Freshly Killed to Frozen Thawed

[Dirty]

Anybody know any "tricks" to switching a ball from freshly killed rats to thawed frozen rats?

[CARLiTO_]

patience

[Dirty]

i'll try that one...

[CARLiTO_]

just heat up the rat by placing the head in hot water and then offer. Also try dangling it in fron the snake, iif that doesn't work..let us know.

[Dirty]

I tried that except I tried thawing the whole rat in a bag in warm water. I also tried scenting the rat with chicken broth, might have been a bad idea, i heard it would work. She'll eat freshly killed, just not frozen.

[Princess Erica]

Here are a couple tips:

Temp is important when they first make the switch. Heat the rat to the same temp as a PK would be when you offer it. I always thaw my rats in a bag in warm water. I keep changing the water to be a bit hotter until the end where it's really hot, to bump it up that extra couple degrees. Helps keep it warm for the next part of the trick, which is...

MAKE IT SEEM ALIVE! Some will eat F/T that's just tossed into the tank. Others require an elaborate puppet show. I feed in the enclosure, so I run the rat across the door of his hide, poke the head in occasionally, until he hits it. Usually just takes one swipe across the door. You can try feeding in or out of a hide, depending on your preference. Just mimic a real rat's movements.

And as was said earlier, patience! Maybe try feeding 2 smaller prey items, one PK and one F/T so she'll get used to the "taste"? That might be a more drastic step if you're really determined to make the switch.

[Dirty]

Thanks a lot that was very helpful