Switching Live to Frozen

[Malice]

Hello All.. I have a little problem..

I currently own the below animals, all are within 1 year old.

2 Emeralds Boas.. Eating Live adult mice;
1 GTP (WILD) eats thawed pinkie rats, although prefers Live
1 Coral Albino Boa - Prekilled, but will eventually take.

Ok, so the problem is, I have tried everything to switch over my emeralds specifically because they give me the most trouble to thawed food.. with NO SUCCESS!
I have tried everything..

Thaw in Bag instead of water to retain smell of feeder, Feed different hours of the day, lights on lights off, morning or night, different hours of the night, I have starved my Emeralds for 3 months only offering thawed food with no interest. I have tried aggressive feeding techinque by trying to piss off the snakes in order to stike, which only gets me a strike and then drops the feeder. I have tried Prekilled, which i get the most interest from, maybe a strike, but no feed.. I tried feeding live, and then right after attempted thawed and no interest.

Im at a loss here people, and Im starting to lose it on these snakes... ANY other SUDGESTIONS!!???

HELP!!!

[Aaron_S]

Try moving the food items around like it is alive and they might go for it. pre-killed would be easiest.

[Malice]

45 views and only 1 reply... what kind of forum is this?? thanks for the response Aaron.. although i do try moving the prey around... no luck yet,.

[Aaron_S]

How big are the emeralds? If they can handle it, try upping the prey size.

Also, it's a slow forum currently. This used to be where everyone went for their reptile info but it was runned down some years ago. Even went offline for a bit. There's another large Canadian reptile site everyone flocks to. So this one will be slow going, with it just coming back up.

[Boostedneon04]

sumtimes you just have to feed live..if the snakes just will not eat f\t or prekilled then you have no choice but to feed live..just watch the mouse\rat and make sure it doesnt bite or scratch the snake..as long as you keep an eye on it the snake will be fine..

[citysnakes]

i would suggest being a little more consistent with your feeding attemps. such as attempt feedings only at night. these animals are nocturnal and generally you will have more successful feeding attempts when they are awake and/or prowling for food. also before you attempt to feed, thaw out the frozen rats in the room near the enclosures. this will prescent the area with the smell of rodent and may excite the animals enough strike, constrict and swallow. double check all your temps and make sure the animals feel secure.

you say the GTP is eating thawed pinkies but prefers live. just keep feeding him the frozen thawed and ignore what you think he prefers. you can check him off the list.

for the redatil, maybe trying all the above plus raising the temps a little bit may encourage him to take f/t. hes eating prekilled already so it shouldnt be long until he converts if you do it right.

with the ETBs, i cant really say because i do not have much experience with these guys so check this out: Identification and Husbandry of Amazon Basin Emerald Tree Boas by Stan Chiras

these are all just ideas that work for me. theyre not guaranteed but it all depends on how you use em.

hope this helps.

[Chu'Wuti]

Do the ETBs eat only one mouse per feeding? Can you follow a live with a pre-killed?

I've also heard of pre-scenting the F/T with litter from the cage of the live ones to increase the scent of "liveness."

Good luck!

[Chu'Wuti]

Do the ETBs eat only one mouse per feeding? Can you follow a live with a pre-killed?

I've also heard of pre-scenting the F/T with litter from the cage of the live ones to increase the scent of "liveness."

Good luck!

[bugger]

Do they prefer mice to lizards or visa versa?
From what I understand some like lizards and if you get lizard scent on the food it may be more interested, though I'm unfamiliar with most snakes preferences.

Temperature may be a deciding factor for your snakes. Humidity maybe.

[Chu'Wuti]

Oh, I almost forgot--I've also heard that slitting the head open after heating will release the blood and draw the snake's interest. Kinda gross, but if it works, what the hay?

[bugger]

Mmmm sounds yummy.
I read that exposing the brain is what draws them, but I don't actually know what it is that draws them. My corns are happy with thawed frozen pinkies.
I bought more females for my lone male, and I actually llike watching the mice more than the snakes... they are funny little guys.

[Faequine]

i have heard, from the book i have that they used anoles to feed their snakes. and with f/t mice they pull the tails off the anoles and sent the f/t mouse with the blood on from the anoles tail. then after a while the anoles tail grow back and they can do it again. Not sure if this is really done or not, but eh, its in the book.

[Chu'Wuti]

with f/t mice they pull the tails off the anoles and sent the f/t mouse with the blood on from the anoles tail. then after a while the anoles tail grow back and they can do it again. Not sure if this is really done or not, but eh, its in the book.

sheesh. Sounds like the author(s) is/are advocating cruelty. Oh, dear, that's going to get another one of those discussions going.

Good luck in getting your baby switched over.

[Kmef07]

No the anoles use it as a saftey measure. in the wild when they are attacked by the tail it just pops off and then it grows back. they don't think that it is painful on the animal. when it is being pulled the nerves get cut off and then they don't feel anything. it is some sort of anestetic they produce in their bodies. i think i read once that their body creats an overwhelming amount of endorfins so if that is true it would actually feel good. along with the instinct and adrenaline that is pumping to get away im sure they dont' feel it.

[Chu'Wuti]

they don't think that it is painful on the animal.

Yeah, and they used to claim that circumcising infant boys didn't hurt them either!

Think about that for awhile . . .


bet you're clamping your legs together! LOL