Reptile & Amphibian Forums

i have 2 blood pythons who i've had for about a month, i have previosly had 3 other bloods and quite a few ball pythons over the last 10 years or so. My two new bloods are quite friendly and problem free except that the male will only eat mice, and sometimes not then. I had tried turning the lights off and letting him "hunt" at night but he just doesn't seem interested. Also I had tried putting a rat in my mouse cage so the rat smells a litle more mousy with no luck, what are some other ways to convert snakes from mice to rats or just some tricks to getting him to eat. any help would be GREATLY appriciated because at bout 3 ft mice just don't seem to be enough of a meal and i would rather not try to feed him more than 2 animals at a time.

thanks,
lyxi

Assuming he's not thin and malnurished...just give him time. Don't feed him for a month or so, then offer a f/t rat. If he doesn't take it off the tongs, let it sit overnight in his cage. Most of my bloods don't strike/constrict their prey...I just set a f/t rat in their cage and the next morning it's gone.

Matt

thanks for the advice! i really have so much more experience with balls where the solution seems to me to be rub a gerbil on it lol so with the bloods i was a bit worried that they might be a lil different...
well he ate a mouse about a week after a got him but i just worry that a mouse won't quite be enough for him, the female i got (they came as a pair) is all about small-medium rats and he is just a smig smaller than her. i actually jus got him to eat a mouse tonight (yay!!! lol) after leaving him alone w/ lights out for about an hr 1/2 so hopefully with some mouse-rat rubbing he'll come around...other than the not eating hes looking great, not thin or anything. I knew when i bought him that he had been eating mice but i jus wanna switch him over because i have breeder rats which is so much easier than running out for 2 mice every week.