# First time trying frozen... Success!



## Nethius (Feb 23, 2003)

Got my ball to eat frozen today, first time I've tried. This is definately a plus.

It was a mouse. I thawed it in cold water, then placed it under the bp's heat light to warm it up. My bp was hunting as soon as it got close to his cage, even when still cold. I was trying to wiggle the mouse in front of him, but it fell. My bp went right over the mouse looking for it at first, be then double back and bit it, didn't coil around it tho.

Here's a pic.


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## bmpower007 (Feb 11, 2005)

Glad it worked, nice pyhton


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## psychofish (Jun 5, 2004)

Glad to hear that it is eating frozen for you.

Just a word of advise though, you shouldent feed your snake in its 
enclosure. You should take it out and put it in a rubbermaid tote or 
something. If you continue to feed it in its enclosure, the snake will 
start to think that everything that comes in is food. That is what leads
to accidental bites.

You should also make sure that the food is warm next time.
I just fill my sink up with warm water and place the frozen rat in a bag
then put it in the sink and let it thaw out.


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## Nethius (Feb 23, 2003)

psychofish said:


> Glad to hear that it is eating frozen for you.
> 
> Just a word of advise though, you shouldent feed your snake in its
> enclosure. You should take it out and put it in a rubbermaid tote or
> ...


Thanks for the input. The mouse was warm, maybe not warm enough. I'll look into getting a rubbermaid bin for feeding.


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## Carnivoro (Oct 12, 2003)

Thats great, congrats. 
Feed him/her in the same enclosure.


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## huntx7 (Nov 13, 2004)

Very true psychofish, but ball pythons aren't exactly biters so regardless of what you do, you'll be fine.

Nice snake, grats on getting him to eat f/t!


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## TANK (Nov 18, 2003)

Awsome! My snake has been eating prekilled food for almost thirteen years. Besides being way more conveniant for you it is a hell of a lot safer for your snake. I had a large Burm that was bitten through the face by a rabbit and despite repeated visits to the vet she died from an infection. I learned my lesson.


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## Bawb2u (May 27, 2004)

I'll chime in and agree with Carnivoro to feed the snake in it's enclosure. Moving a snake shortly after eating is too stressful for the animal. Snakes when fed are at their most vulnerable and many will throw up the meal as a defensive or fright induced reaction. Just don't put you hands in the enclosure after handling mice or rats and you won't have be overly worried about getting mistaken for food.


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## pamonster (Jun 26, 2003)

I always feed my snakes in a seperate tub. I do it not so much that I think that they would bite me, some just do that anyways, but more so I dont want them eating their bedding and I especially dont want their cage getting contaminated. Sure, in the wild they are eating outside and ingest dirt and what not, probibly dosent hurt him, but what the hell, my snakes are pets, no reason to risk anything. I have heard horror stories of BP's eating cage decorations too, crazy crap, like rocks and sticks that got the smell of a mouse on it. Also, tossing in a mouse under a heating light or on a heating pad even for a few seconds very much so contaminates the area, any bacteria on that mouse is now on that spot, instantly! Add some nice warm heat and that is a perfect breeding ground. You may say, ya, but my snake just ate that mouse, so it obviously dosent affect it, but with bacteria it is all about QUANTITY! Hell, living in Iowa I am exposed to anthrax every day, our soil is rich with it, but I'm not getting it in large doses. Plus the the bacteria will be largly killed in the GI tract. So that bacteria grows on that spot, the snake coils up to warm itself on it, gets an infection......you get where I'm going with this. I'm not saying it is going to happen, I know people who always feed in their cages, I personaly feel a responsibility to provide for my pets as best I can, and if I can minimize rizks, I do. Even a small risk is a risk. Thats why I feed in a seperate tub that I can clean eaisly after each feeding. 
I have never had a snake act badly being moved after it finished eating either. I dont grab them with it still in their mouth or anything, I just wait a bit, let it move along a little, then just move them back to their cage.

