Do you have to defrost the frozen rodent before feeding to the snakes?
How do you do it? Let it sit in the room temperature or if you can use microwave oven?
Any tricks to make the snakes to eat the dead "prey"?
You can just thaw them slowly overnight in the fridge if you want. I put them in zip lock bags, two actually to keep them from getting wet and washing off scent or away anything that should be in there, and put them in hot tap water until they are thawed all the way through and around 100 - 110 degrees. No microwaves or boiling water. I'm sure if you controlled the power and time just right you could use a microwave, but you don't want to cook the rat or anything.
I think I discussed this here somewhere, but I call it the "zombie rat dance". Get it up to body temperature, and hold it in tongs or forceps and wiggle and jerk it around a bit. After they are used to it, most snakes don't require any enticing. Some you don't even have to really warm it up much for, they are fine at room temperature (it should definitely be thawed always.)
A picture is worth a 1000 words, and a video is even better. Lets see some of your "zombie rat dance" moves. I bet it's worth the time to watch. It might be popular on Youtube too if you make a video of it.
Don't you worry the snake might miss the rat and bite your hand instead when you make the rat dance?
(05-10-2012, 04:18 PM)Admin Wrote: A picture is worth a 1000 words, and a video is even better. Lets see some of your "zombie rat dance" moves. I bet it's worth the time to watch. It might be popular on Youtube too if you make a video of it.
Don't you worry the snake might miss the rat and bite your hand instead when you make the rat dance?
A pair of feeding tongs are worth 1000 fingers, lol. I've got a few baby carpets that do bite the **censored** out of me from time to time. My fingers are nowhere near the rodent though. I'll try to make a video the next time I have to do the zombie rat dance. All of mine are used to the f/t and know the ritual so I really don't have to do much to entice them. The only problem I have is that they are normally expecting it, and if I open the container up and don't hang the rodent in there quickly enough they start coming out to get it.
I bet it's worth the time to watch. It might be popular on Youtube too if you make a video of it. 