Feeding Frozen Is a Pain

[Toxoderidae]

I'm trying to feed my baby pied again.... She's acting like a little kid when you try to get them to try something new. She'll sniff it, sniff around it, press her nose against it, then take a huge drink of water, act like the mouse isn't there, then return to sniffing it. I've thawed it, popped the brain case and the gut to let the scent be there, and I put it in a spot she can easily grab it (she is scared by the tongs and wont eat when I'm holding it like that) How long should I leave the mouse in before I give up?

 

[MsBuzzKill]

Just a quick question since I can't tell from the info you provided; have you heated/warmed it up (sitting it in hot water for a while, especially the head) right before offering?

I'd leave it about an hour and then go back and check. I've had a couple of mine sometimes ignore it at first and then decide "Yep, I want it" and eat it after I walked away.

 

[shining]

It's not that bad. Yours is still young. My male has taken F/t with the technique @MsBuzzKill mentioned. My lady bp came to me after eating live her whole life. Weening is the pain. Lots of zombie dances and uneaten prey.

 

[Toxoderidae]

Just a quick question since I can't tell from the info you provided; have you heated/warmed it up (sitting it in hot water for a while, especially the head) right before offering?

I'd leave it about an hour and then go back and check. I've had a couple of mine sometimes ignore it at first and then decide "Yep, I want it" and eat it after I walked away.

Yeah I always let them sit in hot water. Might take a quick snooze, mouse should be gone hopefully

 

[Toxoderidae]

It's not that bad. Yours is still young. My male has taken F/t with the technique @MsBuzzKill mentioned. My lady bp came to me after eating live her whole life. Weening is the pain. Lots of zombie dances and uneaten prey.

Yeah.. this one has been eating live, and I cant get live pinkies and hoppers.

 

[MsBuzzKill]

Oh yes, the "rat dance" ... I know it well. I currently just have 18 snakes (with 2 more babies arriving as soon as they breeder deems them ready) and all are on F/T. Been there, done that. Just keep with it, it'll hopefully come around for you @Toxoderidae

 

[louise f]

Yeah.. this one has been eating live, and I cant get live pinkies and hoppers

If it is used to living prey, it is a pain in the but to get it to eat frozen food. It is almost mission impossible.
But i hope it will work out for you. Good luck

 

[Toxoderidae]

If only I knew somewhere I could get live hoppers/pinkies. At the october repticon I will hopefully find someone.

 

[MsBuzzKill]

If only I knew somewhere I could get live hoppers/pinkies. At the october repticon I will hopefully find someone.

Do you have any local reptile groups? Sometimes networking in those settings can help you find what you need. Someone may raise their own and be willing to sell some to you ... or they may know someone who does. Good luck either way.

 

[truecreature]

One method I've heard of to help get a snake to eat frozen/thawed is by scenting it with soiled bedding from a live mouse or rat's cage. If they don't keep rodents themselves, people go to their local pet store and explain their situation and ask if they can have some bedding. It sounds kinda awkward, but might be worth a try? If you google "frozen thawed scenting" there's more info on it

Also heard of dipping in chicken broth

 

[Toxoderidae]

So she still hasn't eaten, anything I can do? My only worry is how thin she is- she ate last week, but won't eat now.

 

[louise f]

So she still hasn't eaten, anything I can do? My only worry is how thin she is- she ate last week, but won't eat now.

How did it go, did you manage to get her to eat. ? If she hasn`t eaten yet, i would try to get some live ones for it.

 

[Toxoderidae]

How did it go, did you manage to get her to eat. ? If she hasn`t eaten yet, i would try to get some live ones for it.

she didn't eat, but she did eat a F/T pinkie last week. Might have to look and see where I can find live hoppers/pinkies.

 

[louise f]

she didn't eat, but she did eat a F/T pinkie last week. Might have to look and see where I can find live hoppers/pinkies.

I hope you will find some for her

 

[Najakeeper]

Ball pythons are weird animals. They will burn themselves to a crisp sitting on a hot surface for hours, they will ignore food to the level of starvation etc. When it comes to food, the key is to buy animals, who already are on f/t if you cannot provide live items but even with this, there is no guarantee with balls. They can stop feeding on you for no apperant reason.

Good luck with her.

 

[RMJ]

When you first approached the ball with the warm feeder do you wave it around at all as in tried to replicate some sort of movement so it was live? I do this with all my feeders for my boa and she strike feeds EVERY time.

 

[Toxoderidae]

When you first approached the ball with the warm feeder do you wave it around at all as in tried to replicate some sort of movement so it was live? I do this with all my feeders for my boa and she strike feeds EVERY time.

When I tried that with a pinkie last week she freaked out, it scared her. I set it down in a small, extra waterdish with the head and torso poking out, and she grabbed it. I'm beginning to wonder if she's scared by the size of the hoppers.

 

[RMJ]

When I tried that with a pinkie last week she freaked out, it scared her. I set it down in a small, extra waterdish with the head and torso poking out, and she grabbed it. I'm beginning to wonder if she's scared by the size of the hoppers.

How old is your python? what size is she? how often are you trying to feed?

 

[Toxoderidae]

How old is your python? what size is she? how often are you trying to feed?

she's 7 weeks old, about to be 8, and she's about 18'' long with a girth of maybe 2 or 3'' I want her to be on an every 3 - 6 days schedule for feeding, just to get her growing faster. She ate last Thursday.

 

[ratluvr76]

It's not that bad. Yours is still young. My male has taken F/t with the technique @MsBuzzKill mentioned. My lady bp came to me after eating live her whole life. Weening is the pain. Lots of zombie dances and uneaten prey.

lmao @ zombie dance... love it

When you first approached the ball with the warm feeder do you wave it around at all as in tried to replicate some sort of movement so it was live? I do this with all my feeders for my boa and she strike feeds EVERY time.

I had a ball years ago. Ball's seem to be more prone to feeding issues then most other snakes. With mine, it didn't matter what I did to try to get it to eat. When he ha finally lost so much weight that I was truly concerned that he was starving to death I finally had to start force feeding it. We had a little ritual him and I. I would offer the prey item, usually a small hopper rat. We would start with the "zombie dance". Then I would lay the feeder on the substrate, leave it for about an hour in a secluded area with no other distractions. Week one would have me just offering the feeder to different snake. Week two, after the zombie dance and waiting time I would force feed him. It took about 6 months before he would start taking them once of a while. 3 months after that, he finally would take the prey item every week. It was a process, one I don't care to repeat so although he was actually one of my favorites, I will never have a ball python again.

OP, good luck. I seriously hope yours starts feeding normally soon. :/