Timing of feeding after possible hibernation?

[Bogertophis]

Yeah, I have run into that as well. I hate to waste them, so I just toss them out into the yard. They are always gone the next day, so something is eating them. At least it's not a total waste.

When I lived in the So. Calif. desert I had no close neighbors & coyotes were always around (outside my secure fencing for my dogs) so when I had refused rodents
I just tossed them over the fence in the evening & they were gone by next morning. Nothing wasted, & not regular enough to make wild animals dependent, though
I will say that coyotes are smart, and when there was a long hiatus they awakened me about 4:30 am with a rousing chorus of what I suspect translated to "We're
hungry! C'mon lady..." I sometimes put the rodents in the freezer to keep better (in the hot summer) & it was hilarious to watch a coyote who happened to show
up "early" while the rat was still frozen: he knew what it was but never had one so cold...he grabbed it, then tossed it in the air & repeated for a while.I suspect
that he found it "refreshing" at least.