Reptile & Amphibian Forums

only 4 of my 11 balls actually ate. They already haven't eatten in a week, so I thought the would be hungry. I guess not. Should I keep trying the F/T or should I go back to live just so they eat? Thanks...

Waiting for a week definitely won't hurt them... mine have held out on me for as much as two months before eating, and I just kept offering them frozen thawed. As long as your balls aren't LOOKING skinny, it's safe to just wait it out and keep offering f/t.
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-Jaime Palma
Mad-City Constrictors

They are fine going a little while without eating. IMO F/T is a waste of time and rats for ball pythons. They will never eat as consistently as they would on live. You will end up throwing away a lot of rats. Many people do fine with F/T, but IMO if you want them to grow a decent rate live is the way to go. I am sure others will have a different opinion.
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John Vandegrift

Nope...completely opposite for me. My live feeders are the pickiest. My f/t eaters are more consistent and also pick their feeding back up faster after breeding. And I never throw away rodents...I must have too many snakes lol.
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Dale....dgoins222@yahoo.com
www.LibertyReptiles.com

Agreed! Live or stunned is the way to go...
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http://www.jasballpythons.com./

I agree with the previous poster. I couldn't get my ball pythons to consistantly feed on f/t. I have switched back to live, and most feed weekly. I have not had any issue with rats injuring any of my ball pythons. Hope this helps.

Are you making sure your rodent is nice and warm before offering?
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Dale....dgoins222@yahoo.com
www.LibertyReptiles.com

test. some will suprise you right off the bat and take frozen, warmed up thawed rat pups. those that dont, offer live mice. but only for one, two weeks. i find they need that initial live stimulation, and after that, they go right to thawed warmed rat pups. dont let them eat live for too long or you will create a stubborn snake that will time after time refuse frozen thawed.

waiting a week would not really qualify as "trying ".
depending on each individual situation ( if you're working towards a specific timeline for a particular animal ) the waiting can be much longer. if you're in no particular hurry , say , a homo male that you got to mate with your female hets , the extra time won't really affect your project if your girls are still young and won't be ready for two years. imo it's worth the wait if it's not holding you back. you won't find yourself throwing out rats ( as long as you have other f/t eaters ), i don't , there's always someone who'll eat it , on the odd occasion there isn't , re-freeze is fine. eventually they do get to the point where you can just leave a rat in the bucket , but at first you need 'em to be warm and a little wiggly too. it sometimes happens that a rat will cool too much while waiting for the hit , at which point you'll decide that there's no hope , get discouraged, and quit trying. frequently , it's simply a matter of re-warming the rat. patience is frequently rewarded here.
as far as weight gain , i got a few early 07's in the 800g's
weight range with no stress at all.
i say go for it , unless you've got a huge collection where it wouldn't be feasible to do.
good luck ,

ck

Everything you said is right on. I have plenty of time as all my guys and girls are 07's.

what temp are you heating the stuff up too?

you may not be getting them hot enough for some of the snakes. I use a temp gun and that was the best thing I ever did. Using that with trail and error I found temps that seem to work for most of my snakes.
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Misty Sprouse Ball Pythons