What do you do with your F/T leftover feeders?

Just curious, whenever your snake(s) refuses a F/T rat/mouse or has outgrown your current feeder size, and you have no other snakes to give to, what do you do? Do you toss them? Or offer them to other pets?

I do have two cats after all :P

Throw the feeder in the freezer, put it in the last trashbag before trash day, and have them dispose of them.

Oh, I didn't read and thought you meant uneaten prey. Continue offering more smaller prey items and then upgrade when the supply is exhausted

I have 90 snakes. I can usually find something that will eat any leftovers - though that can be a bit of a challenge when the leftover feeder is a 5+ pound rabbit...

If they end up in the freezer long enough to get freezer burnt, then I thaw them and toss them to the cats. If my little rodent freezer had more room I would save them for bait, either catfish or coyote/fox depending on the time of year. But I about half the freezer is taken up with deer meat and hot peppers. I'm hoping to have fixed the freezer burn problem by picking up a vacuum sealer. I spent about an hour the other day sealing up a little over 100 rodents.

Kyle


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Originally Posted by Kroberts10

If they end up in the freezer long enough to get freezer burnt, then I thaw them and toss them to the cats. If my little rodent freezer had more room I would save them for bait, either catfish or coyote/fox depending on the time of year. But I about half the freezer is taken up with deer meat and hot peppers. I'm hoping to have fixed the freezer burn problem by picking up a vacuum sealer. I spent about an hour the other day sealing up a little over 100 rodents.

Kyle


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I haven't gone with the vacuum sealer yet, but am considering it. I did just weigh, sort and bag 125 feeders in small quantities though. This way I'm only opening each bag a few times while the rest remain sealed up nice and tight until I need them.

As far as refusals, my Kingsnake, Django, is a beast and will eat any refusals from my BP. If for some reason he refused as well, I would just throw it in the yard, something would eat it. At least the prey didn't die for nothing, something will get a meal out of it.

I have a houseful of carnivores, leftovers go to my ferrets. Cat won't touch whole feeders yet. When I bred rats I fed the huge ones off to the dogs. Food doesn't go to waste at my house.

When I have leftovers or refused feeders they simply go outback in my yard and in the forest. By the next morning, they are gone. Nothing goes to waste around here.

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Originally Posted by GoingPostal

I have a houseful of carnivores, leftovers go to my ferrets. Cat won't touch whole feeders yet. When I bred rats I fed the huge ones off to the dogs. Food doesn't go to waste at my house.

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Any tricks for getting the ferrets to eat them? I've tried and mine aren't interested.

If an animal eating F/T refuses and I am left with it what I do is feed wild life, I live on 4 acres between possums, raccoons, owls and hawks there are a lot of takers.

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Originally Posted by Kroberts10

If they end up in the freezer long enough to get freezer burnt, then I thaw them and toss them to the cats. If my little rodent freezer had more room I would save them for bait, either catfish or coyote/fox depending on the time of year. But I about half the freezer is taken up with deer meat and hot peppers. I'm hoping to have fixed the freezer burn problem by picking up a vacuum sealer. I spent about an hour the other day sealing up a little over 100 rodents.

Kyle


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How do your cats usually eat them? Whole? Or processed/grounded. I considered a raw feeding diet once upon a time, and I'll probably have to check back with a few books I have, but I seem to recall they'd have to be already acclimated to a raw or partial raw diet before introducing them to anything like a feeder rat? I may try getting a grinder (as well as a vacuum sealer) and see if I can make my own rat meat for them if I end up with leftovers.

How long of a freezer life would you say feeders generally? I'm guessing a vacuum sealer would make it last longer.

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Originally Posted by Deborah

If an animal eating F/T refuses and I am left with it what I do is feed wild life, I live on 4 acres between possums, raccoons, owls and hawks there are a lot of takers.

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Oooh any interesting sightings? Funny enough I have actually never seen an owl in person yet!

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Originally Posted by ballpythonluvr

When I have leftovers or refused feeders they simply go outback in my yard and in the forest. By the next morning, they are gone. Nothing goes to waste around here.

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Ever seen who ate it? I always get curious about this stuff! Lol

I've noticed they start to take on some freezer burn after a couple months after I open the ziplock bags. But the noodles keep eating them for quite a while after. Our cats are all outside cats. So In the morning if they haven't been eaten, I just toss them outside. It's like a swarm of charms after chum. They run up and grab what they can. But the cats have dwindled down to one. He still comes up and takes them fine. If he doesn't then were j the middle of the country. So there's plenty of takers if the cats don't get them.

Kyle


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I have a very simple feeding regime. I have around 100 snakes. I defrost around half of what i need one night and feed everything. If something does not feed then that rodent can go to something else. I then adjust what I need to defrost the following night, and defrost about 95% of what I need. Then, on the third night, I defrost what, if any, I need for the remaining unfed animals. This way I have no waste. I do not believe in over feeding animals, and would rather not feed off spare food items to other snakes if they have already received a meal.

Warren

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Originally Posted by Warren_Booth

I have a very simple feeding regime. I have around 100 snakes. I defrost around half of what i need one night and feed everything. If something does not feed then that rodent can go to something else. I then adjust what I need to defrost the following night, and defrost about 95% of what I need. Then, on the third night, I defrost what, if any, I need for the remaining unfed animals. This way I have no waste. I do not believe in over feeding animals, and would rather not feed off spare food items to other snakes if they have already received a meal.

Warren

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Even though I only have 7 snakes, this is a very similar practice that I use as well.

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...7add1c9869.png

Unless they are all in serious feed mode similar to this. Then I pull out a rat for each one.

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Originally Posted by craigafrechette

Any tricks for getting the ferrets to eat them? I've tried and mine aren't interested.

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If they are kibble fed it's probably easiest to try them on pinkies first, no fur and smaller seems to be easier accepted. In a previous group I had one ferret that took to mice straight off and the jealousy factor convinced the rest they were fantastic lol. They were all kibble fed then but got mice as a treat. Now I swap all new ferrets over to raw, they get syringe fed a meaty soft diet (you can make your own, use commercial raw or even canned cat food) for a couple days where they act like you are evil and it's poison, then they think it's fantastic so once eating it on their own I make it chunkier instead of soup and move them up to bigger chunks as soon as they are eating good on their own. At that point I can throw pretty much anything at them. Usually takes a couple weeks all told, easier if I still have one around to teach newbies though. My group now eat mostly whole prey and gets rodents on Sundays along with the snakes. Which speaking of I need to go feed.


Someone else asked about cats and my last one loved mice, caught a couple escapees one day and discovered they were fantastic, had never paid them any attention previously and she was like 15 lol. I'd give her a couple a day sometimes although she'd never touch other whole prey. My new kitty I've gotten to eat pinky mice only so far, adults she's not interested. Haven't tried overly hard though.

You guys throwing them outside should really get cams out there to see what's taking them!

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Originally Posted by MissterDog

Oooh any interesting sightings? Funny enough I have actually never seen an owl in person yet!

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No sighting when I thraw a rodent or two out there but in general yes, we have a pair of owls nearby that are very vocal in the spring and I have seen them land very close to our house.

The advantage of living in the woods in the country side and having a small creek running through our property.

I have 34 snakes currently. I thaw enough feeders for everyone, and if one doesn't eat, then I rewarm the rodent and offer it to another one who has already eaten. (As long as the snake that refused isn't in quarantine.) Usually I'll give the seconds to one that skipped a meal recently, one that's about to move up a prey size soon anyway, or a female I plan on breeding next season.

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