I have a 3 month old, 150g female ball python. When I received her from the breeder, she was consistently eating f/t but was not wanting to take them from me. I had her for 2 weeks before attempting feeding, and had not handled her before then. I then tried to feed f/t for 3 weeks but she was not interested at all. I tried warming the mouse, I tried braining, nothing seemed to interest her.
So I finally transitioned to hopper mice just to get her feeding response going, and she has been great! Eating every 5 days with no issues. She has eaten live 4 times as of now. I tried another f/t last night that was on schedule with her feeding, this time, I tried scenting it in used mouse bedding, and she still had no interest.
Her tank has 3 hides, under tank heaters for a cool and warm side, and a bulb for ambient temps and a basking spot. Her humidity is around 50-60% and was 70-80% for her shed which was several weeks ago (she has eaten since then). So I don’t think husbandry is my issue.
Does anybody have any tips? I’d love to get her back on f/t before I have to size her up to rats for her own safety and for a more humane feeding experience. Thank you in advance!
Sadly, in my experience it’s not uncommon for a snake that was eating f/t to revert back to live for a bit when changing owners.
When you say the breeder was feeding f/t , what type of prey was it? Also, how are you warming up the prey? Are they kept dry during the process or they get wet? I’ve had snakes turn away from ones that get soaked in the warm up process.
I’ve had pretty good luck getting my picky eaters switched over the f/t after a couple of live feeds and then a couple of fresh killed.
I’ve been thawing in a bowl of warm water while keeping the nonsense in a plastic bag, then I’ve been heating the head with a hair dryer. I’ve tested the temp of the mouse with a thermal gun as well to ensure it’s warmed throughout.
Have you asked the breeder how he/she did the feeding? How the mouse was unthawed and presented to the snake?
Most of the new BP babies I have gotten in the past have been fed live but some were already switched to ft. Regardless, when I get a new baby I put the enclosure in a dark room such as a bathroom with the door shut. Then I drop an already unthawed mouse in a plastic container of hot water and let the mouse warm up for a minute or two.
Then I dry off the mouse really well with paper towels and present it with tongs to the snake in the bathroom with the door cracked open just enough so I can see where the snakes head is. The warm smell of the mouse in an almost dark room is usually very tempting to the snake. I have had about 99% success with this method, even with the snakes that were only eating live for the first weeks of their lives.
Now I just want to warn you that the longer you continue to feed live the harder it is going to be to get your snake back on ft. So my advice to you is wait a couple of weeks after the last time you fed your snake before you try to feed it again. Then you will have hunger on your side. Remember that if your snake was eating live before you got it, it will eat ft again. You just have to have patience and consistency.
Also if is it is in a tank you are going to have to put it in something smaller to feed it the way I advised. But I am 100% for feeding in the same enclosure the snake lives in……It’s just getting them started eating when you get them……
Best of luck!
Edit to add: I have also had success with feeding the live rodent and then following up with a smaller warm ft rodent while the snake is still in the feeding mode…. This method works fairly well also.
I don’t have this experience with BPs but I do with my Hognose snake. She didn’t eat with me for 6 months after I got her, breeder told me she ate f/t pinkies… she did not. Only ate live pinkies for me for about a year until I got her transitioned to f/t, and I will have to point out that what @caron said is what worked for me although it took a lot of patience. Wait 2-3 weeks (for next feeding attempt only), then feed them a smaller live meal than normal and then offer a similar size f/t meal (preferably a rat since they can be picky in the future if they’re only fed mice) while their feed response is still active. Just be mindful that with BPs they may not be willing to take another meal after their first one…
Keeping them in their enclosure while feeding, offering their meals in the late evening/night, making sure the meal stays warm and ensure they have a hide(s) to “ambush” hunt from are good starting points, some BPs also like a lot of movement and some don’t. Again this will take a lot of patience and a bit of expiramenting, and only offer food once a week even if they refuse.
This is great advice! I’m not sure if I have access to a room where I can leave her in the dark for a while, I have a roommate who is not a fan. Do you think if I were to wait a few weeks, and move her to a smaller container for feeding, the double feeding would be successful? I could give that a try with a smaller live, then a f/t following it.
