Switching to f/t

[luckylilstar529]

My ball python is about 4 years old I think. He has been eating live mice because that is what the person I got him from was feeding him. I got him when he was about 3 and the guy had been feeding him one mouse a week. I bumped him up to two because he was still acting hungry after the first one and he has since worked his way up to 4. I want him to be on frozen thaw rats but he has only taken 2 since I had him. The first one took me an hour to get him to eat, the second was also about an hour. Recently he has been decreasing the amount he will eat and this week he only ate one. I am concerned that the mice are "picking" on him because the one he refused to eat last week was quite feisty and tried to take a chunk out of my boyfriends finger. I was wondering if anyone had any tricks to get ball pythons to switch from live to prekilled or frozen/thawed. He has eaten one f/t and one prekilled, but this was only after he had not eaten in two weeks. I have also tried to prekill the mice at home and he also refuses them.

[derekcm87]

One appropriate size mouse is all he needs. Theres really no need to feed multiple items unless you are just trying to get rid of old smaller food items in the freezer that he outgrew which since you are feeding live then this is not the case and one item is necessary. As far as the f/t issue goes. The way that works very well for me is to put the snake in a deli cup in a dark, quiet space with the f/t mouse. Very important, do not disturb the snake whatsoever. He may be refusing them because it is winter. If he is 4 years old he can go a long time without eating so dont worry about it when he is hungry he will eat so my advice is to just be patient, offer a f/t mouse every week until he decides to eat it.

[NennaMeerkat]

At 4 years old can he fit in a deli cup?

Anyways I know that some snakes stress really easily when feeding routines are changed (got a little hognose who is learning how to deal with this) and so going weeks without feeding might happen. I would personally try prekilled or even stunned before fully going to f/t only because the other choices are closer to what the snake is used to. Everything else in the routine should be the same. Feeding in his home, outside his home in a certain container, on a certain day and time, whatever. Snakes can get into a routine and anything outside of it (especially with a snake in a new home) can cause them, at times, to refuse food until they feel okay again.

Good luck!

[derekcm87]

They do make large deli cups. A tub that the snake just fits into works just the same. But you will probably not have to go through that, Im sure he will eat when he is ready.

[NennaMeerkat]

Gotcha, just can imagine someone with a little less than common sense trying to stuff a large BP into a deli cup! Getting nothing but their head in or something just as ridiculous.

[luckylilstar529]

He eats in a 20 gallon aquarium I had hanging around. He's usually really good with the mice, its just recently they've been more feisty and he's been more picky than normal and I wanna make the switch. I was told when I first got him that I should be feeding him atleast two or three mice from the pet store I get the mice from. The guy I got him from had no clue what he was doing when it came to him, I cried when he dropped him off and I saw his cage and him.

[derekcm87]

Gotcha, just can imagine someone with a little less than common sense trying to stuff a large BP into a deli cup! Getting nothing but their head in or something just as ridiculous.

LOL Understood.

[derekcm87]

He eats in a 20 gallon aquarium I had hanging around. He's usually really good with the mice, its just recently they've been more feisty and he's been more picky than normal and I wanna make the switch. I was told when I first got him that I should be feeding him atleast two or three mice from the pet store I get the mice from. The guy I got him from had no clue what he was doing when it came to him, I cried when he dropped him off and I saw his cage and him.


Definately a good decision switching to f/t. Im not saying your particular pet store is like the rest but 90% of pet stores do not seem to give good advice on the reptiles that they sell. Not in the U.S. anyway. I have only had two that I have trusted their advice. Maybe they just wanted you to buy multiple mice because they make more money selling multiple rather than one larger one? Good job rescuing the little guy by the way :)

I dont know if you posted pictures of him yet and I just didnt see them but pictures are always acceptable and encouraged! :)

[luckylilstar529]

lol I have TONS of pictures of him, he's a pretty fantastic character, but since you asked hahaha (always love an excuse to show him off). I trust them, they're not a big chain just a little shop that seems to know everything. Well atleast the one girl I talk to lol. I also had my vet tell me that as well.

http://i78.photobucket.com/albums/j113/LuckyLilStar529/129.jpg
http://i78.photobucket.com/albums/j113/LuckyLilStar529/124.jpg
http://i78.photobucket.com/albums/j113/LuckyLilStar529/088.jpg
http://i78.photobucket.com/albums/j113/LuckyLilStar529/081.jpg

[TeaNinja]

very nice bp :)

[derekcm87]

Hes definately a looker. He has good weight to him so you have nothing to worry about. I feed all 30 of my snakes one appropriately sized meal, Only time I ever will feed more than one at a time is if like I said they should be taking the next size up and I just happen to have a few smaller ones that they used to eat, left laying around then I will finish those off. It is just truly unnecessary to feed multiple items at once.

