feeding a ball python?

Question

I am going to get a ball python, and the only place near me to get one only feeds their snakes live mice...is their any way to switch the snake from eating live mice, to frozen ones, or should i look and order a snake from a place that already feeds it dead mice

Answer 1

Switching over is fairly simple. I had no problems switching a couple of wild caught adults over to prekilled. All i did was make sure the snakes were comfy with 2 hiding places, the correct thermal gradient and humidity levels and i left a prekilled, brained mouse in the tank overnight. I sliced the mouses head open with a razor blade and exposed the brain.

To those idiots who use the argument that snakes dont eat prekilled prey in the wild, they arnt in the wild anymore, they are stuck in glass boxes where neither predator nor prey can get away should something go wrong. It only takes one bite to the head or neck of the snake to kill it. Rodents can bite deep. A snake can easily lose an eye or develop an absess if it grabs the rodent wrong and gets bitten. Absesses are expensive to get treated and can be deadly if untreated. When you take on the responsibility of a pet, you take on making sure the animal is safe from harm and is kept healthy.

To the dipsh*t who fed his 4.5 ft ball mice, a snake that size should be eating small to medium size rats. As a snake grows so should the size of prey. Always go by the widest part of the snakes body when figuring appropriate prey size.

Answer 2

It's really not that hard to switch it over from live to prekilled mice.
I've done it with two balls already, one of mine already art frozen, which made it a little easier.
It's easier if the snake is younger, but an adult can be switched also.

You should always feed your snake in something other than their habitat. This way, they never associate your hand reaching in to hold them as feeding time. (I use a big dark plastic bin with a lid). If you use a bin, they will know it's feeding time when you put them in the bin.

Using frozen:
let the mice sit in the fridge for a while to thaw them out, then(right before you're going to feed) place them in warm water, not hot...let them sit in the warm water for a while(how long depends on the size of the mouse), to make sure it's thawed, feel the head, if the head is still cold, put it back in the warm water. Put the snake in the bin and shut it befor you give it the mice. Once the mouse is thawed, open the bin and drop it in, in front of the snake, they should automatically strike, if not give it a few mins with the lid on it.
If the snake doesn't get the mouse, use a pair of feeding tongs, grab the mouses tail and make it more around a little bit, this way the snake may think it's alive.
You can also try to cut it's head open to expose the brain if all else fails.

If your using pre killed(not frozen) do the same thing, you just dont have to worry about the thawing.

It's really not too hard to switch over, they usually get used to it pretty quickly.

Pre killed mice are always better for the snake. It being unnatural is a weak argument, if a snake is going to be kept as a pet, then it's alreasy unnatural(not to say they shouldn't be pets, because they usually live longer, healthier lives when they have responsible owners). A live mouse can damage a snake, and it can make them sick. Live mice fight back until they are dead, scratching, kicking, biting. Many snakes suffer from live mice. If the snake doesn't grab the mouse perfectly on the first bite then they're gonna get hurt.

Props for looking into this before getting you ball!!! It's a good decision. Also, you may want to find a good reptile vet in your are, they can be a lot of help...hope this helps you..and feel free to email me if you have any questions that I might be able to answer.

Answer 3

Yuki is correct it is better for the snake to eat pre-killed or frozen mice or rats not only is it safer for your snake but it is heathier the frozen food is free of parisites and anything else that is not good.. Make sure that the food is thawed a good way to make sure it is thawed is keep it under a light for about 2 hours it should be kind of hot to the touch. There is a bunch of ways to get you ball python to eat frozen food. I myself have two and both eat live/pre-killed and frozen food. one way is to get a frozen one and thawed it out and place it in the cage at night (balls are very shy and eat at night). Another way is to heat it up and giggle it as if it is a live one in front of the snake (this take time and my not work right away) a third way is to place the food iteam in a paper bag and staple it shut with the snake in it and see if the food is gone in the morning. You should also be advised that a ball will go a while with out eating and have no ill effects, when i buy one wait about a week too two weeks before feeding it the first time. Also rats are a far more nutrious then mice.

Answer 4

I'm not sure bout this might work. Maybe if you feed it some live mice for about a week, then throw in a dead mice one day, and just gradually giving it more and more dead mice and less and less dead mice until it just gets used to the dead mice.
Or you can tie a string to the mice and make him chase the mice around it's container, you can trick him into thinking the mouse is alive. That's just something I've heard. How you get the string back off the mice, I don't know. The snake might just be able to digest the string, but I would talk to pet retailer to see if they have any suggestions.

Answer 5

I don't know how to switch it over, but at the same time many experts don't recommend feeding live prey to snakes. For one, it is cruel to the prey because they have no chance of escape, and secondly, the snake may become injured because prey do tend to fight back.

Ball pythons have been successfully raised on pre-killed prey. It will be more convenient for you to get a snake from a place that has acclimated it to that, both so that you don't have to go and buy live prey on the day it's to be eaten (or keep it alive in another tank until it's time) and also for when you may need other people to care for your pets for you when you go away, among other reasons.

Answer 6

Shelby instead of me trying to type a novel on why its important to feed pre-killed ill just list a few great sites that helped me convert ALL 7 of my snakes to frozen thawed, and since your question was how to do it and not why one should do it it makes sense!! :) best of luck to you and your beautiful pet

Answer 7

thaw out the mice just like everyone said, and then use tongs, holding it on the tail and wiggle it in front of the snake, mine took it the first time and every time there after.

Answer 8

You can stun the mice by flicking them in the head and thenletting your snake eat it or you can kill them or freeze them to death, but that's inhumane and you probably shouldn't. If it's bigger and stronger then you can probably feed live, but if its a baby i wouldn't recommend it.

ORRR you can order them online =D EASIER!

Answer 9

ok it is ok for you to feed it pre killed food, but the thing to do is to keep feeding him live because it is better for him. if you try to switch it will not be a bad thing but it will be hard to get him to switch to pre killed food. if he has been fed live food then keep him on it. if you try to feed a pre killed mouse he will not know what to do with it because it is already dead. they like to kill their own food. i have 2 of them and all i feed is live and the are 5 1/2 feet long and they have never had pre killed food.
but if you get one and you want to switch him over to be fed pre killed food then you will need to do it slowly and not do it to fast because it will put him in a halt in wanting to eat. you need to know that ball pythons are very shy snakes and if they are threatened in any way or if they feel that they need to defend themselves then they will stay in hiding for awahile. you can check at different pet stores to find if they have any and if they feed pre killed food. if they do then you can get one there and you want to make sure that you pick one that is very active, alert, and moving around alot because if you just pick one that is just sitting there, you might get one that is not feeling well. also make sure that you ask them to feed it in front of you because you want to also make sure that it will eat for you. look him over when you hold him checking his scales for any out of place and to look at his eyes and see if they are clear. no goop in the nose or on their bottom. other then that good luck in finding one, they are fun to own and the perfect first time pet for someone.

Answer 10

Really no snake eats dead meat, a snake likes to hunt its food so it doesn't matter what kind of snake you get you still have to feed it with live mice. Believe me, I worked at an anial center, I had to feed all kinds of animals. It was actually cool. Did you know that Turantullas eat live worms? Well, it's true!