View Full Version : Switching Live to Frozen
Hello All.. I have a little problem..
I currently own the below animals, all are within 1 year old.
2 Emeralds Boas.. Eating Live adult mice;
1 GTP (WILD) eats thawed pinkie rats, although prefers Live
1 Coral Albino Boa - Prekilled, but will eventually take.
Ok, so the problem is, I have tried everything to switch over my emeralds specifically because they give me the most trouble to thawed food.. with NO SUCCESS!
I have tried everything..
Thaw in Bag instead of water to retain smell of feeder, Feed different hours of the day, lights on lights off, morning or night, different hours of the night, I have starved my Emeralds for 3 months only offering thawed food with no interest. I have tried aggressive feeding techinque by trying to piss off the snakes in order to stike, which only gets me a strike and then drops the feeder. I have tried Prekilled, which i get the most interest from, maybe a strike, but no feed.. I tried feeding live, and then right after attempted thawed and no interest.
Im at a loss here people, and Im starting to lose it on these snakes... ANY other SUDGESTIONS!!???
HELP!!!
Aaron_S
08-29-08, 09:55 AM
Try moving the food items around like it is alive and they might go for it. pre-killed would be easiest.
45 views and only 1 reply... what kind of forum is this?? thanks for the response Aaron.. although i do try moving the prey around... no luck yet,.
Aaron_S
08-30-08, 06:57 AM
How big are the emeralds? If they can handle it, try upping the prey size.
Also, it's a slow forum currently. This used to be where everyone went for their reptile info but it was runned down some years ago. Even went offline for a bit. There's another large Canadian reptile site everyone flocks to. So this one will be slow going, with it just coming back up.
Boostedneon04
12-23-08, 10:04 PM
sumtimes you just have to feed live..if the snakes just will not eat f\t or prekilled then you have no choice but to feed live..just watch the mouse\rat and make sure it doesnt bite or scratch the snake..as long as you keep an eye on it the snake will be fine..
citysnakes
12-23-08, 11:58 PM
i would suggest being a little more consistent with your feeding attemps. such as attempt feedings only at night. these animals are nocturnal and generally you will have more successful feeding attempts when they are awake and/or prowling for food. also before you attempt to feed, thaw out the frozen rats in the room near the enclosures. this will prescent the area with the smell of rodent and may excite the animals enough strike, constrict and swallow. double check all your temps and make sure the animals feel secure.
you say the GTP is eating thawed pinkies but prefers live. just keep feeding him the frozen thawed and ignore what you think he prefers. you can check him off the list.
for the redatil, maybe trying all the above plus raising the temps a little bit may encourage him to take f/t. hes eating prekilled already so it shouldnt be long until he converts if you do it right.
with the ETBs, i cant really say because i do not have much experience with these guys so check this out: Identification and Husbandry of Amazon Basin Emerald Tree Boas by Stan Chiras (http://www.kingsnake.com/emeralds/)
these are all just ideas that work for me. theyre not guaranteed but it all depends on how you use em.
hope this helps.
Chu'Wuti
12-24-08, 03:27 AM
Do the ETBs eat only one mouse per feeding? Can you follow a live with a pre-killed?
I've also heard of pre-scenting the F/T with litter from the cage of the live ones to increase the scent of "liveness."
Good luck!
Chu'Wuti
12-24-08, 03:28 AM
Do the ETBs eat only one mouse per feeding? Can you follow a live with a pre-killed?
I've also heard of pre-scenting the F/T with litter from the cage of the live ones to increase the scent of "liveness."
Good luck!
Do they prefer mice to lizards or visa versa?
From what I understand some like lizards and if you get lizard scent on the food it may be more interested, though I'm unfamiliar with most snakes preferences.
Temperature may be a deciding factor for your snakes. Humidity maybe.
Chu'Wuti
02-20-09, 04:49 PM
Oh, I almost forgot--I've also heard that slitting the head open after heating will release the blood and draw the snake's interest. Kinda gross, but if it works, what the hay? ;)
Mmmm sounds yummy.
I read that exposing the brain is what draws them, but I don't actually know what it is that draws them. My corns are happy with thawed frozen pinkies.
