Movin on up to a 40 gal & Weird smell on f/t

[Jellybeans]

I got an awesome deal on a 40 gal with sliding locking screen top. To give to Jellybeans my BP. Only $20 ! Excellent condition. Plus they gave me a 20 long that I will use for Cheesecake my corn snake. Sweet deal for sure.
Ok now... I thawed out the rat pup for my ball python last night.
And when I took it out of the plastic bag to make sure it was thawed out I smelled a very strong powder smell but not a nicely scented powder if that makes any sense.
Well as usual he grabbed it and then after short period of time I noticed he didn't have a hold of it anymore. He NEVER lets loose of his meal NEVER. He still had a couple of coils around it but was not holding it with his mouth and was just moving his head around looking at it. Eventually he did grab the head again and he ate it and all is well. I'm most certain that if I smell something different about the rat HE certainly did I wonder what it was? When he let go with his mouth and was looking it over it's like he was expecting it like 'is this what I usually eat' ? Just struck me as odd because he's never done that before and I've never smelled that before... any ideas?

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[tttaylorrr]

where are your feeders from?

was there any visible abnormalities with the feeder?

i trust a snake's "nose" 100% so i don't doubt an issue with this feeder.

[Bogertophis]

What kind of "powder" did it smell like? Did you try rinsing it off? I thaw mine by soaking IN water, not in plastic bags, & if you do that, it should rinse off
whatever the issue is.

[Jellybeans]

I always thaw all mine in plastic baggies I never put them directly in the water but that's an idea.
I get these feeders from a local exotic pet store they always have very nice feeders (as I'm picky) and it looked perfect as usual. I prefer to get hairless pups if I can find them but it's not that easy. As far as what kind of powder smell I can't describe. I doubt it will but I sure hope it doesn't make him sick

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[Bogertophis]

I've tried thawing in the plastic bags before...fyi, it takes LONGER to thaw that way, because the air trapped in the bags is an insulator.

Snakes rarely care if their rodents are wet...it's an advantage for some (helps hydration, & easier to swallow) but if you're talking about fussy BPs, you're probably
blow-drying them for warmth anyway.

Some of the rodent scent will wash off in the water, but trust me, they still smell like rodents. If you wish to add more scent, just pinch-damage the nose slightly
with your feeding tongs, right before offering. For BPs, it's much more about the warmth though.

[Bogertophis]

Afterthought- I wonder if they put cornstarch* (or something similar) on the feeders so they don't stick together as much? If so, they should label it, IMO.

I would ask the store you got them from...as powder could be a harmful pesticide, you never know.
I've never heard of frozen feeders having any kind of powder on them...I'd be concerned.

*cornstarch doesn't have any smell either...what the heck?

[Jellybeans]

Afterthought- I wonder if they put cornstarch* (or something similar) on the feeders so they don't stick together as much? If so, they should label it, IMO.

I would ask the store you got them from...as powder could be a harmful pesticide, you never know.
I've never heard of frozen feeders having any kind of powder on them...I'd be concerned.

*cornstarch doesn't have any smell either...what the heck?

IDK.....I wish I could describe the odor better maybe powder is not 100% accurate maybe it was some kind of bedding that the rat pup had been on I don't know.
I will mention it to them next time

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[Bogertophis]

We need computers with a scratch & sniff screen, lol... you've got me curious.