didnt eat f/t... what to do now

[mattramsfan]

this was my first time trying to feed my bp f/t... he will be 4 in october so he has only ever seen live animals for him to eat. so needless to say, i tried to feed him this f/t rat and he shockingly didnt eat it. lol. so my question is, can i refreeze the rat or do i just toss it in the trash... or could i leave it in his cage tonight to see if he will eat it

[JLC]

It is absolutely ok to leave it in the cage overnight to see if he'll eat it. However, if you leave it out overnight, then I would not recommend refreezing it.

Whether or not you refreeze depends on how well it was frozen and thawed to begin with. If it maintained most of its bodily integrity after being thawed (looked and felt mostly like a freshly killed rat) and it's only been left out for an hour or two, then I don't think there is an issue with refreezing. However, if the belly has swelled up, or if the middle of the rat feels particularly mushy, I would not recommend refreezing.

Each time you freeze it, and the longer it is left out while thawed, the more the tissues break down...which can lead to an exceptionally nasty exploding rodent the next time you thaw. So my rule of thumb is to only refreeze if it still seems to be in really good condition to begin with. When in doubt, throw it out.

[mattramsfan]

well said. just the answer i was looking for. thanks.

[Scaleyz]

My first bp was only fed live, so the first time I ever gave her f/t was a task and I didn't do it overnight. I went from live to fresh killed to f/t. The f.t then had to be given to her all the while doing the zombie dance as with the fresh killed. Now all I have to do is throw a f/t in there and she hits it without hesitation. Good luck with yours and the info you got gets 2 thumbs up with me too

[AliCat37]

Just like scaleyz said, you can try switching him over slowly, first with a prekilled and then to f/t. Some guys are just harder to switch!

[hongkongluna]

My bps went from live to FT in one meal. I read somewhere that i should blow dry them and that worked like a charm

[kitedemon]

I totally agree with JLC I'll add my other thing I'll only re-freeze once. So I'll offer thawed if it is refused I'll re-freeze it and then next time offer it again (if it is still fresh looking that is and doesn't smell rotten) After the second thawing I'll not offer it again.

hongkongluna has it right make sure it is nice and warm I actually check it with an ir gun I look for 98 body and 100 on the head. The zombie dance helps too I hold it by the scruff of the neck and play I am alive dead ratty and have yet to have one not take it for the first time.