Well, Monty took his second F/T mouse this evening! YES!!!!!! (happy dance)
He wasn't interested in the pinkie rat I offered afterwards though, so I'm defrosting another mouse to offer him. (The first one was kind of small.) I can tell he's still hungry, just couldn't figure out the smell of that rat-thingy!

__________________
Andrea

bp's are soo picky!

__________________

MY PALS
0.1.0 BALL PYTHON-JERRI
0.1.0 AMEL. CORN-BAYBE
1.0.0 GHOST CORN-BOSS
0.0.1 BLUE TONGUED SKINK-DOUGLAS
2.1.0 CATS-POJO, CHEDDAR, SAMMIE

Ryan,

Yes and no, Snakes are a very instinctual creature, generally most snakes wont take an item that doesnt smell like a usual food source until they REALLY need to eat. This is why there is some issue with snakes switching to larger prey. Mice to Rats isnt too bad, but Rats to rabbits can be a bugger.

BlackJack:

You might try rubbing the head of the rat with the mouse and see if that will intice him, once he vews both as food, he should take them readily.

Paul

Yay!!! Monty "attacked" and "killed" 2 (yes TWO !!!) F/T mice tonight !!!

I gave up on the pinkie rat for tonight and offered him a second mouse instead, which he gobbled up happily ! (At this point, I'll be happy with anything he eats as long as it's F/T!!!!!!!

I've found that he wants his mouse "just right" = hot and dry! First, I have to defrost it completely (duh), then I dip it in hot water, then pat it dry with paper towels. Then I blow dry it till it's at least 90 degrees F (I fînally have a temp gun!!! -- definitely worth buying one of those!!!). Then I have to turn out the lights till it's nearly pitch black and wiggle it outside the hide box. He jumped at both of them so fast that I squeaked! (That must of added a bit of "reality" to the kill!)

I'd like to get him on a diet of rats sooner rather than later, but it could take a while to get him to figure out that rat=food. Thanks for the tip LJ -- I was thinking about that, then got distracted and forgot. I'll definitely try it next time!
For tonight, I am definitely very pleased!

__________________
Andrea

Here's a (not great quality) pic of Monty doing his "Cobra thing" -- he always stands up like that when he's swallowing the last bit of the mouse. Sometimes he'll balance himself in the center of the bucket. This time he found a wall to lean up against.
Cracks me up!

Attached Images

Cobra slurp1.JPG (17.7 KB, 14 views)

__________________
Andrea

im planning on getting a baby royal when my friend's girl lays her eggs and they hatch out (durr). adn the good thing about my friend,is he wont send me a non-feeder. it just means iahve to wait longer to see who eats vs. who doesnt. which is bad for my nerves but good in te long run. im really kinda hesitant if royals are really as picky eaters as everyone says. unfortunately the person I am receiving the animal from only feeds live, so it may take me some time to get it onto f/t. oh, well, maybe I will luck out and get an easy feeder (im sure there are SOME easy feeding royals out there).

Danni

Bummer that your friend only feeds live. It took me just over two months to convert Monty to F/T mice. (He's now 7 months old and was only fed live for the first 5 months of his life.)
It can be done... with a lot of patience, but it's a pity that your friend doesn't just start them out immediately on F/T... "deader is better"; both for reducing the risk of injury and reducing the risk of the snake picking up tapeworms from the mice. (That's how Monty got them! It cost me $200 to have him treated.)

__________________
Andrea

I have 3 Ball Pythons here and one is picky as all get out! He would only eat live WHITE mice at first! I can at leat get him to take a stunned rat baby now though. We're still woking on the whole F/T thing for him.
The other one has to have the house completly quiet and DARK! But he will still eat F/T.
Now Scout, the lady of the group, will eat anything and everything I give her! Even a green bean! :P lol
(No I've never fed her bean but she would probably eat one givien the chance! )

__________________
Some think they can. Some wish they could. Some do.

Its a lot easier to switch a hatchling onto F/T than it is an older snake. Both mine were on live food when I got them and switched right over without a problem.

also next time around try feeding the rat pink first!

__________________
Merlin,
What's Life Without A Little Magic!

I'm gonna send Bo to YOUR house, I swear Merlin!!
Maybe you can get that snake to take f/t

__________________
Some think they can. Some wish they could. Some do.