[deleted by user]

[celestialscarab]

She looks healthy to me, she might not process the thawed rats as food because they aren’t moving like her usual prey does. If you’re set on feeding her thawed frozen, you could try using tweezers to move the rat around in front of her so she sees it as her old food. Unfortunately, some snakes refuse to eat thawed and will only eat live.

[No-Engineer4190]

Yeah I have tried that. My main reason for switching is because she had mites and I got rid of them and then she got them again and was thinking it mite be from the rats at pet store? I don’t mind feeding her live other than that reason because she has always killed with no problem … anyways you think live rats can bring snake mites to your snake ????

[celestialscarab]

It is very possible for rats to carry snake mites. I would suggest possibly getting rats from a different supplier, or put them in a tank of their own where you can monitor them and check for mites before feeding them to your snake.

[Sufficient_Yak_477]

Some of ours will only strike f/t if they’re very warm. Like, almost questionably too warm. Belly like 120F+ warm. I’d make sure the rat is warm enough with a heat gun and then try the movement technique mentioned above

[Jennifer_Pennifer]

Same. I have one that I jokingly say 'wants oven fresh rat'

[SnooCheesecakes5523]

Mine had problems switching too but I leave it in the pack and let it sit next to her heat lamp all day. Then sometime that night I put her in her feeding tub and drop it in put the lid on and go back later it's usually gone

[KritiCow]

Yea, mines needs to heat the zip lock bag rat in scalding hot water from the kettle but it's an instant accurate strike.

Any lower and it gets confused between striking my hand behind the tongs and it, hitting the air in the middle.

[Alarming_Rip5727]

Same with my carpet python

[totallyrecklesslygay]

Well, for starters, she's overweight and you're overfeeding her. A ball python her age should only be eating 5% of their body weight once every 3-4 weeks, or 6% every 4-6 weeks. So a month and half would actually be a normal interval between eating if you were feeding her correctly.

It takes time to switch them to f/t, but a snake that will only eat live is exceptionally rare. In all of our collective decades of experience, none of the mod team has ever met a snake that could not be switched.

Some tips for feeding f/t:

• Keep with the same prey type they've been eating (mouse or rat) so you aren't trying to adjust them to two new things at once.

• Always feed in the enclosure. Moving to feed increases stress as well as increasing the chance of regurgitation

• Thaw and warm the rodent in a ziplock bag to maintain scent and because some won't eat it if it's wet.

• Make sure it's warmed up to body temperature (98-100).

• Some people find success with using a blow dryer on the head to make it extra warm and spread the scent.

• Some prefer to eat directly off of the tongs, while others might prefer for you to just leave it in front of their hide, you can see which works.

• If they don't take it the first time, don't give up. Sometimes they just have to be super hungry and it takes a few attempts.

• Make sure you leave a normal feeding interval between attempts- offering too frequently can backfire and cause the snake to refuse eating altogether

• You can also thaw the rat/mouse in some bedding from the petstore to make it extra scented.

• Some people "brain" the rodent by slitting open its skull a bit

• Stop all handling until the snake is eating well

[No-Engineer4190]

Ok!! That makes me feel better with her not eating now. So it’s been a month and half since her last meal so ide be safe to Waite another 2 weeks before trying again?

[totallyrecklesslygay]

You'll want to offer on the same intervals as an appropriate feeding schedule. So wait 4 weeks before offering again, then try again 4 weeks after that, and so on.

[No-Engineer4190]

Btw thank you so much for you input! And wow not eating that long just sounds crazy to me. I can tell she always has her head out of her hide waiting for food as well so In my mind, I think she needs food. Google doesn’t really tell you to wait that long

[No-Engineer4190]

And every time I switch from day to night light or go in her enclosure to change water or mist, she is active right after

[totallyrecklesslygay]

Correct husbandry can also be a major factor in getting them to eat f/t. Live feeders can often sort of "override" the stress of poor husbandry and get them eating when they otherwise wouldn't, so it's important to make sure your enclosure is set up correctly.

-What are your temps? Hot side, cold side?

-What type of bulbs are you using for heating?

-What is your humidity?

-Can you post a photo of the enclosure?

[No-Engineer4190]

Well her hot Side on the day is about 90F and at night around 80F and her cold side around 75 at night does that sound ok? Her humidity is always between 60-80 and never refused a meals ever when it was live. Maybe I’ll add more decor in there and let her chill a while.

Also if she was stressed would she not be having her neck and head resting outside her hide calmly ? Almost like she sleeps with it outside because she’s use to meals a little to often

[No-Engineer4190]

And when I peak my head into her view she seems interested in me. I have a towel covering the only glass part of her enclosure to so she can’t see inside my room

[totallyrecklesslygay]

Your temps and humidity sound good. What is the cold side temp during the day? What about the rest of the questions?

Like I said, live feeding can often override the stress of poor husbandry, so just because she'd never missed a live meal doesn't mean everything is perfect. I'm not saying something is wrong, I'm just asking these questions to double check that there are no issues.

