Though adult ball pythons can survive on mice, it is much easier to get them to eat rats once they are fully grown. Feeding 3-5 adult mice once every 10 days can be a real pain, not to mention having to find/breed mice inorder to have them on hand.

There are several ways to wean a ball python (or any snake for that matter) to taking frozen thawed rodents. Typically, you make the switch by offering fresh killed rodents first. Then once they are eating fresh killed regularly, trying frozen thawed.

Holding the fresh killed and frozen thawed by the scruff of the neck and mimicking it being alive can help cause a strike.

As your ball is currently eating well on live mice, starting him on fresh killed now, is the best thing to do. After his last feeding, don't feed him anything for a week, instead of the usual 5-6 days, or even wait 10 days. Offer a fresh killed mouse. If he strikes right away, great, close the lid and leave him be. If he is a shy eater (ie won't eat or even strike live prey, if you are in sight) just drop the fresh killed mouse near him and leave. Check back in a couple hours. If the mouse is gone, great, if not, try again in 2-4 days with another fresh killed (you can always freeze the uneaten mice in a ziplock bag. It will keep in the freezer for about 3-6 months. Up to a year if vacuum sealed).

If he doesn't take the fresh killed, try putting a fresh killed and the snake in a pillow case, leave in cage over night. If mouse still there, uneaten, toss this one. Being dead for 8-10 hours won't make it freezable, as decay is already well set in. You could still freeze, but I won't keep it in the freezer more than 3 months before offering it as food again, then tossing if not eaten. Another technique that has worked is braining the fresh killed (or frozen thawed) mouse. Braining is basically cutting into the skull of the mouse so the brain is exposed. Again leave alone with snake over night.

If after all the above attempts failed (and now, he probably hasn't eaten for a 15-20 days) offer live so he gets some food. Typically younger ball pythons are more easy to switch over than adults, but even adults can be changed. Just takes time, patience and ability to afford wasted mice LOL.

Once he is eating fresh killed (they can still be twitching when offered), feed this for a month or so, then offer frozen thawed appropriate sized rats (by that time he will be big enough to take rat fuzzies or pups (rat pups, that is, not young dogs of course. Rat pups are basically the same stage of life as mice hoppers, about 2 and half weeks old to three weeks old, eyes recently opened and tend to jump and hop about) Rat pups are also pretty much the oldest rat you can relatively safely feed live, without risk of injury to the snake due to bites. All the same techniques can be used to encourage your snake to eat frozen thawed, as was used with fresh killed.

If your snake is reluctant to eat rats, either frozen thawed or fresh killed you can try live rat pinks, fuzzies or pups then move to fresh killed etc. However I find going back to live tends to restart the whole process which may take longer over all. Rubbing the fresh killed rat in old mice bedding, will transfer some of the 'mouse' scent onto the rat (shake off any bedding that is sticking to the rat fur before offering, wear gloves to keep your scent from joining the fraquence) then offer it to your snake. If you don't mind a bit of gory work, I have heard of one person getting a very stubborn ball to eat rats by skinning a gerbil and putting a rat into the skin then offering it to the snake. You can use the same technique with the mice and rats. Skin a mouse (dead of course) and shove a small pre killed rat into the mouse skin, then offer it. I probably wouldn't use this technique unless it was the last ditch effort to get a snake to eat.

Persistence is the key, as well as patience and determination. After every attempt of feeding that fails, let a few days past before trying again. Waiting till a day or two after a shed, is also a great ideal. Many snakes, including balls, won't eat during their shed period and thus, once they finish shedding or a day or two afterwards, are very hungry. A very hungry ball is less likely to bulk at food offered, even it it prefers something more 'alive and kicking'.

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