Feeding Q

[zimbabwepegasus]

How long will you guys leave a F/T mouse in a tank for?
I left Mira's over night and removed it first thing in the morning- I don't think she poked her head out of her hide all night...
I just kept thinking- that's raw meat...
Does anyone know how long it's ok to leave an adult mouse in a cage for?

 

[NegativeCreep]

We have never left any in the cage overnight. We don't have any picky eaters, though. There have been a few times that Mitch has refused to eat, but we just turned around and fed the extra mouse to Esham. Now that he is eating larger prey (rats), hes not refused any. I guess it's not fair to have a vacuum, I mean, Monitor, around!

I look at them as Raw Meat, too - which creeps me out! I try real hard to keep the mouse from touching the glass or the bedding unnecessarily.

 

[zimbabwepegasus]

Nah. She's a solid eater. I just didn't want to poke my hand in her moss cover hide when the whole cage smelled like mices- she buries herself and I can't ever find her freakin' head.

I don't really count this one as a refusal, more like a "wait, there was dinner?"
She's only refused once before and she was blue as I'll get out, so not a remotely surprising refusal.

 

[Eventide]

I don't feed any of my snakes in the tanks they live in. I have several smaller plastic tubs I put the snakes and the food in. They all usually eat their food within a half-hour. If they don't, I try heating them up again, wiggling them, etc., and if they still won't take them, then I put them back. :dontknow:

 

[herpfreak]

I put a f/t rat in my BP's enclosure before I went to bed and took it out the next afternoon. Really, if they don't eat it overnight, I highly doubt they'll eat it during the day. Besides, it starts to smell and can pick up who knows how many bacteria...

I don't leave f/t in anymore, though. I've had better results (strikes, but no swallows ) with wiggling it in front of the hide with a pair of tongs. Some also say it helps to expose the brain, but I'm not sure.

 

[WAFisherman]

I leave them in for a few hours tops. If they aren't gone by then, wait a week and try again. Mine will sometimes refuse during shed. It seems that stetching the mouth open can hurt during certain points in the process. I've had them start to eat, then spit it out and leave it. Not often, but a few times between my dumeril's and BP. And they get RANK if left too long, espeically in the BP enclosure with the higher temps and humidity...

I feed mine in their own enclosure. I use tongs and wiggle it around for them. If it is nice and warm, it does not last long... If they don't take it right away, i lay it down on a paper towel and leave them in peace and quiet. Then quietly check back every 10 mins or so. Usually it is gone by the first check... A nice thing to have is a CHE or heat lamp near by. I have my beardie tank close, so I just hold the rat under the light if I need to reheat. Sometimes that can produce a very good response.

 

[Trogdor80]

Some snakes just won't eat F/T and only eat live.

 

[herpfreak]

Some snakes just won't eat F/T and only eat live.

Like mine. :roll: Well, that's just BPs for you.

 

[WAFisherman]

Snakes will eat f/t. It is just like a parent trying to get your kid to eat their green beans. It is simply a matter of being consistent, persistent, and sometimes a little creative.

Some ways to get a picky snake to eat f/t:

* Feed 1 smaller than usual live one, then offer the next frozen. They are in the eating mode now and may just go for it...
* Try freshly killed instead of f\t the first few times (take a live, give a wack on the back of the head to stun, then feed to snake)
* Use tongs to move the rat around to appear alive and trigger a feeding response
* Pre-scent. Let the rat thaw in the room with the snake. Hold the rat near the snake's enclosure and blow on it to really get the smell in there. Let the scent linger for a while and most snakes will come out of their hide and start looking around ready to strike.
* Add an extra scent (lizard smell, rat, mouse, chicken broth, tuna, etc). Some snakes seem really turned on be certain smells.
* Be sure rat is warm when offered. Thaw in warm water, then use heat bulb or hair dryer or other to warm up just before offering. Dangle with the tongs and see if they strike. Try re-heating a few times.
* Try feeding at night
* Try leaving the rat in the cage in a dark room for a few hours


Some have the same response regarding converting from mice to rats. "my snake won't eat rats"
Again, they will if you try. My snakes all came to me eating live mice. In only a few weeks I had them all eathing f\t rats.

* Give a small mouse then a small rat as the chaser.
* Thaw them together in the same bag to mix the scent
* Phase out the mouse

Others just use tough love and go cold turkey. Offer them a frozen\thawed rat after 2 weeks of getting their new snake. If it refuses, offer again at one week intervals. Eventually, hunger wins over and they eat it.... Snakes can go several months with no eating with no problems...

 

[herpfreak]

Thanks for the tips. I've tried most of them. I'm still trying, but my girl is a picky eater anyways... just got over a 4 month fast. Still refuses a lot of meals.

 

[lacy_black]

I also tried all the "proven" ways and a few others. After almost a year of Ballz not eating I gave in, I refused to starve an animal to satisfy my squemishness. Now all 6 of my snakes get their dinners still alive. The baby red tails haven't perfected the squeezing so seeing pinkies squeal the whole way down is a bit off putting but that's nature.

 

[zimbabwepegasus]

I gotta agree with WA- the vast, vast, vast majority of snakes will eat F/T.
And my 3 all do, the question was really about- when does mouse meat hit a point where it can be harmful for the snake. I don't think we can really imitate nature in the small environments, relatively speaking, we keep snakes in and given that we pick their meal time.
Mira's easily the pickiest eater and mostly it means she refuses when blue.

 

[herpfreak]

I gotta agree with WA- the vast, vast, vast majority of snakes will eat F/T.
And my 3 all do, the question was really about- when does mouse meat hit a point where it can be harmful for the snake. I don't think we can really imitate nature in the small environments, relatively speaking, we keep snakes in and given that we pick their meal time.
Mira's easily the pickiest eater and mostly it means she refuses when blue.

That may be true, but BPs are somewhat of a different story. The few snakes that aren't part of the vast majority are ball pythons. BPs are notorious for fasts and refusing certain colors, genders, or species of food for no apparent reason. I have probably wasted a hundred dollars trying to get my BP to take f/t. More often than not, I will also have live feeders around because she normally only eats a few times a month. She recently came out of a 4-month fast and now she won't take rats. She's eaten rats for the entire time she's been with me (over a year) and now she will only take mice. :roll: Crazy snakes!

 

[Eventide]

My ball pythons all have their little quirks. Irulan, my first ball python, refuses everything if it isn't live. I've tried so many times to get her to eat f/t (including nearly all of the ones mentioned above), to no avail. I don't like starving them just to try to get them to eat f/t, either. I feel terrible.

Tungsten is on live right now, but that's because he's thinner than I'd like him to be. Once he settles in a bit more, I'll try f/t. I doubt it'll be that hard to convince him. But he usually likes to be in the dark when he eats.

Iridium happily goes after f/t, but I have to make sure to keep wiggling the mouse after he coils around it so he's convinced it's actually live. If I don't wiggle it after he strikes, he drops it and ignores it, usually giving me a pathetic "You tricked me!" facial expression. :roll:

Iodine (also known as Bitey) is my mouse disposal. She will eat anything. :lol:

My rainbow boa is the only smart one. All I have to do is put some thawed mice in her container and leave her alone for a little while.

So...yeah.... I agree most will take f/t, but there are exceptions to every rule.

 

[herpfreak]

Eventide, I love your BPs' names!