Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi, I need some advice on how to get my female ball python to eat rats. She's almost a year old and about three feet long. I've been trying the ProExotics method of switching her over to rats by feeding an adult mouse first, and then feeding her the rat pup and that she should strike it because of the feeding response. Well, that doesn't seem to be working. I feed her the mouse, which she hits hard, but then I try giving her the rat pup right after the mouse hits her stomach, and she wants nothing to do with it. I got her to eat one rat pup last week by feeding her a mouse and then dangling another mouse in front of her getting her ready to strike, and then quickly substituting the rat pup, but that didn't work this week. She's on to that one...lol. Does anyone have any advice? Should I just give her a couple of weeks and wait until she's good and hungry and try again? Please help!

My ball python female is the same length as yours. And i can tell you she should/could be eating 1 small rat (90 grams -100grams) per week. I got mine hooked on every tuesday. To make the switch, get a live small rat. Get a screw driver (the next part may sound cruel but it works with my snake) and beat the rat with it several times really hard. Make sure its in a box with newspaper as blood will go everywhere (this is what you want) try and make as much blood as possible to come out. (do not hit it more than 5 times with the screw driver, the key is to kill it with the first hit, and hit it 3 more times to get the blood squirting)...Leave it alone till it stops kicking (its already dead, the nerves make it jump around)....get a pair of hemostats , grab it by the nape of the neck, and make it "walk"/"prance" around your snake. When the snake comes out to investigate, put the head of the dead bleeding rat on the tip of her nose (by the mouth) she should try and strike. i had to do this several times for my snake and she will no longer take live (i just killed 2 birds with one stone here lol).....if that doesnt work, try scenting a weanling with an adult mouse.