24 hours on ft?

[Kylegep]

Is it ok for a snake to eat a rat that has set out for 12-24 hours? One of my snakes won't eat unless it stays in his cage for about that long.

[LLLReptile]

If he's been eating it in the past and is alright now, then that's probably your answer.

If it's a big worry, try just not leaving it out that long - try only an hour or so instead. Maybe after a week or two of not having the option to wait overnight, he'll be hungry enough to eat it when it is first offered.

-Jen

[angllady2]

One question, are you thawing it and heating it then offering ? I realize that sounds pretty dumb, but I have heard people at pet shops telling a perspective snake owner to just drop the frozen rodent into the tank and when it thaws the snake will eat it.

If you do thaw and heat and then offer, which I am sure you do, some snakes just like darkness and privacy to eat, so you can try my trick of covering the tank with a heavy towel. Otherwise, you can either accept your snake's quirk or remove the uneaten prey and wait a week. My guess is, when it gets hungry from missing a meal, it won't be quite as picky next time.

Of course, I'm one to talk. I have a pair of females who try my patience every feeding day. If conditions aren't 1000% perfect, they will not eat. They regularly go 5 or 6 week without eating, then eat for 2 or 3, then 6 weeks off again.

Gale

[jcoylesr76]

the other thing is when are you trying to feed, in the morning or the evening? he may just not want it till after dark.

[Slim]

12 hours isn't soooo bad. 24 hours would start to make me nervous.

[Kylegep]

I feed at night, and yes I thaw them out completely. He I just a picky eater. At 2 years old he weighs 666g where my 16 month male is 1000