At what point should I assume she’s not going to go back to live? I am a very patient person so I’m willing to put in all the time and effort, I just want to make sure I’m doing what’s best.
I think once she eats ft weekly for 4 or so feedings you will be ok. Just hang in there and if she takes a ft after a live then continue with ft only from then on. Also when feeding ft only remember to wiggle in front of her the rodent to simulate live. Do not go back to live again because you will have to start the process all over again. You may just have to wait her out……
Also have found that lowering the rodent closer to the ground where a live would be running around helps sometimes too. You can wait until dark to feed with the lights off in lieu of a bathroom……
I have had several Hognoses and yes they can sometimes be a NIGHTMARE to get to eat - Period. Patience is essential when working with them on feeding because imho they’re as stubborn as they are cute (at least I think they are cute)!
Seriously though, patience a well as consistency are the 2 key words that go hand in hand with feeding issues for any snakes……
Oh they’re seriously cute! Once she accepts a frozen I’ll keep away from live just to keep the consistency.
How long would you say it is acceptable for her to go without food? I weigh her weekly and she’ s been gaining weight consistently, so i’ll monitor her for weight loss there, but I also don’t want her to starve and stunt her growth just because she is still so young.
And thank you for the reassurance, I know they are crazy particular eaters but part of me is stressed that it is something I am doing wrong, so that makes me feel better.
Forget about things you don’t need to worry about right now. Just keep track of her weight. Remember that she was eating ft when you got her so I think she will revert back to ft after a few tries. I have a baby that was eating live when I got him and he accepted a warm yummy mouse right off the bat with the dark room method. If yours doesn’t accept the ft follow up just use the after dark room warm rodent method and keep trying with 7 days in between.
Snakes can go for awhile with not eating and not lose weight. Yours will be fine but you can always message me if you get concerned……
My best tip is get a Temp Gun and make sure the head end of the feeder is warm enough - my BP won’t touch a rat if it’s not hot enough for him to clock it as Food. 88-90 or so. Maybe a little hotter. Once it is? WHAM.
Sorry for the late response to this. I do f/t and live with all hatchlings and my collection so I can switch back and forth, and I make sure my hatchling eat f/t in case their new owner can only offer that.
I will heat up my f/t rodent with warm water, and then I blow dry the entire body. Depending on the size I try to get the temp between 110 - 118, 118 being the head and 110 - 116 for the body. I then immediately offer it.
So I will have rodents basically on a cookie sheet with foil, and will blow dry one by one, and once the temp hits I will open the tub and offer it directly in the face of the snake. It can take one or two times for a picky hatchling to get the idea of what I’m offering, but I have never really had any issues with that method.
Alrighty I’m back! So I waited to weeks to feed then I tried your method of feeding 1 live and following with 1 f/t. The live feed was successful (the mouse was about half the size of her normal feeding) I gave her time to swallow the mouse while I warmed the 2nd mouse. When I put the second mouse into the tank on the tongs she was VERY interested, and she came right up to it. But the second she got a close enough to it and realized it was f/t, she backed away very quickly and went into her hide. Just doesn’t seemed interested in the F/t at all!
Would you recommend I wait another 2 weeks and try the same method? Since this mouse was so much smaller, It feels weird to wait 2 full weeks, but if it will get her on thawed eventually I’ll continue with this method! Just wanted to hear your thoughts.
I might try the method that Bob of Green Room Pythons talks about for switching. (been reconsidering this for use on my Black African house snake) Wait maybe two weeks, then see if this works?
IIRC, one way he’d do this is blow dry the thawed FT food in the room with the snake and make sure lots and lots of nice smelly rodent scent is in the air for a while. Then when the temp gun says the food is hot enough especially the head end, he’d offer the food.
I have had several Hognoses and yes they can sometimes be a NIGHTMARE to get to eat - Period. Patience is essential when working with them on feeding because imho they’re as stubborn as they are cute (at least I think they are 
cute)!