Reptile & Amphibian Forums

hello, i have two adult female rosys and i would like to get them to eat f/t. my corns and rat have no problem. ive been breeding mice for over 20 years and would like to stop. so, how has everyone convinced their older adult rosys to eat f/t or am i stuck breeding mice for the rest of my life? thanks in advance.

shannon in palomino valley, nv

lol, sorry about the top pick. stupid cell phone internet. the top pic are hide platforms i made when i was breeding hissing cockroaches.

In the past, I was able to entice some with f/t rats instead of mice. Certain rosies I had were much more eager feeders on rats.

I also tried the hunger method - let them get hungry. I soon learned that the patience of a rosyboa is greater than my own.

I tried a "nest" of f/t mice fuzzies. No improvement.

IMO, rats are worth a try.

My theory is that certain localities or types of rosies seem to more readily eat f/t, although as always individuals can be individuals in that regard. For example, I had a group of mid-Baja rosies from different localities and different breeders - El Rosario, San Felipe, Bay of LA. All of those charged on f/t rats from when they were babies to adults. (yes, a baby rosy can eat a rat pink) No problems at all. I had a group of Whitewaters, and they were hit-and-miss on f/t, with some refusing it altogether. Same with Az boas I had. But they would pounce on fresh-kill in a heartbeat. Very frustrating. I ended up giving away the WWs and Az boas and kept the mid-Bajas, even though they were the bitey-est rosies in the universe. I got tagged many times by those.
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Mark

In addition to markg's idea about rats, try scenting the f/t with a fresh killed mouse. If it doesn't work feed the fresh killed. If it works, just freeze the fresh killed!