Feeding question

So, I feed frozen thawed rats. Today I gave Imogen a rat and when she wrapped it up it busted opened. I immediately took it away and she was not happy at all.

My question is, would it have been okay for her to still eat it with the guts all out or is it good that I took it away?


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Yes, your snake would have been fine eating it. It's gross and you would have a nasty clean-up job tomorrow though.

A friend who breeds rats has been giving me f/t hairless rats. They seem more prone to being destroyed than the rats that have hair, so I'm careful not to give them to the snakes who are overly exuberant about "killing" their food.

As mentioned, it'd be fine to eat; just gross for you to clean up after. FYI, the 'exploding rodent' thing seems to happen most often when a F/T rodent is thawed with water that's too hot.

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Originally Posted by Caitlin

As mentioned, it'd be fine to eat; just gross for you to clean up after. FYI, the 'exploding rodent' thing seems to happen most often when a F/T rodent is thawed with water that's too hot.

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Agree completely with hot water likely being the culprit and/or defrosting too quickly with water that's too warm.

Defrost in room temp water and then for snakes with heat pits, put in hot tap water (not more than about 110F) for about 30 seconds to get the snake interested.

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Originally Posted by Caitlin

As mentioned, it'd be fine to eat; just gross for you to clean up after. FYI, the 'exploding rodent' thing seems to happen most often when a F/T rodent is thawed with water that's too hot.

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This ^

It also happens if they’re left on a radiator too long ;)


I defrost hours before needed IN the snake room ... the scent isn’t washed away .. then blast with a hairdryer seconds before feeding in the evening...

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Thanks y’all! It was definitely the water, I left the rat longer in the water than I usually do. I think I will start using a hair dryer for now on.


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My KSB did that once (squeezed open his mousie) but he ate it anyway and then cleaned up after himself. I thought I'd be wiping up mouse entrails the next day but I guess with him being young and hungry, it was worth his while to chomp down everything he could find. :gj:

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Originally Posted by ali.randax3

Thanks y’all! It was definitely the water, I left the rat longer in the water than I usually do. I think I will start using a hair dryer for now on.


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The hairdryer method has proven success, but if your snake eats wet prey I'd continue to feed wet. The added hydration is a good thing.

I take my prey out mid evening and defrost in warm water, repeating if necessary for larger prey.
Then once feeding time comes around (usually midnight-ish for me) they're fully defrosted.

From there I get the hottest water my tap will produce and feed within 5 minutes. Smaller prey obviously heats faster though.