What do you do with your F/T leftover feeders?
Just curious, whenever your snake(s) refuses a F/T rat/mouse or has outgrown your current feeder size, and you have no other snakes to give to, what do you do? Do you toss them? Or offer them to other pets?
I do have two cats after all :P
Re: What do you do with your F/T leftover feeders?
If they end up in the freezer long enough to get freezer burnt, then I thaw them and toss them to the cats. If my little rodent freezer had more room I would save them for bait, either catfish or coyote/fox depending on the time of year. But I about half the freezer is taken up with deer meat and hot peppers. I'm hoping to have fixed the freezer burn problem by picking up a vacuum sealer. I spent about an hour the other day sealing up a little over 100 rodents.
Kyle
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Re: What do you do with your F/T leftover feeders?
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Kroberts10
If they end up in the freezer long enough to get freezer burnt, then I thaw them and toss them to the cats. If my little rodent freezer had more room I would save them for bait, either catfish or coyote/fox depending on the time of year. But I about half the freezer is taken up with deer meat and hot peppers. I'm hoping to have fixed the freezer burn problem by picking up a vacuum sealer. I spent about an hour the other day sealing up a little over 100 rodents.
Kyle
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I haven't gone with the vacuum sealer yet, but am considering it. I did just weigh, sort and bag 125 feeders in small quantities though. This way I'm only opening each bag a few times while the rest remain sealed up nice and tight until I need them.
As far as refusals, my Kingsnake, Django, is a beast and will eat any refusals from my BP. If for some reason he refused as well, I would just throw it in the yard, something would eat it. At least the prey didn't die for nothing, something will get a meal out of it.
Re: What do you do with your F/T leftover feeders?
When I have leftovers or refused feeders they simply go outback in my yard and in the forest. By the next morning, they are gone. Nothing goes to waste around here.
Re: What do you do with your F/T leftover feeders?
Quote:
Originally Posted by
GoingPostal
I have a houseful of carnivores, leftovers go to my ferrets. Cat won't touch whole feeders yet. When I bred rats I fed the huge ones off to the dogs. Food doesn't go to waste at my house.
Any tricks for getting the ferrets to eat them? I've tried and mine aren't interested.
Re: What do you do with your F/T leftover feeders?
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Kroberts10
If they end up in the freezer long enough to get freezer burnt, then I thaw them and toss them to the cats. If my little rodent freezer had more room I would save them for bait, either catfish or coyote/fox depending on the time of year. But I about half the freezer is taken up with deer meat and hot peppers. I'm hoping to have fixed the freezer burn problem by picking up a vacuum sealer. I spent about an hour the other day sealing up a little over 100 rodents.
Kyle
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
How do your cats usually eat them? Whole? Or processed/grounded. I considered a raw feeding diet once upon a time, and I'll probably have to check back with a few books I have, but I seem to recall they'd have to be already acclimated to a raw or partial raw diet before introducing them to anything like a feeder rat? I may try getting a grinder (as well as a vacuum sealer) and see if I can make my own rat meat for them if I end up with leftovers.
How long of a freezer life would you say feeders generally? I'm guessing a vacuum sealer would make it last longer.