can I leave a killed but not eaten rat in the tank?

Hi guys! My 6 yr old girl who is a great eater did something out of character tonight. She struck and killed her food like normal, I then turned out the lights and left her alone like normal and when I came back to check on her the rat was still there (dead) and she was in her hide. As usual the rat barely had touched the ground before she struck so it wasn’t a case of not being hungry. She also just shed a few days ago and always eats right away after a shed. Should I leave the rat in there overnight and hope she eats it? I really don’t want to throw it away (it was $10) but I also don’t want to negatively affect her environment. Any thoughts on this?
She’s a 6 yr old Cinammon ball python who has never had any feeding issues. She eats an extra large rat every 2-3 weeks.
Thank you!

I'd warm it up with a hairdryer and offer on tongs ..

There's no problem with leaving it in all night - maybe on a piece of card so it's not just moved around in all the substrate.
You'd have to move it in the morning as it will soon begin to smell terrible !!

Don't leave it on the warm side !!


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I personally would not leave a former live not previously frozen thawed rodent in a cage overnight but that is just me. Unless you are absolutely sure the rodent is from a pathogen free laboratory grade vendor, you have no idea the infectious status of that rodent. It would be fine inside the digestive tract of a snake but if you have even a slightly humid substrate you are not sure the potential for infection of your cage.

This is a should versus could scenario. You could do anything you want because it is your snake but should you? I err on the side of caution and treat every food item like hazardous waste. It is over kill but my snakes are healthy and I like to keep it that way.

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Originally Posted by SDA

I personally would not leave a former live not previously frozen thawed rodent in a cage overnight but that is just me. Unless you are absolutely sure the rodent is from a pathogen free laboratory grade vendor, you have no idea the infectious status of that rodent. It would be fine inside the digestive tract of a snake but if you have even a slightly humid substrate you are not sure the potential for infection of your cage.

This is a should versus could scenario. You could do anything you want because it is your snake but should you? I err on the side of caution and treat every food item like hazardous waste. It is over kill but my snakes are healthy and I like to keep it that way.

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I'm with you on this one. When in doubt, throw it out.

I took it to be a freshly killed ( by the snake ) so presumed it was the same as having leaving a frozen thawed one overnight ..




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I just can’t figure out why she would kill it but then leave it. Nothing has changed in her environment she is a happy girl and struck instantly.
I’m at a loss.

Wonderful point never crossed my mind. Thank you!