2 dumbish questions

[Gurgie]

ok, I know folks tell me to use tongs or similar to hold the rats for feeding. I usually hold it with my hand on the tail....however it wasnt Nag that bit me, it was the dran rat! LOL

do I need to go to the doc for a pet store feeder rat bite? it bit me 3 times, and all cause I was trying to wash it off some before I gave it to Nag.

second question - when I pick up live rats, by the time I get them home, they have dirtied themselves with urine and feces. This was the first time I ever tried to rinse them off before feeding cause it was drowning in poop. I made the water a reasonable temp and didnt dunk it, but the darn thing bit me 3 times. Do I need to worry about cleaning the rat off before feeding?

also, for those of you who feed in something different than their tanks, would you mind tell me why, and what you use for feeding?

There's got to be a better way than what I am currently doing *grin*

[Sausage]

You might need a tetnis shot if you haven't had one recently.
About washing it off, I don't know... I guess it wouldn't hurt if the thing is coated in feces.

[Shelby]

Moved to feeders forum.

As was said make sure you are up to date on your tetanus shot (it must be updated every 10 years) and clean the bites thoroughly.. keep them clean to prevent infection.

There is no need to clean the rats before feeding.. snakes are made to digest everything in (or on) the rat.

I have 30 some snakes (not really sure how many exactly anymore LOL) and I feed all of them in their cages all the time. I do not recommend taking your snake out of it's familiar territory and tossing a live rat at it. Some BPs will just get freaked out by this, and may be at a higher risk of being bitten by their meal.

[mr~python]

dont hold a live rat at feeding time. simply put it in the enclosure and let your snake do the rest. if the snake is not interested in it after a few minutes or the rat is becoming defensive or stressed then take the rat out of the cage.

[SatanicIntention]

Also, holding a live, scared rat(that shouldn't be any bigger than a smallish-small) by the tail is just going to make it even more stressed and apt to bite whatever it gets ahold of first. That is not a safe way to feed live to snakes and will ultimately lead in someone getting hurt(obviously this has already happened, thankfully just to you).

All of my snakes(save for the 3 baby corns, since it's hard to monitor them inside their hides) eat live from the security of their hides, inside their own homes. They have no problems feeding this way, and they do know when feeding day is. I also can handle them when I need to and don't have any issues with them.

[Kizerk]

how do you guys transport your rodent to the snake's cage without touching it?

[mr~python]

how do you guys transport your rodent to the snake's cage without touching it?

in a brown paper bag or cardboard box. i hate to touch rats as i dont know the temperment of the rat since i dont breed my own. so its much easier for me to scoop it into a paper bag, etc. i sure would hate to get bit by a rat. yuk.

[Shelby]

You might invest in a pair of leather workgloves. Very handy to have around both snakes and rats.. I've got several pairs.

[mr~python]

hey thats a good idea. maybe i should ask my parents for a pair for Christmas. LOL. woule be handy to have around for the monitor also. that little, 20 inch lizard has some sharp claws.

[haveaball]

I transport my mice using a fishing net. I also feed in a seperate tank.