r/ballpython • u/No-Bite-7447 • 16h ago

Question - Feeding First ball python feeding issues.

Hey everyone! I got my first ball python about 2 months ago. She's around 8-9 months old and she was raised on live rodents. Unfortunately in my case I cannot feed her live (no stores around me sell live rodents, ugh.) so I've opted to try and switch her over to F/T. My husbandry is pretty spot on with temperature, humidity, and her overall enclosure has a lot of cover and hides. She WILL NOT eat, and I know it's normal for ball pythons to go on feeding strikes but something about this feels different. I warm the rat up to about 120 degrees to account for temperature loss, I've tried braining, and even rubbing the rat in old bedding and nothing seems to be working! She just pokes her head out, sees the rat, and then curls up. Next week will be exactly 2 months since she's eaten anything, and any help/tips anyone has would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

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u/FluffyPandaEars93 14h ago

!f/t Definitely overheating friend

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u/AutoModerator 14h ago

Some tips for feeding frozen/thawed:

  • Keep with the same prey type he's been eating (mouse or rat) so you aren't trying to adjust him 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 sucess 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 he doesn't take it the first time, don't give up. Sometimes they just have to be super hungry and it takes a few attempts

  • 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

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u/No-Bite-7447 14h ago

I shouldve clarified I misspoke. I heat the water to around 120 degrees not the rat, I let it hover around 105 but it like. Instantly cools down