Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I just finished an article. Let me know what you think.

http://www.jaymartinreptiles.com/articles.html
-----
Jay A. Martin
Jay Martin Reptiles

Jay, that's a great write. Seems to have covered all the bases.

Quig

Looks good, I especially like the "This level of damage is not repairable."
-----
Bryan, Atlanta GA

1-0-0 Rescued Ball Python - Apep
0-1-0 Rescued Mountain Horned Dragon - Ki
0-0-1 Rescued Aggressive Bearded Dragon - Zeus
0-0-1 Rescued Non-Alpha Green Iguana - Bud
1-1-0 Rescued Rats... no wait... ROTTEN Little Cats - Ra, Bastet
0-0-1 Rescued Dieting Panda Hamster - Mr. Fluffy
0-1-0 Rescued Little Angelic Kitten - Isis
1-0-0 Horse... whoops... BIG Golden Retriever - Jake
0-1-0 Wife
2-0-0 Kids

Article looks good Jay!

Heres my new little guy I got yesterday - eating his first f/t rat pup! Yeah, they are really hard to get started on f/t - LOL.

BTW a big thank you to Brandon for an awesome snake!!!!

-----
Tosha

"Nihil facimus sed id bene facimus"

10.35.0 Ball Python (Harry and Fluffy and gang)
1.0.0 Angolan Python (Anakin Skywalker)
0.0.1 Green Tree Python (Verdi - yeah I know but my kids love the book)
0.2.0 Feline (Pippen and Pandora)
0.0.1 Desert Tortoise (Pope John Paul aka JP )
2.2.1 Fish (1,2,3,4)
0.0.1 Lizard rescued from feline
0.0.0 frogs rescued from pool skimmer

Thanks! And thanks for the proof-read!
-----
Jay A. Martin
Jay Martin Reptiles

That is a very good article, thanks for posting.
Personally I prefer to feed F/T, but even some of the reputable suppliers ship headless and cut up (bleeding) F/T rodents some times, so I breed my own and gas and freeze them.

Rob Reiding.
Link

Hi Jay,
Nice article! Could you tell me what your experience has been in converting live feeders to f/t feeders? I have read various posts claiming to have snakes they could not get to make the switch, but could they be giving up too soon, not going about it right (ex. trying to get a live mouse feeder to switch directly to f/t rats), not warming the f/t correctly, etc.
Thanks,
Glenn

I actually find it easier than most think to switch. In fact, I just started a project to conver 24 snakes to F/T. 12 of the 24 took a F/T, unheated, unteased rat left in their cage overnight. This was all on the first try. I have fed both F/T and live for many years. I am trying now to get everything on F/T. I think the biggest thing to keep in mind is patience. I have several females that would have been in the breeding range this season had I fed them live. Well, I did not feed them live at all for a couple of months. In fact, I did not feed them at all. I believe that when a snake is hungry, it WILL eat F/T. But there are many techniques. Again, the key is patience, trying different things and waiting long enough to figure out and see what works.

My next project is to get the rest of my reptiles on F/T - especially hatchlings.
-----
Jay A. Martin
Jay Martin Reptiles

If I put on my "Darth Editor" cap, I could probably find things to mark, but overall, I liked this article.

I was a little confused at the end when you talked about things to consider. You seemed to imply that the type of cage, the hides, and the type of substrate were factors in whether to feed a snake f/t or live rodents, but I didn't see anything in the text explaining how these factors play in the decision. To some extent, the same is true about stress reduction. Will having a cage in a high traffic area be a factor in the decision of whether to feed live versus f/t?

I'm about to have my first experience with what happens when I can't follow my usual feeding schedule. I was out of town when I normally would have fed my ball python, so she missed that feeding. In addition, she's currently in the worst part of her shed cycle, so I don't see much point in bothering her with food. After she sheds, I'll have to re-establish her eating. Fortunately, she took her biggest meal right before I left for the holiday.

Bill
-----
It's not how many snakes you have. It's how happy and healthy you can keep them.