Reptile & Amphibian Forums

i recently recieved a ball python as a fathers day gift. and am exited about the new addition to the family, i am however a bit aprehensive about the new responsibility(just as much as when my son was born) i have been keeping reptiles for about 4 years, but this is my first snake

From what ive read, as a young snake,(the breeder said about 3 months old) he/she will take to live food best for now and then we can work on moving to fresh killed and then frozen mice, gerbils... what is best for now as far as which rodent to feed?
share with me your wisdom

F/T has many benefits and is usually best for the keeper of only a few reptiles. If your snake will not eat F/T, try F/K. It is safer than live. Get your little guy established - healthy - and then try to switch over to F/T if that's your desire.

I would not feed anything other than rats or mice. Hamsters and Gerbils are expensive and often hard to get. Further, they can be quite aggressive. Keep it simple.
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Jay A. Martin

i spent a good deal of time last night building a new cage for my bp 36'"x 13"x15" and after letting him check it out for awhile i tossed him a live fuzzy mouse and he took it in like two minutes, it made my adrenaline burst, so EXITING!
the breeder told me that he was planning on using live for a few more feedings and then go to fresh killed and then to thawed.. is that advisable, or should i give him fresh killed at the next feeding? or is it okay to continue with live food?
i have talked to people who feed their older snakes live rats all the time , and i know from my childhhod how nasty and viscious rats can be.

...welcome to BP's and the forum. Juvenile BP's usually respond best to live food, but some specimens may take f/t or f/k right off the bat. Many new owners are reluctant to fresh-kill food items and that's ok. But it's a skill that you'll need to learn if you grow your collection. At any rate, those big holes in the upper lip scales are infrared (heat) sensors and help the snake key-in on warm-blooded prey. Especially in subdued light or even total darkness. Movement of the prey item also stimulates the feed response. Try a live dark-colored (dark helps but white is fine) large fuzzy or small hopper mouse (14-18 days old). Once the snake has eaten several meals then try f/k or f/t. I routinely offer f/k with 18" forceps after the first several meals. Some of my older females will take f/t rats routinely, but this is often seasonal (like now). Scott J. Michaels DVM