Do you dangle or drop?

Yes, despite my odd sounding thread titles, there is substance in this post.

For those that feed f/t, do you place the mouse/rat in the tank and leave the room? Or do you dangle it in front of the bp? Which seems to work better?

And lastly, do you pre-scent the room with a warmed mouse, or just a thawed one?

Thanks!

Movement, Heat, Smell. those are the 3 major things that help a snake determine if something is food or not. so dangling and doing the zombie dance would work better for most if not all. but this isnt to say that just plopping a lifeless mouse or rat in doesn't work for some as well. but i can tell you that my snakes would probably ignore it... in fact i know they would if i just dropped a dead mouse or rat in.

Depends on the snake, some will be fine taking them off the tub floor and others will not eat unless I dangle and they strike and coil. For the most part the dangling is the way to go, I find that really shy snakes sometimes fair better with having the f/t item left in the tub with them. Its all about trial and error.

I pre-scent by placing thawed items on a spare heat mat to warm them up in the snakes area.

I usually put the mouse close to my snake then back it off a few inches away, usually pretty quicky she "locks in" on it and gets in the strike position.

Depends on the snake.
My Amel. corn snake will get mad and angry if I do a zombie dance and won't eat it. If I drop it in, he'll eat it.

:rolleyes:

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Originally Posted by Spaniard

Depends on the snake, some will be fine taking them off the tub floor and others will not eat unless I dangle and they strike and coil. For the most part the dangling is the way to go, I find that really shy snakes sometimes fair better with having the f/t item left in the tub with them. Its all about trial and error.

I pre-scent by placing thawed items on a spare heat mat to warm them up in the snakes area.

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Exactly. I have two that will eat off the tub floor and the others wouldn't even think about it.

Most of my snakes I need to move it, but occasionally I'll just leave one in the tub if Iknow they're hungry but aren't striking.

3 of my snakes don't need the dance at all. My other one just won't eat period. She's starting to make me worried

usually i dangle, but one guy will no longer touch them unless i leave them in the tank, almost like he's afraid of it or something. i'll look over 10 minutes later and hes chewing on it.

on the other hand, i have a female that will ONLY eat if i dangle it fast

i only have 2 snakes that will eat frozen/ thawed. I do pre scent the room i just take a couple live rats and put them in a bin next to the cages

one snake will only eat if the rat is layed down "dropped" in the tank

the other snake likes dangled most of the time sometimes he wont strike so i just leave it and he usually eats it

for live i dangle so that the snake will get a good strike at the head. I dont drop the rat in because there is more chances that it wont get a head strike

I do the dangle dance. I don't necessarily have to but it makes feeding quicker and more efficient rather than just plopping the f/t on the ground.

As far as pre scenting, I thaw the mice in open baggies right next to the snake tubs.

What I do is I pre cent the room for about an hour and then I dangle the mouse in front of his face
he eat it before I even say Helloa :)
so yea.. I tried leaving it in the terrarium but it only worked once
after that I started pre centing and never went back to the old way :P

I have dangled it in front of my BP and I have also dropped it. Both times he ate. Also I only prescented the room once. Personally I think it may depend on each individual snake on what works best for them.

Usually as soon as I walk in the room they know its feeding time. Usually I don't get a chance to do the dangle dance or drop it. Some times I am luckey to keep everything in the tub. I feed every week in case you are wandering.

Marty

I have to drop infront of hide for my baby bp then she will bite and swallow it where she feels safe; in her hide. I dangled infront of her the day after I purchased her and she striked it instantly. I try that now and she gets out of strike mode. Maybe in a few weeks I will beable to dangle it again.

I dangle, and I never need to pre-scent. They don't touch a dropped prey but when I dangle it is usually gone in less then 20 seconds.

I just dangled, and nothing. :( I left it in there, hopefully she'll grab it in the next hour. If not, week three of the hunger strike.

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Originally Posted by BuddhaLuv

Personally I think it may depend on each individual snake on what works best for them.

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This is always the case. Try different things and find what works best.

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Originally Posted by mrshawt

I just dangled, and nothing. :( I left it in there, hopefully she'll grab it in the next hour. If not, week three of the hunger strike.

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Does the not eatting worry you? If it does, don't let it. She will eat when she is ready.

