trying a rat (frozen thawed)

I waited a good amount of time (nine days) to attempt to feed Mangle. I bought a rat, defrosted it in warm water until it was no longer cold, and gave it to her. She is very active in her cage at night. she's very active tonight.
I attempted to wiggle the rat in front of her, She sniffed it, but moved on.
The mouse is frozen thawed,not live. It is a small sized rat. it is white.
I am wondering, Is it safe to keep the rat in there overnight to see if she's eat it?
the tank conditions are proper. humidity is 50-60%, temp on the cool is is 80 degrees, 90 on the warm side.
Is it safe lo leave a rat there overnight?

Yeah, leave it and keep her area undisturbed. This is how you are going to learn what works for her and what doesn't.

The only thing i would say is you said untill it wasent cold anymore..... You want the rat or mouse warm to your hands. I defrost the rat at room tempature then warm it up in hot water then hit it for about a minute with a blowdryer. Its got to be the tempature a mouse would have living

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Originally Posted by Manglewantsmacaroni

Is it safe lo leave a rat there overnight?

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Yes.

I place my rats in baggies to thaw for several hours. Then I put the baggie in a large bowl with the hottest tap water that will come out. (Don't boil water on the stove or in the microwave). I leave the baggie in the hot water for about 6 - 7 minutes for pups and weanlings, and for smalls to mediums I replace the hot water after the first time period for an extra five minutes or so. If the rat comes out of the baggie wet, I dry it with a paper towel followed by a shot under a hairdryer for a minute or so.

If it isn't warm enough, as you have seen, they will just look at the rat trying to figure out what it is. It's the heat, along with the smell, that triggers the strike.

Good luck!

My tap water comes out at it's hottest around 114/115F. A living rat or mouse runs about 101F, so after the rats have thoroughly defrosted for the day, I'll put them under the warm water for a minute or two, then use the temp gun to make sure they've hit a good temp. Usually they come out at about 109F, and by the time I get them up stairs and have everything arranged to feed the girls, they've dropped another couple of degrees, so they're right at the correct range.

Serket will go for gold as soon as that rat pup is in front of her face, she does not care. Strudel is more cautious/nervous, so I give her some extra time to think about it, and I don't don't wriggle the rat aggressively, or right up in her face (those can both intimidate her and make her turn away). You'll know the personality of your snake better than us, but if they're shy or nervous, you may want to adjust for that. I have heard that some snakes don't register white rats as food because of the color, but I think that's far more common in wild caught imports than captive bred and hatched babies, so that's not likely the issue.

If you aren't too squeemish, and even a correctly warmed rat doesn't seem to be enticing the snake to eat, you can try "braining" it; that is, cutting open the rat's head to expose the brain cavity. The smell will often entice a feeding response where warmth has failed. Either way, leaving the prey item in the enclosure over night is fine, your snake may just need a little more privacy to feel comfortable eating. Remember to pull it out and toss it if your snakes doesn't eat it within 24hrs, though.

unfortunatly, she didn't eat it.
I'll have to try again next week

Sorry she didn't eat.

Good plan to wait a week.:gj:

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I thaw my rats until the head and hips are not cold all the way through, then I power heat them with a hair dryer. Remember, live rats body temperatures are higher than room temperature.

she's resting at the moment, and from what I can gather here its best to heat the rat with something warm like a lamp after using water. The rat is always in the bag while submerged in the water, so it doesn't get wet. It was warm when I gave it to her and she didn't eat it. Its been a month since I got her, and Im not handling her at all. It is almost spring and hope she'll eat soon.

Using a hair drier on the head also wafts the scent of warm rat everywhere - mine go nuts as soon as I do it.

I don't have a hair dryer but I have a heater that has a fan and heating. Will that work?

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Originally Posted by Manglewantsmacaroni

unfortunatly, she didn't eat it.
I'll have to try again next week

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While you are waiting why don't you consider switching to 100% cypress mulch? Not that garbage mulch at home depot either, I am talking about the zoo med product also known as "forest floor" or the "twice milled product" from all living things. Also try the new warming procedure outlined by the other replies. If that fails , wait another 10 days and then try a smaller prey item but live instead of f/t . Stay in peace and not pieces. :gj:

I have tried a large mouse (live) with no luck, so I'll try frozen rats for a month and see if she'll eat. I think that she might just be in a hibernation stage, so she might not eat as much. I'll try using the fan heater to make them nice and warm.
I might leave the f/t rat again and put it in her tank overnight to see if she'll bite. For her, I think its just trial and error for this girl.
I stick to coconut husk only because it handles moisture well and its soft for her. I may consider cypress, but for now, Im sticking to coconut husk

She will likely eat soon. Snakes get stressed easily. You should look into getting a laser thermometer. The hip and head area should ideally be 100f at feeding time.

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Originally Posted by Manglewantsmacaroni

I don't have a hair dryer but I have a heater that has a fan and heating. Will that work?

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Anything that will bring the rat to above room temperature. Even putting the rats head in hot water will work.

Have you looked up the zombie dance? Look for a video on youtube about feeding f/t to hatchlings and the person should be making it dance a lot. Making it bounce up and down, move side to side. Are you using tongs?


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Any time you're trying to switch from live to f/t zombie dances are good.

Or if you had one too many drinks at the bar. I've done that before too..

Just don't get carried away with the "zombie dance." I think I actually scared my ball yesterday feeding him dangling the F/T rat in front of him. He wanted it, but I think I did too much dancing. Tried again last night and did more of a slow dance and he took it without a problem. :)

You get the best results keeping the prey about two to three inches from the snake when doing the morbid macarena.

It can freak them out - especially if you bonk them on the head with it. :oops:

During my first feeding I don't know if I scared my snake or she was just intimidated but she wouldn't take the proper sized adult mouse. She did however take a hopper that was for my other snake


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