Hey im new here and have a question

[Nathan]

I have a 4 month old common boa and also a 6 month old ball python and they both were eating f/t before I got them. My ball python took to eatin live really well and is now eating atleast 2 live hoppers each week or so, but my boa tried eating live fuzzies and he ate 2 but he seems to start swallowing them before they are are dead. I tried pulling on the tail a little bit hoping he would tighten up and kill it but he didn't seem to care. Is this normal or what?because my ball python strikes and wraps the mouse and sqeezes till it's surely dead, is my boa just not used to having to kill it's food or is the prey item too small?? Any thoughts would be appreciated thanks

[marvelfreak]

Hello and welcome! I would go back to feeding it F/T. It also safer for your snake than feeding live.

[justin4snakes]

im not to sure about boas but idnt think the fuzzies will hurt your boa. i also want to mention that u should switch then over to rats because they will easly take 3-5 adult mice once they are older.

[serpentshideawa]

How big is the boa?

[Nathan]

Yea I will be switching over to rats eventually but he is only about 1.5 feet long or so (estimated) and about as thick as my thumb so he is still a baby. Considering he is still younge he should be able to learn to eat live prey but considering I live in Alberta Canada right now stores don't carry live rats it's all f/t so that's probly the better way to go

[Lankyrob]

if the snake will take it F/t is the way to go every time - no point risking the health of the snake for no reason by feeding live. would be great to see some pics of the snakes some time......

[Ch^4]

As mentioned, go back to F/T.

[bo2as]

i wouls stick to F/T seen as he didnt kill it before it might be dangerouse for him to get injured

[Reptile_Reptile]

yea dude check this out, this has a hard possibility of happening to your snake. dou you really think a live prey item isnt going to try to kill your snake before your snake kills it.

[CanadianEryx]

That's pretty scary! I'm definitely going to stick with f/t!!! thanks for the graphic warning!

[Marica]

You'll definitely want to switch them back to f/t as soon as possible as live rats are illegal in Alberta, so the only way you can purchase them is frozen that have been shipped in from BC and Sask. breeders. Also, rat pinks are approximately the same size a mouse fuzzy, and you can always ask your supplier to sort through their stock to find you the smallest ones.

Mouse/Rat Size Chart (http://www.reptileforums.co.uk/forums/246480-post1.html)

Edit: Sorry, saw the above post from a-vdberg and got it in my head you were from Edmonton too Nathan.

[NennaMeerkat]

Switching back to f/t is your best option but in case that is a pain in the rump (and trust me it can be especially if a snake is used to eating live) you can pre-kill the rats before feeding. They will still be warm enough for the snake and they might be more likely to eat that then f/t. Just put the rat in a brown paper bag (old timey lunch bags) and crunch the top of the bag in your hand then give a good whack on a hard surface. If you are more daring you can nix the bag and simply hold the rat by the tail...

That is my two cents but I am in no way saying not to try going back to f/t

[serpentshideawa]

thats what i do grab the tail and wack its head pretty hard i dont like thawing rodents cus to me it stinks and you may not get the desired body temp with out a microwave and that breaks down cell structures and changes the scent of the rodent

[Ch^4]

You mentioned they were both eating F/T when you received them, so you should no issue continuing them on F/T. You won't have to scent the prey or use any of the suggested tricks; the snakes should be more than content eating F/T.

It sounds like the boa was started on F/T at a very young age and it seems like he has associated feeding with F/T; his food has never put up a struggle, so why waste energy constricting an easy meal? If that's the case, he may not "realize" that he actually has to kill the prey item, and this can be fatal for you snake.

IMHO

[NennaMeerkat]

thats what i do grab the tail and wack its head pretty hard i dont like thawing rodents cus to me it stinks and you may not get the desired body temp with out a microwave and that breaks down cell structures and changes the scent of the rodent

Good to know someone else around here does the same that I plan on doing when my snake gets older. Safe as thawed but twice as fresh!

[Ch^4]

thats what i do grab the tail and wack its head pretty hard i dont like thawing rodents cus to me it stinks and you may not get the desired body temp with out a microwave and that breaks down cell structures and changes the scent of the rodent

I certainly agree that P/K or stunned is the way to go if you're snake doesn't take F/T and you absolutely have to feed some form of live.

However, not once have I ever encountered a problem getting F/T up to an appropriate temperature and I never use the microwave (you should never heat up prey items in the microwave--aside from breaking down cell structures, there are a number of viscera--more or less closed/hollow organs--that can violently erupt due to the extreme ramp up of temperature...that would be an ugly mess to clean up!). Very hot water from your faucet should suffice. After thawing, I always run the prey item under the hottest water I can get, just prior to feeding. Again, IMHO.

Hopefully the above info is helpful to the OP. Keep us updated! I might of missed this, but what was the motivation behind switching from F/T to live?

[Lankyrob]

I thaw all my prey items in a glass bowl overnight, when i am about to feed i put the bowl onto a radiator for about ten minutes. As i then go to feed each snake i hold the prey by the tail and press the skull directly against the radiator to get additional temp into the head/skull, i then feed to the snake.