Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Im having trouble getting my little 3' African Rock to eat f/t prey. What are some tips and tricks used to get them to start eating dead, he eats live just fine, just not dead, he ate f/t twice, then ever since he wont take them, when i offer live theyre gone.

You can go two ways. You could give it a week then try a frozen one and if not wait another week and try it again with a frozen one. Or the road I would go is do pre killed for a couple weeks and then go to frozen. Now I know that killing the rat is not fun but it is for the greater good, if you know what I mean, and eaiser on everyone. Put it in a pillow case and one swift swing into the ground or cement wall. This is how I got my burm to take frozen, and now I just drop it in there and she eats it without the wiggle.

Good Luck

The first thing is to make sure that the rat is warm throughout with no cold spots. Then a little wiggling while holding the tail helps. Another thing that I have done that works is to prop the warmed rat up against something in the cage like the water bowl so that it looks like it is just sitting there. I did that with a 7 year old boa that had only eaten live her whole life. Now I can just toss a thawed and warmed rat into her cage and she doesn't even strike at it, just starts eating it. That took a few feedings 2 weeks apart to accomplish and depending on the snake could take more than a couple of months. Hunger helps too. A well fed snake wil sometimes be picky about wht it eats where a hungry (not starved) snake will take what is offered. Try just dangling it in front of the snake first. Just give it a little wiggle and then stop and see how the snake reacts. Some will nail it right away and others like to come over and smell it a little. Probably better wear a glove when you do that and make sure the rat is warmer than your hand or you may be the target.
You can also try just leaving the rat in the cage over night and the snake will come across it later and forget that he didn't kill it and go ahed and eat it. I hope this helps.

David

I would suggest trying a severly stunned prey item. Knock silly so it just flops around a little but is basically incompacitated. If it will take it that way then feed him like that a couple fo times and then offer him fresh killed. If successfull with the fresh killed after a couple of feedings then try f/t again. One key point to feeding f/t is to ensure that it is thoroughly thawed and I always heat them up in hot water. This ensures that it is thoroughly thowed and allows the snake to gain a heat signature on the prey item. Hope this helps, Todd

Ya, i tried leavin it in cage over night, i thaw them by putting a heat light over them so it get very warm, very thourough, i dangle the mouse over them everywhere, laid the rat on the surface on its stomach and tried to make it move like a real rat, lol. I will try thawing them in water, i do that with my Boa and Pythons rats. Tomorrow ill feed him a live rat, then freshly kill the other rat, and try that. Thanks for the replies.

I totally forgot about what was said about put it in a baggie and warm it in water, that totally works, but also when it takes the live one while its wrapped you can place a dead one on the snake and it should eat both. And start getting the taste for the frozen one.

Thawing in warm water worked for me. I have a Ball Python and when I tried a heat lamp he would sit there for about an hour just watching it. If I moved it he would come over and check it out but would not eat it. Thawed one in a ziplock in hot water and when I put it in I made it dance a little and as soon as I let it go he was all over it. I used a IR thermometer and heated it to about 100 then let it cool to 95 and it worked like a charm. I'm assuming it absorbs some of the moisture cause it definitely smelled stronger. Not a stench, mind you. Just smelled stronger than the heat lamp and the little guy seemed to appreciate it. Good luck.

Ok thanks guys, ill try the thawing in water with this guys food next feeding day, im sure i shouldnt have a problem now with all these tips.