1st time feeding

[Colin Manning]

I am shortly going to attempt too feed my snake for the 1st time, (my 1st time that is). Planning on putting snake in feeder tank and dropping pinky in and hope it takes it. Any advice?

[SatanicIntention]

My advice is to leave the snake inside its home, find a bigger prey item such as a small adult mouse(pinkies are much too small, even for newly born hatchlings), pre-scent for about 30 minutes by placing the rodent in an escape-proof cage, next to the snake's enclosure.

Turn the lights off or very low, place the rodent on the opposite side that the snake is on, and sit back.

If the snake doesn't take the mouse in 10-15 minutes, remove it and wait a week to try again.

[Colin Manning]

Can I re-freeze mice once thawed?

[SatanicIntention]

It's not recommended. It's like re-freezing chicken once it's set out on the counter all day. Not something I would want to eat.. Ick. They are much more likely to burst if you refreeze.

How old is the snake? If he/she is a hatchling, then I would try feeding live for the first couple of feedings, just until he gets happy and consistent about eating. Then you can try and switch to f/t. They don't readily take f/t when young, as they don't recognize it as prey yet.

[Colin Manning]

Its new to me but is 1about 15months old. It went for the food but couldnt manouver it into position to swallow and then gave up and showed more interest in its new feeder tank that the food itself. Guess I try again in a couple of days?

[SatanicIntention]

That's why feeding in their home works best. They aren't stressed out because they aren't in a new place that they don't know. They know their home and they are comfortable in it.

I would wait a week, and then feed him inside his own enclosure, not the feeding tub. Did you thaw the mouse out completely?

[Colin Manning]

Yep, i've thrown it away. It's been feeding on these pinkys ok with his previous owner. Wary of feeding in his own tank because I've been advised to use seperate tank so he knows when he's eating and when its my hand goin for him, not food.

[missi182]

Your bp should not 'mistake' you for food unless you do something foolish to alow that to happen. A good example would be sticking your hand in his tank right after he has eaten or is going to eat. If your bp is eating enough (which at 15 months old, pinkies are not even close to enough! your starving him!) he will not be hungry for your hand. My bp is four months old and eats a 20 gram hopper every 4 days and I am starting him on rats this friday, I also feed frozen/thawed prey. You can also tell if your bp is likely to strike you, by his body language (S-strike pose) If he is waiting in strike position, don't stick your hand in there. You can also invest in a pair of feeding tongs (like giant tweezers) or hemostats, do avoid the need to put your hand in the enclosure when feeding. When my bp sees those hemostats, he knows its dinner time (usually because they are holding a mouse

[missi182]

Oh forget to mention that a good way to pick prey size is to feed prey that is about the size of the thickest part of your snake. Don't let the tiny head on your bp fool you, they can stretch quite a bit!

[dalvers63]

It's not recommended. It's like re-freezing chicken once it's set out on the counter all day. Not something I would want to eat.. Ick. They are much more likely to burst if you refreeze.

I personally find that refreezing a rodent ONE time is not a problem, as long as it has not been sitting out for a long time. I've been doing this as needed for the last 15-20 years with no issues. Use your best judgement though, and if you're not comfortable or unsure it is always better to err on the safe side and toss it.

How old is the snake? If he/she is a hatchling, then I would try feeding live for the first couple of feedings, just until he gets happy and consistent about eating. Then you can try and switch to f/t. They don't readily take f/t when young, as they don't recognize it as prey yet.

I did not find this statement to be true when I had 5 hatchlings last year. All but two took F/T right away and the two that didn't turned out to be mouse eaters. By the time they were placed in new homes, all of them were eating F/T. I've found a lot depends on the parents of the babies. Both of my adults from last year are great eaters on F/T and it appears they passed it on to their babies. We'll see how it goes this year when I have two clutches.