>>Hi,
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>>How do you get your Ball to switch from live to f/t? I have a releatively young Ball which will eat live fuzzy mice without a problem. The snake is about 20in in length and has the girth to eat bigger for sure. I've attempted a f/t hopper a couple of different times. I've tried moving it a little with tongs, braining and making sure it's warm enough. My Ball will just look at it for a long period of time and then completely ignore it. I'd really like to get him switched over and would appreciate any tips you all might have.
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>>Thanks,
There is a great article on pro-exotics site. It is in the FAQ section. It is basically a method of using a primer where you use a live rodent and then right after the live one is swallowed, you put a f/t in there or a prekilled. After 5 or six sessions of doing this, you then go straight to f/t.
Another way is to warm up the f/t to warmer than body temp. You can do this in a toaster oven (I bought one just for that purpose), or on a lamp. Or you can use warm water.
If you warmed up the frozen food, sometimes you can get a strike from your snake.
I cannot say that i have had complete success switching yet. I am in the process still. So, there is another point: patience is needed!
The pigmy rattle snakes I have are easy to trick to get them to take warm f/t food. They really are simple minded snakes and if they sense heat with their pits, they strike and bite. Once they strike and inject venom, then it is like the swallowing process is just automatic. I once had a cold pinky in the cage for hours with no eating, but once I warmed up the pinky to 98 degrees, I got a strike and a swallow in no time. I love how easy pigmy rattle snakes are! They are simple minded creatures who work on instincts alone!
Here is a pic of the neonate pigmy that i am talking about. He was the one who struck at the warmed food. Many people told me that neonates may not eat pinkies, but I had great luck with heating up food.
BP's have pits too and they sense heat. However, I have not had as good luck with getting them switched to F/T because they are more complicated animals and they can't be tricked into striking just with simple tricks. Therefore, patience is needed.
cheers.
P.s. Please have a great f/t day!
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Longtang. I like snakes and rats.
