She finally ate again! But now I have questions...

[Jeo123]

So my girl use to eat everything like clockwork. Then a few months ago she went off feed for about 4-5 weeks. After that I could occassionally get her to eat by leaving the mouse in her hide, but even that wasn't guaranteed.

Today I changed a few things up. I switched from reptibark to aspen shavings and picked up 4 mice from petsmart(instead of using the ones I had ordered online a while ago and kept in my freezer). They were about the same size.

She just ate two of them. But like the topic said I've got a few questions.

1) How long until mice go bad? Could that be the reason she stopped eating regularly?

2)I noticed when she ate, she swallowed some of the bedding(looked like a dog with peanut butter in it's mouth as she tried to get it out before swallowing it). That won't do any harm will it?

3) What's the most mice you would feat in a single session? These mice aren't the size she probably should be up to, but they were the largest pet smart had(switching to rats failed last month, and I'd like to get her eating regularly before trying again.

[youbeyouibei]

So my girl use to eat everything like clockwork. Then a few months ago she went off feed for about 4-5 weeks. After that I could occassionally get her to eat by leaving the mouse in her hide, but even that wasn't guaranteed.

Today I changed a few things up. I switched from reptibark to aspen shavings and picked up 4 mice from petsmart(instead of using the ones I had ordered online a while ago and kept in my freezer). They were about the same size.

She just ate two of them. But like the topic said I've got a few questions.

1) How long until mice go bad? Could that be the reason she stopped eating regularly?

2)I noticed when she ate, she swallowed some of the bedding(looked like a dog with peanut butter in it's mouth as she tried to get it out before swallowing it). That won't do any harm will it?

3) What's the most mice you would feat in a single session? These mice aren't the size she probably should be up to, but they were the largest pet smart had(switching to rats failed last month, and I'd like to get her eating regularly before trying again.

1 - Frozen mice can vary in how long they stay "good". If it's a vacuum sealed bag that hasn't been opened, a year would be about the longest they could be okay for. If it's a ziploc bag, I wouldn't go much over 6 months as a rule of thumb. Best way to check is to thaw one out and give it the once over: smell okay (rotten?!)? is the flesh/body still firm or does it feel squishy or mushier than normal? If you have any doubt, don't feed it and just buy new. Might be a waste of a few dollars, but better that than feeding your snake rotten food and possibly killing it due to a bacterial infection or something along those lines.

2 - The amount of bedding is what will make a difference. Small amounts aren't good but are usually passed with no issues. Larger amounts could cause her to become impacted and blocked up, which would mean a vet visit and getting her looked at to remove the blockage. Best bet is to keep an eye on her and if she isn't passing her waste normally or otherwise looks ill, take her in for a checkup.

3 - The rule of thumb I've heard is to feed around 10-15% of the weight of your snake. Say your snake weights 200 grams; using the above formula you could reasonably feed a 20 to 30 gram mouse or mice equaling that amount without too much worry about overfeeding. One thing you might try if you're trying to switch her over from mice to rats is to rub the rat with mouse bedding or against a mouse to give the rat a "mousier" smell, lol!

Glad she's eating for you again and hope that helps. Good luck!