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Switching a BP from live to F/T?

JTGoff69

JTGoff69

New member
I'm buying a BP from a customer of ours today, ($20 for an '03, tank, accesories, etc. couldn't pass it up lol) great temperament, just their 9 year old has lost interest. The only problem is that it has only had live all it's life. Since I feed f/t to all my gang, how should I go about trying to switch it over? I thought about bringing some bedding home from our mice cages to scent with. And for all you BP owners, what size mice or rats are yours eating at this age? I find alot of customers are feeding prey items way to small for the snake for fear they can't handle the appropriate size.

I'm excited to say the least, it's been a while since I had a BP. It will be interesting around here since hubby doesn't like snakes at all and HATED the one I used to have (said it just looked evil :grin01: )
 
With a bp...the only advice i can give you is GOOD LUCK! And LOTS of it.

Dont feed it for 4 weeks, (and dont break down and offer it in btwn the 4 weeks) Then put a dead rat in with it, if he doesnt take it, wait another 4 weeks. Thats all you can do really.
 
Congrats on such a steal, Jen!

You could try the time honored progression of going from live to stunned to freshly killed to f/t.......just a thought.

regards,
jazz
 
Teasing often works when switching over to f/t. My first BP was "live only" at first, and yes, it took a few weeks of no food to make it want something not live. I made sure the mouse was warm body temp and held it with tongs. Now it eats f/t without any jiggling. I'm going to make sure my new BP eats a few times on live (to make sure it's eating well) then I'll try the same routine. Good luck.
 
Thanks for the suggestions guys. I know only too well ,Jen, how finicky they can be about feeding. I actually aquired my first one as a pair of captive borns, but the female never ate for me and I lost her.

Jazz, if I had the nerve to stun/prekill I would definitely go that route, but I'm a softy lol. And unfortunately I didn't get to pick him up today, I got out of work too late. (You know how retail is. BTW, I'm going to be a manager in a month or so, pray for me! :grin01: )

Dionythicus, I will probably use the method you described. Ball pythons seem to go more for movement IMO, so maybe I'll get lucky.

Thanks again for your suggestions, I just can't wait to get him! :crazy02:
 
Have you offered thawed to it yet? Not all balls out there are stubborn., and it would save a lot of stress on you if he does end up being one of them who will take it no problem. One other way is too get it a live mouse the half the size of its normal meals and a frozen mouse the same size. Thaw out the mouse, and put it in a container with the live one long enough to where the scent is transfered. With tongs hold the live on infront of the snake; after its eaten hold the thawed one in the same manner, only shaking it a bit to stimulate movement. After a few feedings like that most balls will begin taking them unscented, and you can replace the live with thawed.
 
I agree, it might take it you never know. Sweet deal... 20 bucks lol. I feed mine stunned, but im sure I could switch it if I wanted to. Try thawing it out really well and then dangle it in front of him... he might not take it at frist but after a few weeks it wont be a problem.
 
JTGoff69 said:
Jazz, if I had the nerve to stun/prekill I would definitely go that route, but I'm a softy lol. And unfortunately I didn't get to pick him up today, I got out of work too late. (You know how retail is. BTW, I'm going to be a manager in a month or so, pray for me! :grin01: )
Click to expand...
Regarding your reluctance - no balls, no blue chips, as they say. Just pretend they're nippy lil dwarf hamsters. :cool:

Regarding your promotion - I'll pull an all-night novena, recite the Torah, get dipped in the river Jordan, and even wear those funky LDS undergarments.
I mean, we're talking about a soul that needs to be saved!! :crazy02:

BTW, it was just in our local paper a coupla days ago - Petsmart will be opening their first Milwaukee-area store real soon. Maybe they can ease up on the stranglehold that Petco has here.

regards,
jazz
 
All i can say is watch out for if it is WC and .....Well, i hope he is a good feeder for you. If you can get them i suggest darker colored rats, they eat most commonly a jumper mouse ( something like that) in the wild and they have dark fur. I have herd dark prey working for a few people.
 
Jen, My adults eat adult rats F/T. I haven't had any problems with them being stubborn feeders so far.They require adequate hiding boxes,and mine prefer to eat when the lights go out. Good Luck Tom
 
jazzgeek said:
Regarding your promotion - I'll pull an all-night novena, recite the Torah, get dipped in the river Jordan, and even wear those funky LDS undergarments.
I mean, we're talking about a soul that needs to be saved!! :crazy02:

BTW, it was just in our local paper a coupla days ago - Petsmart will be opening their first Milwaukee-area store real soon. Maybe they can ease up on the stranglehold that Petco has here.

regards,
jazz
Click to expand...

Thanks for the belly laugh Jazz :grin01: . Actually, the position is the Pet Care Manager, so it's not as bad as it sounds. Still a key carrying, customer butt kissing, teenager hand holding, P&L monitoring object of pity though!

Petco has just opened 2 stores within 50 miles here in the last 6 months. (All either right across the street or within a block of a PetSmart) Every time I've been there, there has been no more than 4 or 5 cars there. I don't think they're much of a threat.

Tom, thanks for the info on feeder size, I'm finally able to pick him up tonight so I'll be giving him at least a week to 10 days to acclimate before trying to feed.
 
DaemoNox said:
Have you offered thawed to it yet? Not all balls out there are stubborn...
Click to expand...

had a male that took f/t right off as a hatchling. He liked them placed in front of his hide right before the lights went off, and he never missed a meal.

Tease feeding them real warm thawed prey or fresh killed prey worked for me, but there are several proven methods, and everyone has their favorite :*). Balls seem to home in on heat/scent moreso than a corn does, jmho...
 
You could also try putting your bp and a f/t mouse in a paper bag over night in the tank. I know this can work for bp's that go of feed or refuse food.


LUBU
 
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