First feed (newbie question)

[kurgan]

Monty is due his first feed in a couple of days and I just wanted to pick a few brains. The best way to thaw is to put the (fuzzy) rat in a sandwich bag and into warm water until it is warmed through isn't it?

In terms of actually feeding the breeder told me that I should use forceps to dangle the rat in front of the snake and move it around until he was interested, but is this really neccesarry for a first attempt? My inclination is to just leave it by his hide and see what happens.

[daniel1983]

Monty is due his first feed in a couple of days and I just wanted to pick a few brains. The best way to thaw is to put the (fuzzy) rat in a sandwich bag and into warm water until it is warmed through isn't it?.

Thats how I do it Just DO NOT put it in the microwave. Once the rat has set in the warm water for a while, slightly squeeze the base of the neck and the thickest part of the stomach to ensure full defrostation (I think I just made up that word ).

In terms of actually feeding the breeder told me that I should use forceps to dangle the rat in front of the snake and move it around until he was interested, but is this really neccesarry for a first attempt? My inclination is to just leave it by his hide and see what happens

When I feed f/t, I do the dangle(or mouse dance) for 2-3 minutes. If the bp does not take it in that time, then I just set it in the enclosure near the hide, turn off the lights in the room and check in on the snake in about an hour.

[tigerlily]

I always do the zombie mouse thing, and lately they can't even seem to wait until I get the cage open. It took awhile til I got that response, but it's great to watch. Good luck.

[frankykeno]

We use hemostats (got them from a local med supply store) and do the mousie zombie dance. Just like Tigerlily's snakes ours have figured out what is what and now as soon as they see us with their meal they barely wait for it to get positioned before they are on it. I don't know if a snake can sense it's feeding night coming or are just naturally hungry by feeding night but it seems each week they are getting even faster, even on their second mouse.

We use pre-killed but I've read here that some that use f/t use a blowdryer to warm us the mouse after it's fully thawed. Maybe that makes it closer to the body heat of a live mouse, I'm not really sure.


~~Joanna~~

[Strider]

I just throw the mouse in there the snake does the rest. I have never done the little dance.

[Ozone]

when i try to feed my bp frozen mice after defrost he didn't it the mice. i heat the mice and he eat it.
did you do the same?

[frankykeno]

Well geesh Strider you aren't supposed to do the dance....the mouse is!

hehehehehehehehehe


~~Jo~~

[ladywhipple02]

I feed all my balls on the same day. So, what I do, is take out however many rats I need in the morning and let them set in the snake room all day long to defrost. Then, at night, I put them in hot water for about thirty minutes. Haven't had a problem so far... though I have one ball who s incredibly picky... if I set the mouse in front of her and it's too cold, she turns her nose up! She won't take it til it's the temp she wants.

[tigerlily]

LOL!! Joanna you're humor is underappreciated!

[kurgan]

Well I think he just ate. I say think because I was dangling his meal near the entrance to his hide (which faces away from the glass to make him feel more secure) and I'm pretty sue I felt him take it but I could have just dropped it in my nervousness. Either way I'm leaving him alone for a few hours beore I check (I don't want decomposing baby rat odour in our living room!).

Update later, I'll be very happy if he hs eaten with so litle fuss.!