Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hello all. Well here we are, and I still can't get my ball to eat a freshly killed rat. Any ideas? I've had him for about 9 months, and he's plenty big enough to eat one. He eats live mice like it's no big deal, but when I throw a rat in there, he doesn't want anything to do with it. His appetite can handle 3 mice, but I know they aren't as nutritous for them as rats. I've tried the method explained by proexotics.com, and that doesn't work either. It seems that he'll eat a mouse, and look for a way out of the feeding area until I either take him out, throw in another mouse, or he's too fat from all 3 mice to move. Am I to just settle with multiple mice for his dinners? I'm keeping the f/k rat in his tank for the night, and if I'm lucky, he'll down it. On the other hand, when I put him into his tank, he went right for the large hide I have for him, so I'm not sure if he'll want to come out during the night or not... I'm really frustrated, and would love for my ball to start eating rats. I know I'm one of the many, but any further help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance!!

ok you said live mice. Try getting live rat fuzzies with their eyes still closed (as rats can be very very viscious). Or with their eyes just begging to open, that way you can get him situated on rats, then after a while try the f/k way.

Another way. Skip all his meals for a month (you said he was pretty good size so it will not hurt him)

Then put him in a dark smallish rubbermaid overnight with a f/k rat maybe the size and color mice you have been feeding him.

Since I haven't been here in a while I haven't read any of your other posts (if there are any) so I will give some suggestions for f/t.

just try the f/t first and see if he will take it, if not......

f/t left in cage overnight

f/t left in a small dark rubbermaid over night

braining (taking a thumtack to the back of the heat of a f/t rat or mouse and letting brains ooze out, I know it's grose)

cutting the nose off a f/t rat/mouse

dipping the head in HOT water

dip the body in hot water

dip the head in chicken broth

scenting, for a f/t rat rub soiled bedding of mice on a f/t rat.
maybe even a live rat if you want.

And there is the "other" method. I don't like it, but it will usually work. Take the snake off food for like 2 months then try a live rat pup/fuzzy. I personally don't like this method. But others have raved about how it works.
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1.1 Ball Python, 0.1 motley amel corn, 0.1 western hognose

Another suggestion might be to use a hemostat or set of tongs around the neck of a live rat and let your snake swipe and coil, but at the same time keeping the rast from biting your snake then as your snake gets used to that try weening to the f/k. never had the problem but have heard that this works well.
good luck. keep us posted!
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I am a true herper at heart
1.0 ball python(normal)Maximus
0.1 golden retriever Amber
0.1 dalmation/lab mix nikita
0.2 bettas

I don't know if proexotics has this...so you may have tried it already. This is how I switch from mice to rats (or other rodents to rats) First I teach the snake to take whatever it IS accepting from tongs. Once it will take it's mice prekilled from tongs I would take a smaller than a mouse, frozen thawed or washed and rinsed prekilled rat....rub it all over on a live mouse. If the mouse will oblige it would help to have it pee on it. SCENT it heavily with mouse. Make sure it is warm. Then offer it from tongs. You could even tug a bit once it hits and wraps just to wind it up to getting a good grip and in feeding mode.

Once he is taking heavily scented rats then you can ease off on the smell til it is not scented at all. The hungrier the better too, but don't go to extremes.

My WC adults both still want gerbil flavored rats to eat at the beginning of the season. Stubborn snakes.
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Sonya

Failure is not an option. It comes bundled with the software.

I will definitely try what all of you have mentioned, all the while staying patient! Happy Herping!