[NennaMeerkat]

Yeah at that size it does need more than a single mouse to eat!

[derekcm87]

Yeah at that size it does need more than a single mouse to eat!

Why would it need more than a single food item?!?! What does size have to do with it? Just up the size to leave a small lump in the snake. This can be acheived by larger food items not by feeding multiple? I have a retic that eats 2 and 3 pound g. piggs, It would not make sense to feed it 15 mice?

Maybe something larger than an adult mouse do you mean?

[luckylilstar529]

That's why I wanna feed him rats, but I don't trust a live rat with him since he's not very good at striking, he tends to get them by the butt instead of the head and I can only imagine the damage a live rat would inflict on him. I try to scent the prekilled rats, but its only worked once. I'm just at a loss.

[derekcm87]

rats x1....

[NennaMeerkat]

That's why I wanna feed him rats, but I don't trust a live rat with him since he's not very good at striking, he tends to get them by the butt instead of the head and I can only imagine the damage a live rat would inflict on him. I try to scent the prekilled rats, but its only worked once. I'm just at a loss.

It will take him some time to get used to the rats. Maybe scenting them to smell more like a mouse would be good. As others have said before throughout this forum is that snakes will eat when they are hungry. The next time you feed buy yourself a rat that is the right size and a mouse. Prekill both of them, scent the rat by rubbing the mouse all over it then put both prey items for the snake. See if that works.

[luckylilstar529]

lol, yes only 1 rat per meal. I tend to talk in plurals since in his lifetime he would end up eating many rats, but definitely not at once. I hate that he only eats mice.

[luckylilstar529]

It will take him some time to get used to the rats. Maybe scenting them to smell more like a mouse would be good. As others have said before throughout this forum is that snakes will eat when they are hungry. The next time you feed buy yourself a rat that is the right size and a mouse. Prekill both of them, scent the rat by rubbing the mouse all over it then put both prey items for the snake. See if that works.

The last one that I got him to eat I actually put in the small plastic carrier I keep the mice in while I wait for him to eat them. Since it had bedding in there that many mice had rollicked in I guess that made it so that the rat smelled like a mouse. I will definitely try scenting the rat with an freshly killed mouse though, that might work.

[derekcm87]

lol, yes only 1 rat per meal. I tend to talk in plurals since in his lifetime he would end up eating many rats, but definitely not at once. I hate that he only eats mice.


I was just putting my vote in for rats lol but hey what you said too! :)

[NennaMeerkat]

Let me know how it goes with him eating, even if it is just through a PM. Would love to hear the mouse scenting worked!

[luckylilstar529]

HE FINALLY ATE!!!! It had been 3 weeks and I was about at the end of my rope. I tried scenting a freshly killed rat with mouse bedding and as soon as it got the scent of mouse on it he turned his nose up and "ran" to the other side of the feeding tank. I took him to the vet about a week ago because not only was he not eating, but he has definitely lost weight and the vet told me to try a fuzzy mouse to try to get him to eat, which he wouldn't eat that either. Then I moved, and he just shed yesterday. After I found out he shed I went to the pet store and decided he was going to eat the rat if I died trying lol. I put him in my closet with my anatomy and physiology text book on the lid to keep him in the tank because when I was attempting to get him to eat the fuzzy he decided it would be more fun to explore my room then eat his dinner.... Well he was in the closet for about 20 min and trying to get out again, so I grabbed a paper bag put him and the rat in it, put it in his cage on the cool spot and went to school. When I came home I found Leo curled up in a ball with a fat little lump in his belly and no rat :) I am so relieved, and it appears I know have two snakes that prefer to eat in paper bags haha, but as long as he eats, I am not gonna complain!

[derekcm87]

Congratulations!

[Reptile_Reptile]

yea a bp should feed on rats. its the difference of a bag of chips for dinner and a steak with mashed potatoes your favorite veggies and a a cold coke.