Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Ok I am back here again after being away a while... I got this baby burmese from a show back in December 04 and stupid me didn't get contact info from the guy I bought him from.. He told me the snake was eating well on Frozen/Thawed full grown mice. Well he was for sure right about the "eating well" part. The Frozen/Thawed part isn't seeming to work. I have had to throw out about 5 mice now, and 4 small rats (wanted to try them) I have been feeding him pre-killed (not frozen) from the local pet shop and he's doing fine. But I have a bag of 30 rodents in my freezer that I want to feed. I have tried letting the rodent sit out for hours, and then putting them uder heat for a few mins, and putting in the feeding box.. I have tried putting the rodent in a cup of hot water for a while, and then trying and nothing seems to work... the burmese just turns his nose up and goes away from the rodent. But if I put a freshly killed rodent in.. he's on it before it completely hits the bottom of the food box... I am wondering if anyone has useful tips for me on getting the snake to eat the frozen meals I have for him? I want to get him on frozen b/c I don't like killing the rodents myself and frozen is way cheaper where I live. Thanks for any info and taking time to read my ramblings.. ; )

Many times babies will be picky eaters and need a fresh animal or even live. Leave a warm thawed mouse in every few feeding attempts and hope the snake will take to it in time.

Thanks for reply..and info. You're the first person to tell me to try leaving thawed in while giving him fresh killed and DUH! I would have never even thought about that. My other snakes have always eaten thawed well so never had probs. hehe If he doesn't eat it though.. how long would you say I leave him in there with the thawed rodent to see if takes after a while? : )

Another option along those same lines is to chase the fresh killed with a f/t. Just as he is finishing the first and slurping down the tail, insert the head of the mouse into the mouth of the snake. The snake should grab a hold and continue swallowing it. This might help him understand the slight variations in temp and smell are still good food. hope this helps a little. Todd

on a frozen/thawed item to try to get the temps high enough to stimulate the feeding response. You would need to be pretty fast to throw it into the tank while it was still warm, though. But this person said that it had worked for him.
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phflame

PHflame,

Hi. I forgot to get your email address so that I could get some information about the exhibit that you were telling me about in the crocodilian chat with Adam Britton. If you could provide me with your email address, I would appreciate it.

Thnx,
Stan

"Another option along those same lines is to chase the fresh killed with a f/t. Just as he is finishing the first and slurping down the tail, insert the head of the mouse into the mouth of the snake."

This never even crossed my mind as i've never had a problem with getting my other snakes to eat F/T. But this worked amazingly well THANK YOU!! ; ) eal test comes next feeding time though. hehe

your snake won't eat frozen/thawed...ever. My male, who is 5.5 years old now has NEVER even thought about eating a f/t rodent, chicken, o anything for that matter. He will eat as many fresh killed rats or rabbits as I can feed him (not that I do that). He also has never once looked at a guinea pig. he will make a guinea pig his pet, rather than eat it...live, frozen or otherwise. f worse comes to worse, take your unused frozen roents to your petstore and do some tradin'! Never hurts to ask. Don't give up though, he/she may just take f/t yet. I still try every once in a while. Good luck!

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Derek Roberts
Sonoran Reptile Breeders
sonoranreptile@cox.net