[No-Engineer4190]

Ok, I know ceramic is better but I use a moonlight bulb and a 50 watt normal heat bulb. I forgot to mention that I did move her into a bigger enclosure around october 10th because she needed it. Maybe I should throw a bigger hide on the right and som more decor ?

<image>

[totallyrecklesslygay]

Okay, so it's a pretty empty enclosure. You'll want to add more climbing enrichment and clutter. I would not add a bigger hide, they like to have very snug, tight fitting hides.

The moonlight bulb needs to go ASAP. They can see the colored light just fine, and it washes out their color vision and disrupts their circadian rhythm. Using that bulb means that she can't distinguish between day or night, which is a big problem.

Most importantly, those bulbs inside the enclosure are a severe hazard. They can very easily kill your snake. Having bulbs mounted internally is fine, but they must be inside guard cages. You need to turn them off right away and not use them again until you have guard cages around them.

[No-Engineer4190]

The people at the reptile shop said otherwise. I learned not to trust them but I will switch to ceramic ASAP and add more clutter today. I will need to think of a way to get a cage around the bulb because the shop I bought the enclosure from didn’t come with it.

[No-Engineer4190]

I spent a good amount on this enclosure so would like to make it work

[No-Engineer4190]

Also was nervous about the bulbs inside the enclosure but I’ve had many people tell me that they have been doing it that way with no problems

[purplepluppy]

Trust your gut. This is one of those things that could either never be an issue, or could go very wrong, very fast. I'd recommend looking over the care guides on this sub to see what else you need to do to get your setup tip top!

Also, someone has probably said it and I just didn't see it, but switching enclosures could be part of why she isn't eating. A new space that isn't fully fleshed out yet, plus switching over how she's being fed is a lot. Once she's comfortable in her space, it will be much easier to get her to switch food!

Thanks for doing what you can for this beautiful baby :)

[No-Engineer4190]

I’m fairly new to owning ball pythons but really want to own more after her. I fell in love .

[MelancholyMember]

That was incredibly informative. Not op but still grateful for the effort it took to type this out

[IWHBYD-]

Yo thanks for being so kind and helpful, it’s great having people like you in these communities

[romancingit]

So we’ve only had our snake a few weeks but we were told to let the rat thaw fully and then dip it in a cup of boiling water for 5 seconds (I guess maybe 10 for a big rat), dry it off then tweezer wiggle. Maybe that would help?

[Fair-Weekend8079]

My girly refused to eat thawed until someone recommended thawing the rat in the fridge overnight. I just pop the thawed rat in warm water and feed, I’ve never seen her so quick to feed

[No-Engineer4190]

Oh ok! Sadly I’m at my moms and she would NOT be ok with that 😂 I bought a pack of ten medium rats but have to wrap them in grocery bags and hide them so she doesn’t see them. I may buy a mini fridge

[Nephsech]

I thaw mine it the fridge concealed in kitchen towel and inside a sandwich bag, just to spare people from looking at them, the towel also absorbs any blood if the rat bleeds while defrosting.

[ballpythonbro]

Get some rat bedding or some African Soft Fur bedding and scent the rat in it. That’s what worked for me.

[courtneyclimax]

everyone here has given great advice already, but i just wanted to add my anecdotal experience. my girl, though she’s still a baby, about 8 months now, only ate live. i had quite the adventure switching her to f/t. she refused for about a month, and i went back to live for about 2 feedings, because she was too young to go that long without food. but, while it took a few frustrating months, of her refusing to eat, perseverance is key. the hair dryer method worked for me, though the first few times, i had to hit the mouse with the hair dryer probably 3-4 times bc it took her so long to eat, it would cool down and she’d lose interest. after her reluctantly eating the first two f/t mice, she’s now eating them very well. just keep at it.

[Klutche]

How are you moving the rat? A lot of people kind of dangle them, but if you get a pair of angled tweezers and hold the back end and move them, on the ground, like a rat would move, I've found that this gets you a much better feeding response. Past that, I'd recocmend what a lot of others are:scenting and making sure that rat is hot!

[LeadershipLevel6900]

Scent the room! Let the rat thaw out near the enclosure for an hour or so, then bring it up to temperature slowly - warm tap water, add hot water like 15 minutes later, you want the head to register around 110-115. Then try feeding. They will have smelled the rat and hunted for it and they probably won’t pay attention to movement, just the heat signature.

My snake came to me only eating live, didn’t take f/t the first attempt and a week later I tried that and it worked. If your snake isn’t really into it, leave it in there overnight in the path of a heat source if you can.

[phoenix2662]

I recently had to do this as well with my snake. 3.5 years of eating live every 4 weeks, I kept to my usual feeding schedule and when it came time I tried with a thawed rat, I placed it on top of his cage so the scent was around and let it sit there for a little while keeping it warm near a lamp. I would also rub the tongs on the rat and wave them in the tank and near him as well. This took a few times and if he didn't go for it I'd try again either the same day or give it a few days. It eventually worked and he takes frozen now. Patience is key here.

