DOES NE ONE KNOW???

I would think the biggest problem would be the fact that freezer burn would affect the smell, and since snakes key in quite a bit on the smell of the prey, they might not associate the "freezer burnt" smell with "edible".

I've noticed that my BP's tend to be more enthusiastic about fresh killed rats over F/T. I know that anything frozen can pick up a bit of freezer smell, and based on their reaction, the "untainted" fresh smell gets their attention faster than the F/T smell.

But it could be the difference in temp and/or the difference in smell that makes them more excited about prekilled over frozen/thawed.

Could be, but since their initial excitement is based on the "taste" of the prey on the air, detected with the flicking of their tongues, I'm assuming that smell plays more into it than the temperature does.

Of course, I also know what happens when I assume....

In my experience it's a difference of temperature more than anything. Get a F/T rodent hot enough & you'd be amazed at the feeding response it can elicit. That's the point of all those thermoreceptive labial pits, after all.

K

Oddly, though, the normal body temp of a mouse is 98.6F -- which would certainly explain some SFEs -- so it seems strange for a snake to want it warmer than that.

Quote:

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which would certainly explain some SFEs

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What does "SFE" stand for?

My BP won't take a F/T feeder unless it's warmed to a minimum of 108 degrees on the outside (I check with a temp gun). I've experiemented and 108 seems to be the magic number!

SFE=Stupid Feeding Error, which normally is the cause of a bite.

I've read before that your snake wants a temp of 108F outside the body, which is why I checked the normal body temp of a mouse. For rats, normal body temp is 99.5F; for hamsters anywhere from 95 to 105.8; gerbils, chipmunks, rabbits, chinchillas. and guinea pigs about 100F. I couldn't find normal temp for jerboas, but they are very fast, small mammals, so somewhere between gerbils and hamsters would make sense to me.

wow Marla howd you get all those critters to stay still while you checked their temperature? :lol:

LOL, Paul. I just passed out tiny thermometers and wrote down what they reported. ;)