No, I'm just annoyed at all the f/t rats I've thrown away. :P

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Originally Posted by mrshawt

No, I'm just annoyed at all the f/t rats I've thrown away. :P

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Yeah that can get pricey. My BP still eats mice so it only costs me $1.39 a week to feed him, but I got a CCP a couple weeks ago and I got to feed her rats. I was expecting them to be mabey $3, but they are $5-$6 depenging on where you buy them up here.

I know having to toss them is a waste, but think about it this way, if she was eatting you would be usuing the same amount either way.

I have never done it but I have heard that if the snake doesn't eat in a few minutes (5-10 I think) you can refreeze the prey and try to use it again a different time. I am not sure if this is truely ok but I do know some snake owners that do it. Again I don't keep them. I can usually tell if my BP is going to eat or not, so if she looks hungry I feed her if not i don't.

Too late now haha. Does anyone know if refreezing is safe?

See, she's a trickster. I started pre-scenting the room, and she starts moving around. But then when I put it in, nothin.

refreezing is safe.

some even recommend thawing then refreezing then thawing again before each feed. It gets more of the good smelling juices out that makes them go... :taz:

Delicious. Haha, thanks!

Hi,

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Originally Posted by eMonk

refreezing is safe.

some even recommend thawing then refreezing then thawing again before each feed. It gets more of the good smelling juices out that makes them go... :taz:

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That really isn't a good guideline. :weirdface

Every time you freeze the food it causes damage - not to mention the fact that while it is defrosted normal decomposition and bacteria growth continue as normal.

Every time it goes through the cycle it increases the chance of the animal splitting open during feeding. Not to mention the "good smelling juices" you are talking about are from the animal decomposing - and if that process gets too far along then it becomes a race between the animals digestion and the prey item rotting in its stomach and leading to a regurge (if you're lucky ). :puke:

A lot of it will depend on how the people defrost the prey and how long they let it sit to pre-scent etc so a blanket statement that it is ok just doesn't sit well.

If you defrost quickly but avoid cooking the animal (which also weakens the body ) pre-scent for a short time and have not left the prey in overnight (or a long time in general ) then you are probably ok to refreeze it once - but remember to mark it as previously defrosted so you don't try it again.

There are definately snakes that prefer smellier prey but when you are feeding them a rodent that is on the whiffier side of fresh you should probably pay even more attention to the temps in their tank to avoid digestion problems.

Just my 2c.


dr del

I use feeding tongs, and do the dead rat zombie dance for them. My feeders are raised in the same room, so I don't bother to prescent.

I don't pre-scent and all my snakes are fed in feeding racks/boxes.
Six of mine need the added entertainment with the meal: The zombie rat dance that comes with the >eek-eek< noises.
All others: I dangle when I have the chance to do that, but usually I just get enough time to get the tongs back out before they can think about, whether or not those five "pinkies" :O holding the tongs taste any better than what they've got already.

I do the zombie dance... its the only thing that works for me but every snake is different

My BPs are very good eaters, so I usually just toss the suckers in... they both strike within a minute, although Delilah usually waits for it to approach her. And the last time I fed Toby he was a little sleepy, so I bopped him on the nose (with the mouse) to get his attention. :D I don't bother pre-scenting since I feed live, but I'll usually let them catch a sniff from the mouse's box. I'm hoping to get them on F/T in the near future, and then I'll pre-scent for a half-hour before offering it.

If you aer feeding it rats try a large mouse for a change or visa versa. If that doesn't work try a african soft fur or a gerbil. Then after they take one of those it might go back to eating rats.
Marty

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Originally Posted by mrshawt

Too late now haha. Does anyone know if refreezing is safe?

See, she's a trickster. I started pre-scenting the room, and she starts moving around. But then when I put it in, nothin.

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Have you tried mice yet? And what about live prey? As I mentioned before, Delilah has ZERO interest in rats (pups), but will gobble up a mouse within minutes. So maybe your snake has the same preference? And since Delilah is big enough for small rats now, I'm just giving her 2 mice instead... I might try the rats again when she's bigger, but for the time being she's pretty happy with mice. Anyway, it might be worth a try with yours!

If I did live, I would not have a girlfriend anymore haha. She should be eating one medium mouse, which is two small rats. Would that be three adult mice? I feel like she's been eating small rats for a couple months now, but when I tried medium rats, she stopped. Since then, I've been offering the small rats.