switching to f/t?

[remsin76]

any tips on switching my ball from live to frozen thawed??????

[Colin Friesen]

If your ball has no interest in eating f/t, I would first try stuned or freshly killed. with f/t make sure its completly thawed and warmed. you can give it a wiggle or leave it in the terrerium over night. Sometimes they need the privacy, and bp's usually eat better at night when their most active. And if all els fails you can expose the brain of the feeder. In my experience it hasn't failed. Your on the right track with switching to f/t because feeding live can be a bad experience for you and your snake.
GOOD LUCK!!

Colin

[Big Mike]

I find that if the F/T prey item is warm (not too hot) then the feed response is much better. Sometimes leaving it over night works too. You might have to try different tricks but keep at it.

[tHeGiNo]

On top of the great advice mike suggested, try dipping the head of the mouse/rat in a chicken broth. Sounds weird? Yes but hey it works. Sometimes.

[remsin76]

if i dip it in checken broth the first time does that mean from now on i ahve to do that every time i feed my snake?? same question goes for the method of puttin the snake in the bag with the mouse. will i avhe to use the bag method every time??

[tHeGiNo]

Nope, and I would try the bag trick first. Give him a few weeks before trying though. It make take two times in the bag, maybe three before he will eat normally.

[remsin76]

my persistence finally paid off.
he is now feeding on f/t prey!!! thanks for ur help guys, i got some pictures but i lost my cable, maybe next time.

[eViL_KaRoT]

Yeah, getting a bp on F/T is the biggest PITA I've ever had to deal with!!! Mine was pretty easy at first, I would feed usually 2 small rats every two weeks. So at first I would feed a live one, which is what it was use to, then I would give it a F/T and it would slurp it right down. With in 3 feedings it was completely on F/T. Then in about 3 months it went on off feed. It's been like that since October, wouldn't even touch food. Now it's at least striking at the F/T rats, but not latching on. I've tried rubbing it in the substrate that I have my pet rats in, I've tried thawing it in just straight water, I've tried thawing it in the bag and placing the sealed bag in the hot water as not to wash off the rat smell, but to now avail. All he does is strike at the rat, but will not eat it. I've tried the whole leaving in the cage overnight, I've tried leaving it in and covering the entire cage with a blanket so that it is completely dark in the cage. But he just strikes at it, sniffs it a few times, crawls over it and then goes back in his hide. So I wake up in the morning and find the rat untouched. Any Ideas of what I can do to get him eating again. I'm not that worried about it just yet, since he is not loosing weight yet and I know that going on off feed is normal, but if he doesn't eat soon I'll really start getting worried.