Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I am considering purchasing a few juvenile ball pythons from a local guy who is moving and can't take them with him. They are extremely well cared for, but they have always eaten live since that's what they were fed by the breeder. I'm told they have great feeding response on live adult mice once a week, but I hate feeding live because I order frozen from rodentpro. What are some of the known techniques to make the switch to f/t? I know ball pythons are picky anyway so this might be hard or impossible, but the snakes are an incredible deal and I don't want to have to pass it up. Thanks!

Ball pythons can be picky, but in my experience it is not very hard to get one to take frozen-thawed. If you're willing to buy live for a little while, and have the time and patience to get them switched over, don't let it dissuade you. I've heard of the occasional ball python that will only eat live or will only eat XXX, but that's exceptionally rare and who's to say you wouldn't run in to that anyways?

So how do I go about switching them? Just alternate what I feed them or something?

Well, I would start out by just offering a frozen thawed mouse/rat and see if they'll take them. If they're CB, and they have a strong feeding response with live mice, chances are they'll take it. I just got in an '07 and '08 that were both previously feeding on live. I offered them f/t the day after they arrived and they took it without any issues. Honestly, I wouldn't worry about it until they actually refuse f/t a few times. I've heard of people scenting with live, feeding a live mouse and then offering a f/t once the feeding response has kicked in, leaving the snake in a paper bag with the f/t prey overnight, dipping in chicken broth, braining...the list goes on. I'd be very surprised if you can't switch them over without any trouble.

When i have frozen to feed my snakes i just pisk it up by the tail and weave it around and then boom they grab it. So Good luck.

I have had the same problem. I've tried all the suggestions mentioned here. Most recently, I tried scenting with a live mouse. She seems interested in them at first, but once she gets a good whiff of it with her tongue, she backs away. If I can tell the F/T mouse has a different smell, I'm sure it's like night and day to her. Scenting didn't work though. She ignored it.

Another tip I was given was to feed live and then stick a F/T mouse in her mouth when she reaches the tail. I tried that too but she just kept moving out of the way. I was probably being too timid about it.

My gut feeling is that smell is the problem. It just doesn't smell like a live mouse after it's been dead. I also wonder about heat, as the defrosted mice are slightly warmer than room temperature when defrosted, and quickly cool off.

The snake is just over a year old and I've been trying this about every other week for the last 3 months, a different method every time. I know she is hungry.. she's always hungry. When she knows I have a live one she greets me eagerly.

None of my 24 balls are on live
All take either warmed up rats/Mice/ASF's
I defrost all mice in freezer bags in a bucket of hot water, when it cools i add fresh warm water/
Some seem to prefer feeding in a dark room, others don't care
A few took a while for me to figure out what ticked their boxes, but all are now feeding well.
The greatest aid to feeding i've found is the african soft furred rat or multimammate, they are a 'Miracle' food, and my freezers full of them -)

only one way to switch

to all the people who ask every week.....

.you put in a warmed up thawed rodent.....leave it

they either eat it or they don't

only other way is to hold it and wiggle it in their face and see if that works...(use tweezers or tongs...they don't want to smell the hand

...they either eat or don't.....alot will.....IF young

..
-----
......
..........
.............

LOL......

I had no trouble at all swtiching the one I got to f/t, all I do is make sure they're warm and wiggle them in front of his hide with a pair of tongs...

But... I doubt it would have been this easy had he been properly cared for before I got him... His previous owner hadn't fed him for 3 months, and was only feeding him one adult mouse every 2-3 months before that, so he was pretty hungry when I got him... now that he's well fed and is being taken better care of, he's not so quick to take f/t...
-----
~Maggie~

"Not one shred of evidence supports the notion that life is serious."
1.1 Cal Kings (Spot and Fry)
1.0 Florida King
1.0 Ball Python (Mitch)
0.1 Red Belly Piranha (Fluffy)
1.0 Australian Shepherd (Spooky)
1.0 Springer Spaniel/Beagle mix (Snoopy)
0.1 German Shep mix (Shadow)
0.1 Cat (Echo)