm15]

ok i got my ball from corey woods at the show.. hes a het for pied about 8 weeks old.. all successful feedings in a row... he was on live mice ( didnt take a f/t rat or mouse and wouldnt take a rat at first... thats why mice.. thats how it was explained to me).. and i am now trying to convert him to ft rats.. the conversion to rats was great... no hasle at all.. but last night i tried a f/t rat and no luck.. left in over night ect ect..

i have no doubt that i will be able to trade him over to f/t rats... i just want to know what to do now.. hes still young and i dont want him to not get fed for a few weeks.. he ate a rat 7 days ago.. so i tried him on f/t and he didnt take it ( wasnt really expecting him to) but what now.. do i offer him a pre killed or live one.. and try on f/t again next week... or in a few days should i try him on f/t... thanks for the help

[crankyboy]

I recently acquired a 6 month old ball, and was a bit concerned about switching him over to F/T, but all i did was fresh kill his prey, then wiggle it around in front of his face. Next time i gave him F/T and he took it no prob, just had to make sure it had been in very warm water to mimic the temp of a live animal. I originally used this technique with 3 of my 4 other snakes and it worked as well. To kill a rodent, you can either whack it's head quickly on the side of a counter, or hold them down and lay a pencil or similar item across the back of their neck, then in one quick motion push the pencil down with both thumbs and break the neck. Just keep in mind that the rodent will urinate quite a bit as they die so do it on something that will absorb it all. I know it sounds gruesome, and i must admit i hate having to fresh kill anything, but if it all works out and he gets switched over you will save many a mouse and rat a gruesome death in the future...

[peterm15]

thanks alot.. thats helps quite a bit.. thanks for the info..

[by_accident]

I also recently acquired baby ball who refused his f/t on the first attempt. After doing much research, I decided on after the initial thawing in hot water, I also 'warmed' with a hair dryer prior to introducing. The dryer seems to really increase the scent of the rodent. I have not had a problem feeding since. One time I put the freshly f/t heated mouse in his feeding box first and then introduced Norman. Didn't have to wiggle or anything... he want right over to it and BAMM. Mouse gone!

Hope this tip helps.

[peterm15]

cool.. thanks...