Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I was thinking about using a 5cc hypodermic needle to fill my thawed feeders with water and maybe even a water soluble vitamin. Do people do this? I think it would be a good way to introduce hydration into the snakes. Is this a bad idea for any reason. Thanks for any replies.

I personally do not do this nor would I be interested in doing so, but one concern I would have is that if you inject too much it could bust when the snake strikes it or if it does not eat and you refreze it due to the fact water expands when frozen. If you want to make sure you snake is hydrated I would just make sure they have water and if you are looking for vitamins you may want to get something to sprinkle on the rodent.

Matt

Why bother? They'll drink if they are thirsty and if your frozen feeders are good quality, the snake will get all it needs from them as far as vitamins are concerned.
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It will only cause regurgitation. You can gutload meds and supplements inside feeders, but never use liquids.
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I would like to start by saying that this was only a thought and not a practice of mine. All my snakes are well hydrated and have fresh water available at all times. I never refreeze rodents, I just don't think it's a good idea. I don't thaw and refreeze meat that I am going to eat so I don't do it for my snakes. I do currently use a powder vitamin and have no issues. I know I posted this in the ball forum but I guess my focus was on my arboreal stuff. I spray them all the time and it seems like you can never spray enough for them to get a good drink. Again I have no issues at this time it was just a what if type thought.

i read about a breeder doing this with pitts - bulls, pines, ect... he claimed to have had success with it especially with gravid females. if you are seriously interested, it was about 3 yrs ago on the pitts forum. you could google it or post on there. i'ld bet he is still on that forum.

i also saw a video about feeding rates by a big bin breeder. he also tested vitamins with reported positive effects.

if it's something that interest you, than i say go for it. make it a controlled environment and document the results. than you can share them later.

jonathan

p.s. just as a disclaimer, i have never tried it myself and don't feel the urge to. i prefer plain old fat healthy rats/mice