Feeding frozen/thawed rats
I bought some snakes from a breeder, he said they eat frozen/thawed rats. They won't eat. Any advice? Maybe I'm thawing them wrong? How do I get them to eat?
And the snake I've had for years eats live rats, how do I convert her to frozen/thawed?
Are frozen/thawed better then live? Which one is cheaper?
Which one do you prefer to feed your snake?
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Re: Feeding frozen/thawed rats
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Sunnieskys
Depends on the size of the snake.what size rats are they on? Pups, small mediu,, large, jumbo? I thaw mine in the fridge the morning of. Throw in warm water for an hour when I get home then hotter water for another hour. I take her out to weigh and spot clean her tank and put the rat in then put her in after that. She knows to eat at that time.
He gave me what he had left. Which were weaned. But they could be eating medium. I just need to get some.
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Re: Feeding frozen/thawed rats
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Sunnieskys
So pup rats? Ft are always better (my opinion) since they can't harm your snakes if they are already gone. Live can scratch and bite your snake. Are you feeding in their enclosure or a feed box? More info is needed to help you.
They've been fed in their own enclosures, to my knowledge. But I do have an empty enclosure that I could use to feed them, if need be.
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Re: Feeding frozen/thawed rats
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Sunnieskys
Also make sure their husbandry is correct. Temps, humidity ok? Wait a week so they can de stress then try to feed. Pics of a setup are always a plus to help.
This is their current enclosure along with the empty one. https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...a309dacd29.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...37b3d682e4.jpg
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Feeding frozen/thawed rats
We don't feed LIVE over here in the UK so my 21 snakes have only ever eaten thawed frozen - it's easy to be honest .
This method WORKS if done properly ...
I wait until evening as they're nocturnal of course . I let the rodent thaw out in the reptile room so they get the smell ..
Then I warm up the mouse / rat with a hairdryer and offer with tongs IMMEDIATELY whilst still warm . If refused simply repeat the heating and offering as many times as needed. .
A couple of mine will only strike feed from within their hides so I dangle the warm rodent in front of the hide's entrance - usually works but if it fails simply reheat the rodent with a hairdryer and immediately offer again whilst it's still warm continue until it's grabbed ...
Incidentally , if it shows no interest at all not even a tongue flicker maybe it's best to leave for a week or so.
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Re: Feeding frozen/thawed rats
Its always better to feed them in their enclosure from what I've heard and experienced, just less stressful for you and the snake and you don't have to risk regurgitation when placing them back in their home. As for the new ones how long have you had them for? Could their reason for not eating be from not being comfortable yet? I know there are some ball pythons that will refuse to eat frozen thawed but sense they were on it before that shouldn't be a problem. I have always had success using a similar thawing method that was stated earlier, I leave it in the fridge all morning then place it in a bowl of luke warm water for about an hour then use a hair dryer to warm it up. Some snakes are picky with the way you offer the food, some of the methods people use are having it do a little zombie dance wiggling the mouse around of the tongs while holding it by the back legs or tail, tapping the snake gently on the snoot with the mouse, or simply dropping it into the enclosure and the snake will come out and eat it on its own. There are plenty other methods but those are the most common I believe and the ones I personally have had success with.
Just as a side note did you make or buy your racks? And where did you get or what references did you use to make them? Sorry I've just been looking into to ranks myself and I like the look of yours ^-^
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Re: Feeding frozen/thawed rats
Quote:
Originally Posted by
BluuWolf
Its always better to feed them in their enclosure from what I've heard and experienced, just less stressful for you and the snake and you don't have to risk regurgitation when placing them back in their home. As for the new ones how long have you had them for? Could their reason for not eating be from not being comfortable yet? I know there are some ball pythons that will refuse to eat frozen thawed but sense they were on it before that shouldn't be a problem. I have always had success using a similar thawing method that was stated earlier, I leave it in the fridge all morning then place it in a bowl of luke warm water for about an hour then use a hair dryer to warm it up. Some snakes are picky with the way you offer the food, some of the methods people use are having it do a little zombie dance wiggling the mouse around of the tongs while holding it by the back legs or tail, tapping the snake gently on the snoot with the mouse, or simply dropping it into the enclosure and the snake will come out and eat it on its own. There are plenty other methods but those are the most common I believe and the ones I personally have had success with.
Just as a side note did you make or buy your racks? And where did you get or what references did you use to make them? Sorry I've just been looking into to ranks myself and I like the look of yours ^-^
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I bought them with some of my snakes. The guy I bought them from had gotten them from a reptile expo. I'm actually going to an expo that's in California in August in hopes to find some taller and larger racks.
(Along with some more snakes. [emoji1] )
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