I have a snake who eats live mice. I pre-scent the tub (it is divided in half due to the weight of the snake) for 30 minutes and then I put the mouse into the snake's side of the tub. My snakes ambush from their hides and so I do not take the hides out. In less time than it takes for me to close the tub (in a rack system) there is an audible "squeek" and I know that the snake has done what it has evolved to do