yucky

[4Khan]

gotta sick question for ya...
a f/t rat we fed our bp last night happend to have been punctured in the belly while dan was trying to wiggle it in front of our snake. the snake coiled around it and as she did, out started to come the guts. she kept repositiong herself and the rat, and as she kept doing so more and more the insides started to come out (the trear got larger and larger). Ive never feed her f/t before and i thought i might not have thawed the insides enough so i warmed it in some hot water too. Possible cooking it to much?

anyways she continued to eat it, even though all its insides were out (still attacthed) and seemed as if she wouldnt give it up for anything! Will this all have some bad affect on her?

How long should the rat sit out before its fed?

[JamesMX39]

I don't see how it would have any effect on her, really. She still ate the same thing.

I don't know if the tear would have been caused by the hot water. I personally thaw all of my f/t stuff by placing it in hot (not boiling) water; and have for years with no problems. I like to have my f/t prey offerings slightly higher than room temperature, it (at least in my mind) seems to make the snakes more interested. I dunno if there is any truth to that, but it's been working fine for me.

[JLC]

I've heard of belly ruptures for f/t animals, although it never happened to me. (Thankfully!) It is usually caused by gasses building up in the abdominal cavity and expanding during the warming process. The pressure of the squeeze may have "popped" the belly, or the snake's tooth might have snagged and ripped it while it was near popping anyhow. ICKY....but harmless.


Some snakes are not picky at all and will eat f/t prey at room temperature...but many, and BP's in particular, hunt by heat, so prey warmed up closer to its natural body temperature is a good idea.

[gmmuscle91]

I've found that in pinky mice (maybe rats) they have a little hole near their stomach where i belive the umbilical cord was and it didnt heal before they took it out. that could have also been it. (If it was a pinky rat.)

[parabuzzle]

I have one girl that we call the Diva that will only eat if the f/t is warm and the zombie dance is just right. The rat has to be the right temp and it has to look like it is alive. Lisa, the snake mommy has the whole curious rat movements down with the tongs...LOL

[elevatethis]

Sometimes f/t rats will lose their guts if they are thawed, then re-frozen. Double-check with your supplier to make sure that they are being packed properly during shipping.

[jglass38]

Ive gotten belly ruptures on a couple rats due to either refreezing and rethawing or keeping in the fridge for a week (I know, disgusting). Its happened twice with the Hoggie since he strikes and coils the hardest. He doesnt seem to mind and eats it all!

[elevatethis]

Couldn't be as bad as when I saw a boa constricting a pregnant rat one time...didn't know the rat was preggers though until it got the squeeze....use your imagination on that one.

[jglass38]

Couldn't be as bad as when I saw a boa constricting a pregnant rat one time...didn't know the rat was preggers though until it got the squeeze....use your imagination on that one.

Umm..Ick

[elevatethis]

Major Ick.