Feeding

[joep]

So my son took out the frozen fuzzie yesterday around 5pm but later forgot to feed the snake. So the frozen mouse sat out over night.

Is it still fine to use it now or should he take a new one out and let it thaw before feeding the snake today?

[ballpythonluvr]

I would not use that prey item. I would get a fresh one and try to feed that.

[mattchibi]

I treat my ball python's food like my family's food. Would you eat something you left out overnight that wasnt supposed to be?

[kitedemon]

I agree it isn't worth it. I have a suggestion, thaw in the fridge, it takes longer but if you forget or something comes up it is still refrigerated and can be feed the next day (I don't think I'd wait much longer than 24 hours even in the fridge however)

[therunaway]

no no no no, no way. dont do it, some risks may come into play if you feed that prey item.

[Salamander Rising]

I agree it isn't worth it. I have a suggestion, thaw in the fridge, it takes longer but if you forget or something comes up it is still refrigerated and can be feed the next day (I don't think I'd wait much longer than 24 hours even in the fridge however)

"
I just bought one of those "As Seen On TV!" thawing plates and it really works.
A beefy medium rat was totally thawed in less than a half hour and didn't have that icky, soggy, potential-meat-grenade feel that warm water thawing gives it.
It actually felt more like a firm pre-killed instead of F/T.

I dunked the bag in hot tap water for about 10 minutes to get the inside up to temps and Leah ate it with gusto.
Last night she refused a rat that I'd thawed the "normal way".

They're not expensive and it's easier than dunking a whole pile of rats/mice in hot water.
It's about a foot long by 8 inches wide or so and there's plenty of room for lots of frozen critters on it.

[Salamander Rising]

no no no no, no way. dont do it, some risks may come into play if you feed that prey item.

Consider hunters; they "field dress" [completely gut] whatever they kill immediately because the innards start to rot as soon as the animal dies and that will contaminate the rest of the meat.

I've had to throw out costly rats because of a feeding refusal and subsequent time lapse.

Better safe than sorry.

[therunaway]

Consider hunters; they "field dress" [completely gut] whatever they kill immediately because the innards start to rot as soon as the animal dies and that will contaminate the rest of the meat.

I've had to throw out costly rats because of a feeding refusal and subsequent time lapse.

Better safe than sorry.

i like how you made tht out as an example, a very good one at tht, my dad got a deer once, he almost didnt get it out in time before the good meat was gone, deer meat forever <3

[Evenstar]

Consider hunters; they "field dress" [completely gut] whatever they kill immediately because the innards start to rot as soon as the animal dies and that will contaminate the rest of the meat.

I've had to throw out costly rats because of a feeding refusal and subsequent time lapse.

Better safe than sorry.

Yes, that's a really good example!

Consider this also - the smaller the animal, the faster they degrade. I wouldn't feed any rodent that was left out longer than 4-5 hours max (including thaw time). In other words, I feed jumbo beefy mice and it takes them almost 3 hours to thaw completely when just left out on the counter. They'd better be fed within 2 hours of them being thawed or in the trash they go. If I thawed them using hot water or something, the same rule applies: feed within 2 hours of thawing.

If your snake refuses the meal, I feel refreezing 1 time is acceptable so long as it is done within that 2 hour period. After 1 re-thaw though I feel the mouse will have degraded enough that it is no longer good.