How Long...

Do you leave prey in the cage before you decide they're not going to eat? What if they're seeming interested/moving about? I would NEVER leave it over night, but I am debating how long to leave it for my girl. She is a big, healthy girl and her previous owner claimed she was a good eater. I've had her two weeks, and she's shed, so we waited for that to end before feeding her.

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Originally Posted by Windridge Kennels

Do you leave prey in the cage before you decide they're not going to eat? What if they're seeming interested/moving about? I would NEVER leave it over night, but I am debating how long to leave it for my girl. She is a big, healthy girl and her previous owner claimed she was a good eater. I've had her two weeks, and she's shed, so we waited for that to end before feeding her.

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Frozen or live?

Live... I am sitting in the same room with her here, watching to make sure it doesn't bite her

I've tried the watching thing, w/my subs and babies that are eating live, that that's just a distraction. I leave them for about 10 min, come back and they're working on eating by that time.

I wouldn't leave the live prey in longer than 15-20 min. I figure if they haven't chased it down by that time, they're not going to. I've read here some ppl do it for 30 min.

The longest I've seen a snake wait to eat is about a half hour. So there's probably not much point in leaving the mouse in any longer than that.