Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hey gang!

Its been a while since my last post. My has safely flown to my new place with me from Vancouver.

Now Im trying to get her on rats. Shes taking Mice but not rats.

Shes about 4-5 months old. Any ideas on how to get her to eat rats?

Thanks!

There are many "tricks" to try to get them on rats but you need to accept that many ball pythons just do not ever eat rats or they eat rats and then change their mind and no longer want them. It is just how they are.

amen
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Damian Macioce
www.strongholdreptiles.com

scenting is a good step.

Just rub an appropriate sized rat with a mouse then offer it to your snake. I would match sizes for now till she takes unscented rats fine then you can increase rat size as appropriate for her girth.

I know some people have actually 'skinned' a mouse and 'dressed' a rat in the mouse's skin. (the skin can be stitched on with short bits of thread which should pass harmlessly. A stitch or two in a couple spots just enough to keep the skin on.
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PHLdyPayne

"It puts the lotion on the skin or else it gets the hose again"

While I wouldn't go as far as that, I do think scenting is a great way to go. I feed F/T so scenting is easy, just rub the head of the rat on the mouse for a while. If they are real stubborn I will offer a F/T mouse first to peak there interest, then before they get a chance to strike I switch to a F/T rat scented with a rat. It usually does the trick.

It also helps to starve them for a month or two before hand. I don't worry about switching them until they are 400-600g so they can take the two month fast without much difficulty.

sorry

FORGET SORRY! How much do you want for her? My girlfriend has wanted a red crested ever since we got into them.

I'm having the same problem. My 550 gram pastel female ate a small rat after I had it in an aquaruim with 3 mice for about 2 hours. I figured the "smell" of the mice would rub off onto the rat. Problem is she hasn't eaten once since and it's been 2 weeks. My spider and cinnamon don't know what to do with them, but they will pound a mouse as soon it hits the cage.
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Computer geek by day, snake lover by night
.1 Jungle Pastel
.1 Cinny
1.0 Spider
0.0.1 6 year old normal BP

Ok, I got my snake to eat a rat.
Heres how I did it...though you should know my snake is unusual. She only eats after being handled for a while. Meaning if I leave her in the enclosure for a couple days and then feed her she won;t eat at all. Its like she needs some activity to start her appetite.

First note: Only place one rodent (dead or alive) in the cage. Too many prey in the cage can intimidate them.

I thawed a rat and a mouse in the same bag. (Placed the bag in warm water to thaw faster)
Then I rubbed the mouse onto the rat while they were still inside the bag (never touched it with my hands)

Then I placed the mouse just outside her enclosure...which got her interested.
Then instead of throwing the ouse in I put the rat in. She couldnt tell the difference.

As for the not feeding for 2 weeks, my snake does that every once in a while. Good indication of shed time. And it all depends on the last feeding and last defecation ( I mean they store that crap for a loooooong time) so its understandable to go off food.

Hope this helps a little!