Reptile & Amphibian Forums

She is about 4 months old and has beed feeding on live.

Have you tried at all? Some snakes pick up pretty quickly. If not, I've had great success going over f/t with a hair dryer until they're warm and fluffy, then tease feeding.
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"The serpent crams itself with animal life that is often warm and vibrant, to prolong an existence in which we detect no joy and no emotion. It reveals the depth to which evolution can sink when it takes the downward path and strips animals to the irreducible minimum able to perpetuate a predatory life in its naked horror."
Alexander Skutch

This is the method I have used with lots of snakes not just live feeders..People laugh when I say I warm them up with a hair dryer but honestly never failed with me...worth a go..good luck

Hey,
I use hot water to warm my rodents up, either rats or mice, depending on what I'm feeding at the time. I have several small containers that I fill with hot water and soak the food items in until they are thawed. If you want to dry them after they are thawed then, using the method described works well and might even help some recalcitrant feeders to taking F/T, more readily. I usually just blot mine off with some paper towel or newspaper; it's subjective.

The thing with Bloods and Short-tails, the makes them different from say a GreenTree Python, that you can reflex feed, using food gripped at the end of a pair of forceps is, that, they don't respond in quite the same way as a chondro will. By that I mean that, you can't go tapping your blood or short-tail with the food item because they retreat and become shy when fed this way. On the flip side of that scenerio, there are those that are for the most part, adults in particular, that will take food off of the forcep, with alacrity and no problem what so ever.

This is what I have done in the past and still do till present, when getting a new juvie or hatchling animal to feed. I dangle a well warmed up mouse, fuzzy, etc., in front of the short-tail, or blood, from a pair of 12inch forceps and then tap it on the nose slightly (not with the same amount of force used with GTP's) - with out trying to startle it, but just enough to get its attention. Once the attention has been gained you can start to move the mouse or other item, in the way that a live mouse would move, sort of making it, "the food", hop slightly off the bottom of the cage using the forceps. Never release the food while doing so, other wise the snake will lose interest. Once the snake starts to look interested get a little closer with the food to the snake and see if after some pauses (faux movement), he or she, shows some ineterest in striking and grasping the food from you. If so, then release the food immediately. This technique works with some success and then there are those that need to be tried repeatedly, until they start to eat of there own volition from forceps after several tries.

Also, you must be sure the food item is kept warm other wise the food will go cool, and that makes feeding trials that much more difficult as the snake will lose interest faster. They must have some kind of sensory stimulant in the way of heat emanating from the food for them to hone in on. Rewarming the food might be necessary.

- Angel

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Sometimes on your way to your dream, you get lost and find a better way!

You've got some good tips to go on. If you snake still doesn't respond to the aforementioned some scents might help it respond better. I've never had to resort to these, but apparently if you put some chicken broth on the prey it will help, also cutting open the skull (done this with pinkies for some babies with good success), the scent of feces also entices them apparently. If still having trouble and feeding multiple prey items it might be beneficial to feed a live and then a f/t. Or starting off with a pre killed before going straight to f/t might help too.
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"It's my snake, I trained it, so I'm going to eat it!" - Mad Max, The Road Warrior

As said alot of good points have been made.I also just defrost and then warm the prey up by holding it under the hot tap for a bit.Along with this and the hairdryer you should have some success..I will say though if the prey item isn't warm then my bloods lose interest very quickly and will leave it until I have run it under the hot tap or blasted it with the hair dryer..good luck anyway and hope some of the replies help you.

Thanks for all of your ideas guys, I hope they work.