Rat/Rabbit Storage

[Maximus]

I will have a Burmese Python next month and wanted to know where you experienced snake owners keep your live rats and rabbits when you bring them home. Obviously you feed them to the Burm quickly, but some people buy multiple feeders and don't feed them to the snake all at once. While rare, maybe the snake doesn't eat the feeder immediately. Do you just leave it in the container you got when you bought it?

I'm not looking to breed, I'm just wondering if I should buy something to keep rabbits/rats in, even if it's just a limited stay.

Thanks for any replies!

[jmcrook]

I’d do everything in your power to get it feeding on F/T prey. Rabbits or similar sized live prey items can do significant damage to a snake or even kill it if things go awry.


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[nikkubus]

Depends how old this burm is. If it's already a little older where it's eating weaned or larger, then yes, you would probably want to have at least one cage to keep something for when it doesn't want to eat. Burms do not refuse food very often, but it can happen. I would not recommend buying several at a time because they eat pretty infrequently and the prey is going to grow pretty quickly if it isn't already full adult size. If it's still a hatchling burm, it's going to probably be on rat pups or adult mice, and adult mice can survive on regular food, a rat pup would need bottle fed. Burms do not normally get fussy about switching from rats to mice and back, so I'd go with mice if it were me for a hatchling.

For a lot of different reasons, I would get this burm on frozen/thawed, one of them being that it's going to be loads cheaper to buy a bag and store it in your freezer than to have to go out and buy individual live rats/rabbits. More importantly, a rat or rabbit can do some pretty serious damage to your snake pretty quickly if your snake misses or even gets it but doesn't bite the ideal place. A burm should not be difficult to switch to frozen, even if they are an adult and been on live their whole life. They are pretty ravenous eaters, and when I had one, she never turned down a meal no matter what it was.

[303_enfield]

Buy frozen you'll save money. I raise rats, ASF, rabbits, pigs, cows and fowls. Live rabbits are $10-$90 depending on type. You can buy frozen cheaper, plus no worms!

If your buying live you'll need a small cage an food. Live adult rabbits can tear a snake up (an you). Trim the claws if you feed live.

For rats you can use the same cage "if" the rats don't fit between the bars.

Frozen rats don't stink an won't escape. If the snake isn't in the mood to eat. Put the rat back in the freezer or use it for fish bait.



Good luck!

[KMG]

If it were me I would buy frozen and put them in the freezer I have in my snake room.

[GoingPostal]

In the freezer. Buying live is 3-4x the price and a lot more hassle and risk, if you aren't planning on breeding and raising your own, buy bulk f/t.

[bcr229]

If your buying live you'll need a small cage an food. Live adult rabbits can tear a snake up (an you).

I've ended up with some nasty scratches on my hands and arms digging through frozen rabbits in the chest freezer. I would never put a live feeder rabbit in with a snake.

Ask the seller to convert the burm to f/t before you bring it home. There should be plenty of time over the next few weeks.

[Bogertophis]

I ...wanted to know where you experienced snake owners keep your live rats and rabbits when you bring them home... maybe the snake doesn't eat the feeder immediately. Do you just leave it in the container you got when you bought it? ...

I've never had to deal with rabbits but have raised rats for many years: they're escape artists, & pet stores don't furnish escape-proof containers to take pets home in, that's on you. (Hint, they SELL such containers, so why would they give them away?) Keeping rats or other prey live means a LOT more work, buying food, providing water & bedding, dealing with odors (!) & ensuring no escapes. F/T is the only thing that makes sense to me, besides being much safer for the snake, & more humane for the prey animals. You truly don't want to keep live feeders.