He ate

[albinoTy]

Offered Eli f/t he turned his nose and wouldnt eat i got worried, went back bought live and it was time to eat so im happy hes eating.

[Wolfus_305]

yay he ate!

if you want to switch from live to f/t there are lots of threads on here with great ideas on how to do it successfully

[shaunyboy]

Offered Eli f/t he turned his nose and wouldnt eat i got worried, went back bought live and it was time to eat so im happy hes eating.

i would feed him live another 4 or 5 times then.....

try fresh killed,once he's taken fresh killed 4 or 5 times.....

i'd try and get him onto frozen thawed

glad he ate for you mate

cheers shaun

[theapexgerman]

Or you could just keep him on live I switch all of mine over to live just watch him when the mouse is in there

[Lankyrob]

Or you could just keep him on live I switch all of mine over to live just watch him when the mouse is in there

Thats for your benefit then - not the animals :)

If you can get it onto either fresh killed or frozen thawed then you remove any concerns about the prey attacking the snake.

[OSMDEATHOWNER]

Ice refused her 2nd f/t I mite try live jus for her to eat cuz dats Wat she been eating 3 years before I got her. It'll be a month she hasn't ate when I try to feed her again

[theapexgerman]

Thats for your benefit then - not the animals :)

If you can get it onto either fresh killed or frozen thawed then you remove any concerns about the prey attacking the snake.
Yea there's a chance for something to happen but my self in over 3 years I never seen a snake get hurrt with my own eyes just like when some one uses calci sand for substratea for a desert snake sure if u feed on the sand something could happen they live on sand in the wild and do just fine there's always a chance of something to happen

[CK SandBoas]

Yea there's a chance for something to happen but my self in over 3 years I never seen a snake get hurrt with my own eyes just like when some one uses calci sand for substratea for a desert snake sure if u feed on the sand something could happen they live on sand in the wild and do just fine there's always a chance of something to happen


That doesn't mean it won't happen. Honestly, it just takes a split second for a live prey item to injure a snake, much faster than our reaction time to respond to the incident.

As Shaun recommends, feed it live for the next 4-5 feedings, then go to fresh killed for the next 5, and if that is successful, switch to F/T. :)

[theapexgerman]

That doesn't mean it won't happen. Honestly, it just takes a split second for a live prey item to injure a snake, much faster than our reaction time to respond to the incident.

As Shaun recommends, feed it live for the next 4-5 feedings, then go to fresh killed for the next 5, and if that is successful, switch to F/T. :)
Guess I'm one of the lucy people then

[Lankyrob]

Yea there's a chance for something to happen but my self in over 3 years I never seen a snake get hurrt with my own eyes just like when some one uses calci sand for substratea for a desert snake sure if u feed on the sand something could happen they live on sand in the wild and do just fine there's always a chance of something to happen


No matter how remote or likely it is to happen if there is a possiblility to remove ALL risk then i dont see any reason why you wouldnt. My animals all mean to much to me to have the risk there in the first place.

[Lankyrob]

Ice refused her 2nd f/t I mite try live jus for her to eat cuz dats Wat she been eating 3 years before I got her. It'll be a month she hasn't ate when I try to feed her again

A month is nothing at all, as long as the snake still looks healthy stick with the f/t. My BP regularly (once a year) goes without food for 3 months and is perfectly healthy :)

[theapexgerman]

No matter how remote or likely it is to happen if there is a possiblility to remove ALL risk then i dont see any reason why you wouldnt. My animals all mean to much to me to have the risk there in the first place.
I don't got a prob with feeding frozen I just like live better

[CK SandBoas]

Ice refused her 2nd f/t I mite try live jus for her to eat cuz dats Wat she been eating 3 years before I got her. It'll be a month she hasn't ate when I try to feed her again


My Royal has gone 7 months without eating, and he is healthy and happy to this day. Right now, he is going on 4 months without eating, but i know he'll start up again soon.

It is more stressful to the owners when the snakes don't eat, trust me, when i first got my Royal, i was panic stricken when he stopped eating that November, but after a talk with a close family friend who owned Royals for years, i was put at ease:)

[Wolfus_305]

My BP is a picky guy who only eats between September and the beginning of January each year. At first it really concerned me but when he wasn't losing weight and was still healthy and fairly active I knew it was nothing to worry about

[mattchibi]

i would feed him live another 4 or 5 times then.....

try fresh killed,once he's taken fresh killed 4 or 5 times.....

i'd try and get him onto frozen thawed

glad he ate for you mate

cheers shaun

x 2 I agree with this completely.

Ive got two hatchlings (200 and 300 grams) who refused 3-4 f/t meals for me when i first got them, so I have switched them to live prey now until they get a bit more weight on them, and then I will try to switch them over to p/k and then f/t again.

Honestly, I prefer a strong live eater, rather than a weak f/t eater. Just my opinion. Of course, my most preferred method is a strong f/t eater ;)

Edit: also after reading all the replies, I wanted to clarify that maybe for a sub-adult or adult ball python, going off feed can be considered o.k. or "normal"; however, you really dont want hatchlings under 400 grams to go off feed for more than a few weeks.

[OSMDEATHOWNER]

But if she's going off feed, should I not handle her during all that time too

[mattchibi]

But if she's going off feed, should I not handle her during all that time too

Yes.

I only handle my ball pythons when they have eaten 2-3 times for me in a row. If one of them goes off feed even for a week, I wont handle until it has eaten for me 2-3 times again for the next scheduled feedings.

[youngster]

I don't got a prob with feeding frozen I just like live better


Out of curiosity why do you like live more?

[theapexgerman]

Out of curiosity why do you like live more?
A few reason my breeder who runs a reptile store is like a 5 minute walk from me so why buy frozen and Jessica won't let me keep mice in the freezer even if there in bgs and final reason is it just the natural way the snake eats

[Lankyrob]

A few reason my breeder who runs a reptile store is like a 5 minute walk from me so why buy frozen and Jessica won't let me keep mice in the freezer even if there in bgs and final reason is it just the natural way the snake eats

Natural would be if the prey had a chance to escape, the only choice it has is die or fight back.

[alessia55]

Natural would be if the prey had a chance to escape, the only choice it has is die or fight back.

+ if the snake had to actually search and hunt for it... not just have it tossed in a small area for an obvious find ;)

[theapexgerman]

Natural would be if the prey had a chance to escape, the only choice it has is die or fight back.
Yea mice still does I don't feed in cage I feed on this big plexi glass mice could run if he wanted to wouldn't get to far

[mattchibi]

Natural would be if the prey had a chance to escape, the only choice it has is die or fight back.

Valid point, my friend. Never thought of it like that.

However, I still think both methods are "safe", as long as done correctly.

Sometimes you have no option but to feed live if your snake does not eat f/t or p/k.