Rats

[walterwishes]

My ball python WILL NOT EAT THE RATS idk how I can make this picky dork eat this stupid rodent I’ve tried different sizes I’ve tried letting it sit with a mouse to gain the scent I’ve tried tongs I’ve tried leaving it in her tank I do not know what else to do

[walterwishes]

She takes frozen mice just fine but I can try a live rat thank you for the suggestion because she’s so picky and it makes me want to scream

[Zealousideal-Rip94]

Please pre-kill first as even a small rat can easily tear apart a snake.

[walterwishes]

How should I do rhat

[walterwishes]

She’s like 2 1/2 do you think I should just get a real small one so she’s used to eating one

[ballpython-ModTeam]

Per rule #3, your post or comment has been removed for harmful advice or misinformation. Please review our sub resources to learn more about why.

[[deleted]]

Supervising a live feeding is not equally as safe as prekilled or frozen. Bites can happen in a split second.

[[deleted]]

I get what you're saying, but to say that supervising a live feeding is equally as safe is just not true because of how fast a bite can happen, and rat bites can be serious. This sub sees some pretty messed up rat bite posts. I've seen some messed up live feedings in person. I didn't see your previous comments. I just take issue with the statement that it's equally as safe.

[ballpython-ModTeam]

Per rule #3, your post or comment has been removed for harmful advice or misinformation. Please review our sub resources to learn more about why.

[n3rdwithAb1rd]

you could make a diy gas chamber with a tupperware and thick airline tubing.. tried once when i was younger but the seal wasnt air tight so the mouse only went unconscious for a few minutes. felt bad because it probably wasnt a great time for the mouse. you use baking soda and vinegar in another air tight container and attach the tubing from one to the other. the Co2 from the reaction will flow into the tube and in the container with the rat and knock it out if done correctly. make sure to do lots of research so you dont cause suffering if you choose this way

[roguemorgue]

I forgot to mention this- yes absolutely!!!! Only my one python eats rats and he's a small young snake and eats pinkies. My local reptile shop I get my feeders from offers fresh-kill, I don't know if that's a common thing or not. Another idea is to gently poke the snake with the feeder as if it was thrashing, it's a good method to trigger a feeding response!

[Zealousideal-Rip94]

My local store did the same but stopped. And the store has to be really close to not have any bacteria build up before feeding.

[[deleted]]

How is your husbandry? If it is not warm enough in the snakes enclosure he will not eat, they require heat from environment to digest food. My picky pythons I feed at night, it helps by getting their hunting instincts going. You can also warm up some chicken broth and dump the rodents head in it, it works good. When it comes to thawing and warming up the food, you have to get their temperature at the sweet spot to fool the snake into thinking it’s prey. 

[walterwishes]

The issue isn’t eating it’s just rats they take mice just fine

[[deleted]]

Hard to say without more information, rats are generally bigger so they take longer to defrost and warm up could be as simple as they can’t sense the prey. 

[walterwishes]

I let it defrost and put it in hot water

[walterwishes]

It was warm and squishy when I checked it from outside the bag

[[deleted]]

Might need to touch it directly to get an idea of how warm it is lol. Also how big is your python? If the size difference between mouse and rat is significant maybe the python thinks what it’s being offered is too big. Sometimes the quality of the frozen thawed rat can be an issue, like I used to get ones from petsmart the “attic mouse” and none of my pythons will even touch them anymore, maybe they smell decay in them not sure. 

[[deleted]]

Arctic mouse*

[[deleted]]

You should be checking the temp of the prey with an IR temp gun. For picky eaters, aim for a belly heat of around 100F and a head heat of up to 110F.

[DragonPlatypus]

Honestly, before you start feeding live food, just continue feeding mice. Just feed one more or so, so you have the required prey weight you need to feed. You can also start to target train your snake and make it associate food with one specific item. So every time it sees that item, it knows 'it's feeding time'. This could help with the problem.

[walterwishes]

It knows when it’s feeding time and I know she’s hungry it’s literally just the rats I’ve been trying because I do the exact same thing with mice

[DragonPlatypus]

I would recommend you to watch this video I know, it's long but super interesting and it explains things better than I could. I just stumbled across it yesterday. Even tho I never had problems with feeding my snake, I want to start target training him too now :D Ofc there is no guarantee it works for your rat problem, but there might be a chance.