I bought more females for my lone male, and I actually llike watching the mice more than the snakes... they are funny little guys.
Faequine
02-24-09, 11:34 AM
i have heard, from the book i have that they used anoles to feed their snakes. and with f/t mice they pull the tails off the anoles and sent the f/t mouse with the blood on from the anoles tail. then after a while the anoles tail grow back and they can do it again. Not sure if this is really done or not, but eh, its in the book.
Chu'Wuti
02-24-09, 01:16 PM
with f/t mice they pull the tails off the anoles and sent the f/t mouse with the blood on from the anoles tail. then after a while the anoles tail grow back and they can do it again. Not sure if this is really done or not, but eh, its in the book.
sheesh. Sounds like the author(s) is/are advocating cruelty. Oh, dear, that's going to get another one of those discussions going.
Good luck in getting your baby switched over.
No the anoles use it as a saftey measure. in the wild when they are attacked by the tail it just pops off and then it grows back. they don't think that it is painful on the animal. when it is being pulled the nerves get cut off and then they don't feel anything. it is some sort of anestetic they produce in their bodies. i think i read once that their body creats an overwhelming amount of endorfins so if that is true it would actually feel good. along with the instinct and adrenaline that is pumping to get away im sure they dont' feel it.
Chu'Wuti
02-25-09, 05:51 PM
they don't think that it is painful on the animal.
Yeah, and they used to claim that circumcising infant boys didn't hurt them either!
Think about that for awhile . . .
bet you're clamping your legs together! LOL
Actually what I heard to do with young snakes that won't eat non live is to get the shed skin from an anole and put it around the feeder, so the snake smells the anole, then let them eat it and they will associate the frozen scent with the anole skin and will take it after than.
It may take a few trys, but I've been told it works.
This isn't a cruel way to do it, and it supposedly works, so why not give it a go. Start asking for the anole molts :) MMM mmm yummy
Yeah, and they used to claim that circumcising infant boys didn't hurt them either!
It doesn't hurt them. I watched my son's and they give them three shots to numb it. and we haven't evolved to get circumsized like the anoles have evolved to loose their tails. so im going to have to throw that arguement out. it is irrelevant. haha.
No the anoles use it as a saftey measure. in the wild when they are attacked by the tail it just pops off and then it grows back. they don't think that it is painful on the animal. when it is being pulled the nerves get cut off and then they don't feel anything. it is some sort of anestetic they produce in their bodies. i think i read once that their body creats an overwhelming amount of endorfins so if that is true it would actually feel good. along with the instinct and adrenaline that is pumping to get away im sure they dont' feel it.
It doesn't "feel good". I don't know about pain, but dropping a tail puts an incredible amount of stress on reptiles. It is a defence mechanism but it's not like it happens often. Sometimes tails don't grow back or are slighty deformed, they never return to normal.
I think pulling of an anole's tail is cruel. I see no problem with feeder lizards but ripping off an animal's tail - even if it can be dropped - is awful. I prefer the shed skin idea :)
Hey i didn't say it was good.....but i was saying what i read once.
Chu'Wuti
02-28-09, 10:00 PM
I watched my son's and they give them three shots to numb it.
Yeah, nowadays they give little boys shots to numb the pain (bet those shots feel great, huh?).
But in the past--about 25 years ago--they did not give shots; they just cut. They did that to my oldest son, telling me he couldn't feel the pain because his nervous system hadn't developed yet.
As he screamed the entire time and for quite awhile afterwards, I assumed the **** doctor didn't know what he was talking about.
Clamping your legs together yet? ;)
Clamping your legs together yet?
naw already done when i was a baby so nothing to worry about now and i don't really have any memories about it lol......
And ya he really didn't like the shots but i dunno i think if something has evolved for it then it can't be that bad.
Chu'Wuti
03-02-09, 09:25 AM
i think if something has evolved for it then it can't be that bad.
Maybe. I think I'm more in line with Siz's perspective on this one, though!
Glad you don't remember your early trauma! LOL
Me too!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Good thing doctors have steady hands though
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