My new baby

i just got a red tail she a so pretty she only eats live thou do any of you know how to get it to eat per killed?????

pretty! about the live thing... I dunno.

lol its damn near impossible, and gets harder as time goes by.
one way that is done alot is to get live kill it then offer it and as they get used to that start offering defrosted food. youl probs have to wiggle it alot to fool it into thinking its alive, and even then you will be lucky to swap her over to it

Aye its a pain getting snakes off live. Know that through 12 months of trying to get my royal to eat prekilled. Closest I got to it was knocking a rat / mouse so it still twitched. But even then if she didn't get it straight away before it stopped twitching she wouldn't touch it.

I tried defrosting the food then going over it with a hairdryer to fluff it up and give it some warmth, then with some feeding tongs go around the tank holding its tail to make it look 'alive'
But all i got from the royal was a look as if to say do you really think im that stupid!

I tried every trick in the book and eventually gave up and fed her live!

I have a texan ratsnake (hybrid???) who sometimes, for no reason, goes off pre kill and will only have live. then will go back to pre kill after a month or so. Temperamental thing!

Personally if a python or boa wants live... keep giving it live coz you just end up stressing yourself out otherwise, just make sure you see they prey being killed and not harm the snake, I have never had an accident with the rodent biting the snake but it is a risk to consider.

Breed ya own food as well you will save a fortune!

how much does it cost to breed your own food????

Buy ya stuff in bulk so it works out cheaper.

Go around car boot sales n charity shops for ya cages.

Thats what i did. Cant remember the exact price per rat (Depends on the size you grow them to) but it works out a lot cheaper than buying them live!

They only ways I've gotten snakes to switch over is 1)scenting, what you doe is defrost the food item and then rub a live mouse, rat, lizard on it for smell. or 2) and please peeps dont get all high and mighty on this one, cuz it also works for snakes that go off feed completly and is a matter of life and death. It's called braining where you get pinkies or rat pups and a hyperdemic needle and as it sounds , stick it through the skull and get some of the brain matter out and rub it on the food item. for some reason that scent usually triggers the snake to eat if it's not to late.

So as I stated already I dont care to get in a debate with anybody over this issue.

wburke17 wrote:

It's called braining

Sounds . . . weird.

What about prekilling live prey yourself to get it to switch?

From my experience non heat pit snakes are WAY easier to switch over.

nice snake.
Yours isnt as much as a baby as mine :p

IHeartMantids wrote:

What about prekilling live prey yourself to get it to switch?

Sometimes some snakes want the pray to move around and they chase it, the hunt as I call it. I have a milksnake and a ball python that will only feed that way.
some you can convert that way with the prekill right before feeding, I have a couple thatt will take from tongs dangling in front of them.
Then you have your occasional garbage disposal that will eat live dead rotten what ever you offer them, even your hand if your not careful.
Once you do get them to convert its alot easier, just boil some water take the food out of the freezer warm them up and feed.

i agree with you but dont use boiling water as it can sorta cook the prey animal a lil lmao best to use luke warm water
or just laying around if your not in a rush

Venom wrote:

From my experience non heat pit snakes are WAY easier to switch over.

nice snake.
Yours isnt as much as a baby as mine :p

how oldis yours they breed their snakes their and said it only had 2 meals he also said it hacted that big from his large female im sarting to wander if he lied bc ive been seing otther red tail boas that are a ot smaler