Feeding 2 F/T Adult Mice

[RobbinRN]

I'm sure this has been addressed multiple times, but my search didn't turn up exactly what I was looking for. Alice currently weighs 260 grams and I feed him one 25-gram F/T mouse every six days which he takes with no problem. Following the last two feedings, he still seemed active. I bought from Big Cheese (local pickup) and they required that I buy 50. I got 25 large adults and 25 jumbos. I was afraid he would require larger meals before my adults were used up. I know that a lot of y'all feed multiples at one time and was wondering a couple of things.

First of all, I'm not really sure about the proper way to offer the second mouse. I read somewhere to just put it to his mouth as the tail of the other goes down and he will continue to swallow. That doesn't sound that simple. Would it be better to let #1 get completely down and then offer #2 for him to strike and coil? Is it okay for him to engage in this activity having just eaten #1? Would this actually increase his chance of regurgitation?

Secondly, if he refuses #2, can it be refrozen? If so, what's the limit on refreezes before I throw it out? I personally wouldn't eat food that's been thawed and refrozen. I hate to waste a perfectly good mouse, too.

If I could find someone local to split the remainder of my large adults, I could move on to the jumbos. Don't know any local snake people. There's a show next month and I'm hoping to meet a few though.

Any suggestions/advice?

Thanks...all of the information on this forum has always been so helpful and Alice is thriving because of it!

[nevohraalnavnoj]

Hi,

To offer the second mouse simply proceed as you did the first: let him strike and coil after he has completely finished the first. No need to force anything.

Yes you can refreeze it. I usually only do this once or twice, depending on the degradation to the mouse. If it got really gross, I'll toss it. The Barkers point out they have fed mice that have been thawed refrozen many times with no ill effects.

My advice would be to keep feeding the large mice for a while. An intensive feeding schedule is 20-25% of the animals body weight every seven days. I know many keepers who use a much more conservative schedule of 10% every 7 days or less.

If you want, you can move up to the jumbo's and save the larges for when your snake is huge and needs an extra in between snack.

Hope that helps,

JonV

[RobbinRN]

Now that's not a bad idea! Thanks

[nevohraalnavnoj]

Now that's not a bad idea! Thanks

Anytime! Lots of helpful people hiding around here!

Oh, and nothing I said is gospel. Everyone here has a different way of doing things, and they all work well for them. With some experimenting, you'll find what works best for you, too!

JonV