looking for advice (Switch to F/T) BP

[m_epping]

Hey everyone,
I have a new ball python that was fed live prey by the breeder, It's about 4 months old and i've been trying to switch him from live to f/t and have had a bit of trouble, he ate the f/t prey once but hasn't gone for them since, i've tried warming the mouse to body temp with warm water but still no luck, any tips?

[DeesBalls]

It can be a very long process and takes time, just be patient! took one of my royals about a year to switch over, but now she will take it right away!

[SpOoKy]

If you do a search throughout the forum on the topic you should find multiple threads on this topic. They should offer more than enough tips and advice on how to switch.

[Aaron_S]

Keep trying. No real tricks to it. Also, instead of f/t I'd be working on switching the snake to rats THEN to f/t.

[m_epping]

thank you everyone!

[GDZILLA95]

I'm just starting with f/t myself. I have one bp, Megatron, that is about 6 months old. He ate a small rat approx 2 weeks ago. I bought some from rat pups at a Repticon this past weekend and tried to feed Megatron one last night. He did eat one, but it took me several minutes of doing the zombie rat walk before he took it. I tried to give him another one this morning, but he wouldn't take it.
I picked up another bp, Mojo, at the Reticon this past weekend also. He is approximately four weeks old and the breeder told me he last ate on Wed., 11-14. When Megatron refused his meal this morning, I thought what the heck, I'll see if Mojo will eat it. He hit that pup within about 15 seconds of zombie rat walk and scarfed it down. I was very pleased since this was the first time I tried to feed him. Now I'm hoping he will continue to scarf down f/t prey. Good luck.

[m_epping]

thanks, you too!
love the names btw lol

[Wildside]

Make the f/t warmer than body temp. I let mine sit in water as hot as my tap will go for a good 10 before distributing them. I learned about serving "hot" rats from this forum and it's worked like a charm ever since ;)

[DeesBalls]

using a hair drying can also help... i have a small personal heater in my snake room, and i use that to heat the rats. just keep trying a few things here and there, and be patient.

[m_epping]

ill give that a try, he's due for a feeding on thursday

[Lankyrob]

One thing we do that noone has mentioned so far is intensely heat the skull of the rat to give a good solid target for the snake :)

[OSMDEATHOWNER]

It will work soon, just dont try too often. every 7-10 days