Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi everyone,
I went and got a couple of rat pups yesterday (and mice pinkyies for some corns). I brought a small cooler with ice in it. The lady at the store put them in there on top, not covered with ice and I didn't check to make sure they were covered up. When we got home, they were still cold, but they were thawed out. I had already fed my boa, so I went ahead and stuck them in the freezer. What now? Do I go ahead and thaw them out again and use them? Or do I treat them like people food and not use them since they were frozen, thawed, refrozen, thawed (when I go to feed again).

While I'm thinking about it, if I thaw out a pup and my boa doesn't eat it, can I put it in the refrigerator and warm it up again the next day to try again?
Thanks,
Rob

Ok by rule of "thumb" I do not feed my snakes anything I would not eat myself. ( No I do not eat rodents, I mean by frozen thawed standards LOL) . Once its 100 % thawed and warmed it has to be used and I do not believe in cross feeding, although to be honest, I have done it in he past, I now have learned when to feed my snakes according to the snakes behavior responces, but I do mess up occasionally and I have a solution I use to avoid "refreezing", I have two voracious snapping turtles I use as "garbage disposals". Bottom line, once thawed and warmed I do not think it should be refrozen or refrigerated again, if you do not have the "turtles" (LOL) throw it away and take the "hit", bacteria buildup is nothing to mess around with. If you reuse them you are asking for trouble, bacteria have been prevalaint (ssp) in the world for a reason
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Frank Roberts
R&R Herpetological Frank Roberts & John Rodriguez or John Rodriguez & Frank Roberts (same difference)

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Roberts'Realm of Reptile Research

Thanks. I was thinking along the same lines about the frozen, thawed, don't refreze again, but I wanted another opinion. Yeah I'd rather throw away $3 worth of rats instead of possibly making my much more expensive snake sick.

What do you mean by "I do not believe in cross feeding"?
Thanks,
Rob

"I do not believe in cross feeding"?
I think he is refering to "I tried to feed the rat to snake A and it did not eat it, so, I will feed it to snake B now.. "

BTW.. my monitor makes for a great garbage disposal as well.. he will eat anything and everything..
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photos.xtremecombatsports.com

...My Rainbow Boas are special. If I wave a dead rodent in front of one I can almost always tell if it is going to eat by the way it shows initial interest. If no interest I will try the rodent on another snake. If I leave a rodent in with one of the Rainbow Boas and it does not get eaten it goes to one of the garbage cans rather than another Rainbow Boa. My garbage cans are the Surinam Redtails and the Jungle Carpet and the Black Milksnakes.
Jeff

>>"I do not believe in cross feeding"?
>>I think he is refering to "I tried to feed the rat to snake A and it did not eat it, so, I will feed it to snake B now.. "
>>
>>BTW.. my monitor makes for a great garbage disposal as well.. he will eat anything and everything..
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>>photos.xtremecombatsports.com

I will agree with the sentiment of not feeding a snake whatever I will not eat. I will eat leftovers though however - so if I have a mouse or two left from snakes that do not eat, I will throw it in the fridge and try again later.
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Jonathan
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

1.1 Normal BRB
2.2 Het Albino Western Hognose
1.1 Bismark Ringed Python
0.0.1 Kenyan Sand Boa

I was looking at your photo site. You take some great pictures. I really like the first one in the file Reptiles/Amphibians.

Under the label KE Serpents, #8 is a black and orange banded snake. What is that? Is it a milk snake of somekind?

Thanks,
Rob

That is a young ringed python.

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Jonathan
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

1.1 Normal BRB
2.2 Het Albino Western Hognose
1.1 Bismark Ringed Python
0.0.1 Kenyan Sand Boa

I need to give Bob Garby credit for that picture since he took it - it is the animal that I got from him recently though.
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Jonathan
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

1.1 Normal BRB
2.2 Het Albino Western Hognose
1.1 Bismark Ringed Python
0.0.1 Kenyan Sand Boa

nice snake Jonathon!
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photos.xtremecombatsports.com

Hi Rob.. I think you have me and Jeff confused.. no harm though.

On my computer the files in the galleries will appear different than they do on yours, is this the pic your asking about?

If so, it is a ring python, owned by Will Bird of www.ectotherms.net

If I am correct.. this would be the other pic you spoke of under the reptile/amphibian gallery?

Those are mudskippers.. the pic was taken at either the newport aquarium just outside of Cincinnati Ohio, or the Nagoya aquarium.. in Nagoya Japan.. I know it was at one or the other, but I cannot remember which now..

Thanks for the compliments btw.. maybe one of these days, I will get bold and post some of my professional shots..

- Tim
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photos.xtremecombatsports.com

>>Hi Rob.. I think you have me and Jeff confused.. no harm though.
>>
>>On my computer the files in the galleries will appear different than they do on yours, is this the pic your asking about?
>>
>>
>>If so, it is a ring python, owned by Will Bird of www.ectotherms.net
>>
>>If I am correct.. this would be the other pic you spoke of under the reptile/amphibian gallery?
>>
>>Those are mudskippers.. the pic was taken at either the newport aquarium just outside of Cincinnati Ohio, or the Nagoya aquarium.. in Nagoya Japan.. I know it was at one or the other, but I cannot remember which now..
>>
>>Thanks for the compliments btw.. maybe one of these days, I will get bold and post some of my professional shots..
>>
>>- Tim
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>>photos.xtremecombatsports.com

Yeah, I was talking about those pictures. I think I went to your site from the post that Jeff made. It had your previous post in his with the arrows before it. I wasn't thinking about the fact that it was a quote from the previous post.

Anyway, really nice pictures. If those are'nt pro shots, I'd like to see what the difference would be.
Rob

even though someone else has answered this question already, "cross feeding" means leaving the prey animal in the enclosure with a snake and if the snake does not eat it , then feed it to another snake, I do not mean "waving" the prey animal in front of a snake and if it doesn't eat the food source then it has to be thrown away, as long as no contact has been made, then I will by all means reuse the animal to the next available snake, but if I "leave" the prey item in with the snake(prolonged contact) then it can not be used "again" as a food source for another snake, it's "turtle food"
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Frank Roberts
R&R Herpetological Frank Roberts & John Rodriguez or John Rodriguez & Frank Roberts (same difference)

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Roberts'Realm of Reptile Research

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