Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hello.. I am trying to get my baby burm to eat small rats and have been for a while.. He will eat live ones but I want him on F/T. So if I am going to try to make him wait a while before offering a meal.. what's max. time I should wait? I have made him wait 6 weeks once and I finally broke down and gave in to him but after that he still didn't take the F/T rat.. = /

(as some of you have read some of my previous posts i am frustrated with this and I really want to think I didn't waste my money I paid on a lot of 20 frozen rats, I have trashed alot of them already!)

Have you tried offering one right after feeding a live one?

Yes.. twice! The first time, he ate it just fine, second he spit it right out and went into his hide as if he was saying "take this crap outta here" hehe

have you tried F/K I had the same prob for a while so I tried F/K and she slowly switched dont waiste the rats you may even want to try stunning rats first then try F/K and just take your time it will eventually happen. the rats dont care how long they stay frozen hehehe. good luck

Forgive my ignorance please but what is "F/K" ? Could it mean "Fresh-Killed", or "Pre-Killed"? If so I have tried that and it seems to work but if I buy rats that are live they are about $5 (for small) and frozen I get for about 50cents each. Also I am trying to elimiate me having to kill the rats myself. Thanks for the info!

Yep..thats what it means.
Are you making sure that when you thaw the frozen ones they are hot enough? If they are to cold that can be a problem also

jason.. "Are you making sure that when you thaw the frozen ones they are hot enough?" No I am not sure.. and I honestly think that's part of the problem.. I don't know how to hit just the right temp. I have tried the following things..

a) Letting the rat sit out in open air for 5-6 hours.
b) Put the rat in a sandwich bag and letting the rat sit in hot tap water for 20-30 mins(inside baggie)
c) Let the rat sit out for 6 hours, Then let it sit under a ceramic heat emitter for a few mins.
d) Left the rat in baggie and thawed in water for an hour then put it under a lamp for a few mins.

I have Not tried chicken broth on the rat, or hair dryer.. So am I missing something I should try?

I always just did it in the sink...just have to keep changing the water. It can be a pain to get them warm enough...thats one reason i hate FT rodents...i just raise my own. sounds like everything you have done should have gotten it plenty warm.
How big are the rats?

The rats are "small rats" not big at all really.