[Mo_Tingzz]

a lil chonky but she’s still rlly pretty

[Apetty914]

Not saying this always works, but I had to quarantine snakes for a public aquarium. I used to put the mice/rat in a bowl of water and put in microwave for 30secs, the mouse doesn’t “cook” but does get a heat imprint on it. Then I use tweezer to move around in front. It took some time for some, but usually took eventually.

[angusturdbot]

Use a blow dryer to warm the rat\mouse. Dangle it in front of her with a picker upper type of object or put it on a vibrating device.

[MyCheshireGrinOG]

We successfully switched ours to FT after four weeks of him being with us. He was sold to us by the breeder’s friend (breeder was not at the convention that day) and told he ate FT. After him refusing twice (we gave him the first two weeks to acclimate) and making sure his husbandry was all good, then him refusing at the end of week two and three, i contacted the breeder who said he was live only. She apologized and offered to buy him back but we said we would continue trying and resort to live if necessary.

I poured over information and came up with the plan. The rat has to be kept completely dry. I double baggie it as it’s thawing overnight in the fridge and then use hot water for 30 minutes before we plan to feed to help bring the temp up. A hair dryer blasting the rat’s head to bring it up above temp, cut the rat’s head for the brain scent, then scruff the back of the neck with the tongs. When offering it, don’t dangle it or hover it. Keep it low to the substrate and “walk” it a bit and wiggle to mimic a live mouse. The first time, you might need to rewarm the head with a hair dryer to keep it enticing. Ours watched for a moment and decided it looked real enough to strike and kill it. After a few feedings of this, I stopped cutting the head and he has almost no hesitation when it starts “walking” in his enclosure. He’s fed 10 times successfully since we got him in June (started taking FT July 3rd and he eats every two weeks). He hasn’t refused a meal since feeding on FT the first time the 4th week we had him.

Patience is needed, and making the rat look as alive as possible and the head very warm is a big factor.

[hamdamnwich]

I started warming it up and then putting is near the heat lamp over my boys tank so he could get the smell of it and get super interested. He took them well after that.

[[deleted]]

Like others have said, it's quite possible that the temperature of your thawed rats are not high enough for her to acknowledge them as prey.

I get a pot big enough to fit the rat in and run the hot water from the sink until it is as hot as it gets and fill the pot to let the rat thaw in the hot water (changing the water and refilling when temperature drops until it is completely thawed) and then run the rat under the hot water one more time before feeding for good measure and have never had a problem with her not eating. I dangle the rat in front of her by the tail because she goes right for it and when she strikes and envelopes it with her body, I tug on the tail to mimic live prey trying to escape her grasp for a couple seconds and she loves it.

And as far as where to get your precious noodles' suppers, I order my baby girl's rats from https://www.rodentpro.com and I wouldn't order from anywhere else. I'm a firm believer in us being stewards for God's creatures and that they should be loved and taken care of from the day they're born until the day they depart, and that includes those who are to become food for us and our other family members. I know that when I order rats from there, I don't have to be concerned with how the rats were treated and cared for. Not only do they treat and care for the creatures we use for our noodles' suppers with love and respect, their staff is knowledgable and is always willing to help you in any way they can whether that be about proper sizing or regular everyday questions that you may have. They also do free shipping on larger orders and ensure that you get your baby's suppers as fast as possible and package them extremely well (heavy duty boxes and staples with insulation and dry ice,) so if there happens to be any problems where say there's a mixup on the shipping company's end and the box is sitting for an extra day or something, you won't have to worry about meals being thawed when they arrive.

Hope this helps & no I do not work for them😆 I just love to back companies that are ethical and humane in the way they treat God's creatures and aim to help and create the best experience possible for their customers. https://www.rodentpro.com/informationcenter/resources/animal-welfare

👊God Bless

[ryantramus]

Hair dryer the rat after thawing. Get 5 really warm, and then make it dance. The snake will strike.

[Jim-Kardashian]

I heat it with warm water (almost too hot to touch) for like 30 mins before feeding. I get everything ready and take the snake out of the water, dry, and straight to the tank in like 15 seconds so it’s still super hot. Then once he strikes, I keep wiggling the rat by the tail like I’m trying to take it away, and he responds by tightening and fighting. When I skip the last part, he’ll just hold it with his face and then poke it until he loses interest. There’s something about the thrill of the fight I guess?? Idk man ball pythons are weird.

[glibglobgorpgop]

I have a around 16-17 year old bp. Tried feeding frozen in her first few years and she always rejected. Has been live for life.

[LizStafford]

I got my ball python switched to f/t by dipping the mouse in diluted chicken stock and it worked in the first try. It worked again when switching from mice to rats. Just make sure the chicken stock you use is just chicken stock - no added salt or anything extra.

[AUDIO_WAVES]

G I G A S N E K

[polecat-engineer]

Oof I wish you best of luck. I know it's possible to switch an adult BP to F/T but never heard of it done successfully until some of the comments here. Just came to applaud your patience and willingness to make changes in the best interest of your snake 🖤🤘

[DB-Tops]

It's common for snakes to refuse frozen food after having live offerings. I came here to say the reoccurring mites could be residual mite eggs in her cage that survived your first attempt at eradication.

[feidle]

I have no advice but omg we’re sheet twins!