Reptile & Amphibian Forums

my burm today ate a large prekilled rat this is the first prekilled anything he has atten and i want to go to frozen should i try fedding a frozen/thawed next sat. or should i go with prekilled one more time and when i go with frozen/thawed is there any thing that i should do special..

and should i spray the thawed rat with calcium spray?

I wouldn't spray the rat with anything- it isn't needed and might turn the snake away from an otherwise acceptable meal. When switching, the snake will determine if she or he needs time to adjust or not. Some snakes need to go step by step when being switched to different prey or to a different method- live to thawed for instance. It is only when they show resistance that taking it step by step is important.
-----
Marcia Pimentel
Tango River Reptiles
GiantFeeders

can someone please answer the whole question

That is what is good about these forums- if you don't like one response you can always pick another.
-----
Marcia Pimentel
Tango River Reptiles
GiantFeeders

I think she did.

Nevertheless, 90% of the time a python will take f/t without any problem. I say go for it.

>>my burm today ate a large prekilled rat this is the first prekilled anything he has atten and i want to go to frozen should i try fedding a frozen/thawed next sat. or should i go with prekilled one more time and when i go with frozen/thawed is there any thing that i should do special..
>>
>>and should i spray the thawed rat with calcium spray?

Whether to go to frozen is pretty much a judgement call you'll have to make. If he went after the pre-killed rat without hesitation, then it's pobably worth trying thawed next. If he had to think about it, then who knows.

I thaw my rats by putting them in a ziplock and putting that in a bucket or preferably a small cooler of hot tap water (not so hot that you can't put your hand in it for a few seconds). When you can take the rat out and hold it for 10 seconds or so and it still feels warm (not hot) it's ready. If water gets into the bag, dry the rat before feeding. Many snakes don't mind, but don't change any more than necessary right now. Other than that, do what ver you did to feed him the pre killed.

Don't spray/dip/smear the rat with anything. If you have reason to believe that your burm has some sort of deficiency, put a little reptile vitamin in the rat's mouth (or better yet, the other end) where it won't change the taste. You probably don't need to do this, but if you do, wait until he's eaten a few thawed rats first. Again, don't make any more changes than necessary at one time. That way if he doesn't eat you have fewer possibilities as to what caused the problem.

Hope this helps.
-----
Larry D. Fishel
Side effects may include paralysis
and death but are generally mild.