trying a rat (frozen thawed)

[Manglewantsmacaroni]

I waited a good amount of time (nine days) to attempt to feed Mangle. I bought a rat, defrosted it in warm water until it was no longer cold, and gave it to her. She is very active in her cage at night. she's very active tonight.
I attempted to wiggle the rat in front of her, She sniffed it, but moved on.
The mouse is frozen thawed,not live. It is a small sized rat. it is white.
I am wondering, Is it safe to keep the rat in there overnight to see if she's eat it?
the tank conditions are proper. humidity is 50-60%, temp on the cool is is 80 degrees, 90 on the warm side.
Is it safe lo leave a rat there overnight?

[Reinz]

Yeah, leave it and keep her area undisturbed. This is how you are going to learn what works for her and what doesn't.

[Slaugbr1]

The only thing i would say is you said untill it wasent cold anymore..... You want the rat or mouse warm to your hands. I defrost the rat at room tempature then warm it up in hot water then hit it for about a minute with a blowdryer. Its got to be the tempature a mouse would have living

[200xth]

Is it safe lo leave a rat there overnight?

Yes.

[Saber402]

I place my rats in baggies to thaw for several hours. Then I put the baggie in a large bowl with the hottest tap water that will come out. (Don't boil water on the stove or in the microwave). I leave the baggie in the hot water for about 6 - 7 minutes for pups and weanlings, and for smalls to mediums I replace the hot water after the first time period for an extra five minutes or so. If the rat comes out of the baggie wet, I dry it with a paper towel followed by a shot under a hairdryer for a minute or so.

If it isn't warm enough, as you have seen, they will just look at the rat trying to figure out what it is. It's the heat, along with the smell, that triggers the strike.

Good luck!

[Lizardlicks]

My tap water comes out at it's hottest around 114/115F. A living rat or mouse runs about 101F, so after the rats have thoroughly defrosted for the day, I'll put them under the warm water for a minute or two, then use the temp gun to make sure they've hit a good temp. Usually they come out at about 109F, and by the time I get them up stairs and have everything arranged to feed the girls, they've dropped another couple of degrees, so they're right at the correct range.

Serket will go for gold as soon as that rat pup is in front of her face, she does not care. Strudel is more cautious/nervous, so I give her some extra time to think about it, and I don't don't wriggle the rat aggressively, or right up in her face (those can both intimidate her and make her turn away). You'll know the personality of your snake better than us, but if they're shy or nervous, you may want to adjust for that. I have heard that some snakes don't register white rats as food because of the color, but I think that's far more common in wild caught imports than captive bred and hatched babies, so that's not likely the issue.

If you aren't too squeemish, and even a correctly warmed rat doesn't seem to be enticing the snake to eat, you can try "braining" it; that is, cutting open the rat's head to expose the brain cavity. The smell will often entice a feeding response where warmth has failed. Either way, leaving the prey item in the enclosure over night is fine, your snake may just need a little more privacy to feel comfortable eating. Remember to pull it out and toss it if your snakes doesn't eat it within 24hrs, though.

[Manglewantsmacaroni]

unfortunatly, she didn't eat it.
I'll have to try again next week

[Reinz]

Sorry she didn't eat.

Good plan to wait a week.

[MontyAndMelissa]

I thaw my rats until the head and hips are not cold all the way through, then I power heat them with a hair dryer. Remember, live rats body temperatures are higher than room temperature.

[Manglewantsmacaroni]

she's resting at the moment, and from what I can gather here its best to heat the rat with something warm like a lamp after using water. The rat is always in the bag while submerged in the water, so it doesn't get wet. It was warm when I gave it to her and she didn't eat it. Its been a month since I got her, and Im not handling her at all. It is almost spring and hope she'll eat soon.