convertion

johnf45069 · 08-03-04, 04:44 AM

my bp has only been eating live mice .what is the best way to change him from live to thawed mice. yesterday he took one that i pre-killed and he didnt even sqeeze he just began to swallow it.

thanx

CDN-Cresties · 08-03-04, 04:55 AM

Have you tried F/T yet? My ball doesnt constrict his F/K meal either, he just puts it down.

marisa · 08-03-04, 06:17 AM

Keep offering the fresh killed, if it takes that, that is a good sign it will easily switch to FT.

I would try FT next feeding, heat it up SUPER warm then offer. I wouldn't offer anymore live either, just FT attempts or fresh killed if it refuses FT. ANything is a step above live.

Marisa

Phrasty · 08-03-04, 10:25 AM

my lil guy is now eating fk on a regular basis, and he still strikes and constricts like hell...lol, gonna try switch him to ft next feed. I would definately not go back to feeding live. The deader the safer...

phrasty

robitza · 08-03-04, 01:35 PM

What is the best method to kill a prey animal. I don't want to make a huge mess. Was swinging a rat at my CO2 bulk tank this morning.

I feed the smallest live mice. He is only eating fuzzies but the big guy is taking 2 small rats.

johnf45069 · 08-03-04, 01:45 PM

i killed my mice by putting a screw driver behind it ears and pull on the tail until you here the spinal cord snap

CDN-Cresties · 08-03-04, 04:55 PM

I put my rats in a bag and whack them against the floor.

munchy · 08-03-04, 09:27 PM

for rats ill either hold them upside down by the tail with tongs and crack them in the head with something heavy or just put em in a bag and smack it against the wall. thats if i cant obtain pre-killed ones.

munchy · 08-03-04, 09:27 PM

...

Artemis · 08-04-04, 12:51 PM

hahaha munchy- yer second post made me laugh.

I gotta add to this though, so reiterating whats more at the top of this thread- if the snake will take f/k, then you already have a leg up for f/t, so go ahead and try it.

No need to worry about how to kill it if you pet store sells f/t. I just pick them up bulk, put them in sandwich bags individually in the freezer, and then when I need one I take it out and stick it in a coffee mug full of nuked water till its thaw and warm, About 8 minutes if the water is good and hot. For faster results, take the f/t prey out earlier ( I feed rats) and let it thaw in the ambient temperature. Then you get it good in warm the same way, but only leave it in the mug for a couple of minutes ( dont want it too hot, either). It does still seem to get warmer thawed in room temperature and only heated in the water for a couple of minutes. I get a better feeding response that way then trying to thaw a solid frozen rat.

Try it, see how it goes. Your snake might surprise you and be all about it . Its so much easier than having to deal with killing them, like when company asks what it eats, instead of describing how
you whack rats on the table, they are much relieved at the more subtle "snake microwave dinners."

Hahaha seriously, freezing the prey kills off parasites and other yucky things that can do bad things to your snake, so ultimately, f/t is the thing to do for health and safety and convenience.

Offer them one. Sometimes wiggling it around will help, and ofcourse use tongs/hemostats and not your hands! I feel mine through the bag with my fingers to see if it feels warm, but not super hot. My theory is if its too hot for me to touch, its too hot.

raebug2000 · 08-09-04, 11:31 PM

ROFLMAO....
microwave snake dinners...
ew. just ew.
i feed live. I supervise everything!if they dont take it in 5 minutes i try again later. I only whack to stun rats though. I really hate rats. and there is NO way im putting dead rats ( ziploc or no) in my freezer...
lol.
all though I have never whacked my rats on a table there is an increasingly red stain on my snake shed.