Thats my 2 cents


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## huntx7 (Nov 13, 2004)

Bawb2u said:


> I'll chime in and agree with Carnivoro to feed the snake in it's enclosure. Moving a snake shortly after eating is too stressful for the animal. Snakes when fed are at their most vulnerable and many will throw up the meal as a defensive or fright induced reaction. Just don't put you hands in the enclosure after handling mice or rats and you won't have be overly worried about getting mistaken for food.


I think he said that because BP's aren't exactly aggressive or painful biters, atleast.

Anyways, feeding in separate enclosures is a good idea as it teaches the snake when it's going to eat, plus you don't want the snake to associate hands in the cage with feeding. Clean/wash your hands and the scent should be gone... either way, as far as BP's go it doesn't really matter.


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## Atlanta Braves Baby! (Mar 12, 2003)

Glad to hear that you got your snake to take frozen prey. Always a plus!

Feeding in seperate enclosure is an important habit to get used to.


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## nova (Aug 9, 2004)

How much do the the frozen mice cost you? I rember trying to buy a 5 pack of frozen hoppers at petco and It costed like 14 bucks..


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## psychofish (Jun 5, 2004)

pamonster said:


> I have never had a snake act badly being moved after it finished eating either. I dont grab them with it still in their mouth or anything, I just wait a bit, let it move along a little, then just move them back to their cage.
> 
> Thats my 2 cents


I agree, I let my snake finish swallowing its food and start to crawl around a bit.
Then I pick it up and gently put it back into its enclosure and leave it alone for 
2-3 days. Ive never had any problems of any kind.


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## TANK (Nov 18, 2003)

I feed my snakes in their enclosure. I have had them regurgitate a meal when trying to place them back in the cage after eating.

JMO.


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## pamonster (Jun 26, 2003)

nova said:


> How much do the the frozen mice cost you? I rember trying to buy a 5 pack of frozen hoppers at petco and It costed like 14 bucks..


If you buy in bulk, you can get then at a nice price. I place orders online and get adult mice/rat hoppers for like .49 each and pinks are extremely inexpensice.

Seems like a very divided issue. Like I said, I have neer witnessed or heard of any adverse affects of moving a snake from a feeding tub back to an enclosure (untill ^). I practice this method as well as all my snake owning friends. Not to mention a local herp store, where I got my frist snake practices this, they were the first to recomend it to me. I doubt they do it with hundreds of snakes if it wasnt benifitial to the animal/worth all their extra time. I do know lots of other stores that dont do this, but I am positive it is a lazyness issue.

If you're really worried that it would regurg, put them in a tub and set them back in their enclosure. When they are done eating, just open the lid and let them get out on their own. But I seriously doubt your going to have problems. Balls are docile and put up with a lot. If my hypo-honduran who bit me every time it got the chance and was the most skittish snake I have ever seen never had a problem with this I dont see why any snake would....but to each their own.


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## Nethius (Feb 23, 2003)

nova said:


> How much do the the frozen mice cost you? I rember trying to buy a 5 pack of frozen hoppers at petco and It costed like 14 bucks..


I bought 5 for $20 Canadian. It's actually the same price as buying live here. Since this worked out good, I'm gonna look into buying bulk online.


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## TANK (Nov 18, 2003)

pamonster said:


> If you're really worried that it would regurg, put them in a tub and set them back in their enclosure. When they are done eating, just open the lid and let them get out on their own. But I seriously doubt your going to have problems. Balls are docile and put up with a lot. If my hypo-honduran who bit me every time it got the chance and was the most skittish snake I have ever seen never had a problem with this I dont see why any snake would....but to each their own.


Those methods can be difficult to achieve with a 50-100 pound snake.

Like I said I have never container fed unless I was trying to feed a snake that was "off feed". And I have never had any problems. And I am a firm believer of leaving my snakes alone after they eat.


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## pamonster (Jun 26, 2003)

^lol ya, not much you could do there with a snake that big!


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