Just curious….

[Bogertophis]

I have a Corn snake that ‘drop feeds’ and sometimes he’s lethal yet other times he slides over the mouse / rat a few times looking for it !!

What’s that all about !


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

It seems like some snakes just like to mess with us? Like little kids going "Ha, made ya look!"

But in reality, it's probably because as captive pets, they're getting regular meals with us & most likely WAY more​ food than they've adapted to surviving on in the wild, so it confuses their instincts.

[Luvyna]

Why use hot water which washes away the natural odour of the mouse /rat ??

Best to warm the rodent head up with a hairdryer plugged in next to the viv


Remember to feed evenings .. in very low / dim light

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

You can also put the rat in a small plastic Ziploc when warming it in water, but in my experience submerging the rat in water doesn't reduce the smell and I think ultimately as long as there is a good heat signature the BP will eat. The one issue with hairdryers can be that if a rat is on the bigger side or has thick fur it can be hard to warm it all the way through with just a hairdryer.

[Zincubus]

You can also put the rat in a small plastic Ziploc when warming it in water, but in my experience submerging the rat in water doesn't reduce the smell and I think ultimately as long as there is a good heat signature the BP will eat. The one issue with hairdryers can be that if a rat is on the bigger side or has thick fur it can be hard to warm it all the way through with just a hairdryer.

Fair comments although once thawed ( in the snake room to get the odours circulating) you only have to warm up the head so that isn’t really a problem tbh


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

[Bogertophis]

You're both right, actually. It's just that snakes have their own interpretations- that's why it helps to have various methods in your "tool-kit" for feeding them.

I prefer to thaw directly in water because it's faster than thawing in a plastic bag- even a little bit of air in the bag will "insulate" the rodent & slow down the thawing process. And most of my snakes don't care about the slightly-reduced scent -or if they do, I use the feeding tongs to "pinch-damage" the rodent's nose to release more scent. But I have also seen a few snakes that aren't convinced rodents thawed this way are edible. I'm sure some of them were BPs.

And I also have kept longnose snakes, both in the past, & one I still have that's about 20 years old. In nature, these eat small lizards or even other small snakes- they're usually very hard to get feeding on mice, & the one thing that helps is if I only feed frozen & thawed in water, because it clearly washes off much of the rodent odor/flavor. Fresh killed or live, it's "No thanks!"

And honestly, even I can tell the difference in how the mice smell, & longnose snakes only eat pinkies & fuzzies as they have a narrow gape- they're slender snakes of the desert. (Most of the scent is in the fur.)

[TacoSupreme]

Why use hot water which washes away the natural odour of the mouse /rat ??

Best to warm the rodent head up with a hairdryer plugged in next to the viv


Remember to feed evenings .. in very low / dim light

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

I have them zip locked in water tight bags. Just makes it easier to heat while I’m doing other things. I may also have to mention she’s a champagne morph which I hear have a wobble.

[Zincubus]

I have them zip locked in water tight bags. Just makes it easier to heat while I’m doing other things. I may also have to mention she’s a champagne morph which I hear have a wobble.

Interesting


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro