Reptile & Amphibian Forums

i have a really small collection and would like to make it grow. my balls are all morphs. let me get to the point.. i hate feeding them live cause im always worrying about rats biting them. thats one issue the next is that they eat so seldomly that if i try feeding them at least if its live they dont eat i can remove the prey and wait a week and try again. where if its pre kill or f/t they dont eat its garbage. now i due raise a small # of rats so its really not a $$$ issue but more of a feel bad issue of just killing rats and threwing them out. i try feeding every week sometimes twice and for weeks they have refused so that would mean just trying and discarding rats? once frozen than thawed they shouldnt be frozen again im assuming? the other thing is if im feeding live should i be so worried of a rodent harming my snakes or does this rarely happen? i do and can leave the rat some food if it gets hungry but i wouldnt leave the rodent in there for more than 40 min tops? the feeding part of this is what i hate otherwise i love these animals? what can all you ball owners tell me about this?? thanks very much!!

I feed live and have never once had a rat bite or harm my snakes. I had one get scratched by claws, but all it did was put a few freckle marks on her scales (albino) that you wouldn't have seen on a normal. No blood or damage. I don't feed anything larger than a small rat -- my larger ball pythons just get more than one.

As for how long to leave it in with the snake, 40 minutes is absurd. I've never left it in longer than 10 minutes. If the snake is hungry, it will eat it within that time frame. Otherwise it isn't going to take it. For some of the more shy/picky ones, drop the prey in and then turn off all lights and leave the room. Sometimes they just need the dark. For the couple I have that require this, I just stay outside the doorway and listen for the strike.

Good luck!
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~* Jen *~

Pink Lady Constrictors

well let me ask you this do your balls have hides? also i never am able to feed at nite due to the fact that my collection is at work with me so maybe i will put a dark drop cloth once i put a rat in there tub and wait about 15min and if nothing happens take the rat out? my snakes are all about 900grams. thanks for your reply!

Some have hides (the more nervous ones), some do not. All are in racks. The cloth would help, some feel better about feeding in the dark.
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~* Jen *~

Pink Lady Constrictors

i have had 4 morphs for about 15 months now and they all have hides but im staring to feel that i should take them away and when i put a prey item that they would eat the item rather than not? thanks for your super fast responce.

I don't quite get what you were asking with this:

"when i put a prey item that they would eat the item rather than not?"

???
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~* Jen *~

Pink Lady Constrictors

sorry i meant to say that i feel that there eating habitats may improve if i were to remove the hides from them. i feel that when there under there hides and i put a rat in they would probably eat that rat rather than not? who knows??

I don't think hides matter, IMO. Some feel safer if they are able to stalk their prey and strike from a hide, while others need to be encouraged to come out. I take the hides away for my better eaters, simply because it's one less thing the rat can crap on and hide behind/under, making it easier for the snake to get it.
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~* Jen *~

Pink Lady Constrictors

Sometimes i take the hides out before i feed and that works very well for me.... It speeds up the process for me. Sometimes the snakes take a looong time to come out of there. The best thing to do if they dont eat... at least for me... is to leave them totally alone for a week... (no contact whatsoever) that usually does the trick. Helps the comfort level i suppose.

They can be thawed out 2 times before you need to discard them . I have been doing that for years and have never had a issue that was related to feeding so I say you can try each one twice before you toss it . David of DS Reptile Rescue