wont eat frozen

[cole]

ok for a wile now my snake Ares has been refusing to eat frozen when he allways used to so ive been feeding him live for a wile but the mice are getting to the point wher im afraid that they may start fighting back what should i do?
~thanks
:eatsmiley

[jlindp]

You can try scenting the f/t pinks with the lives ones. Also, make sure the f/t pinks are really hot when you heat them and try dangling them around to mimic a live pink's movement. You can also try braining (the f/t, not the live!), which seems to release a scent that is very appealing to snakes.

[wstphal]

If he really won't eat f/t, will he eat them if you kill them the minute before you offer them? There are folks here with lots of experience who can help you get Ares to take f/t again, but in the meantime freshly dead will keep Ares safe from mouse bites. There is at least one really horrifying picture of what happens to snakes that are injured by live rodents on this forum somewhere & I really don't want that to happen to Ares.

[ZoologyGirl]

If all else fails and you must feed live just be sure to ALWAYS keep an eye on it until the mouse is swallowed.

[cole]

wel thanks alot for your concern i may need to try the braining hopefully that will work and if not i can try the freshly killed.
thanks again!

[Teddy Roosevelt]

Since you call it frozen and not f/t, I have to ask... are you thawing the mouse before trying to feed?

[Susan]

The zombie dance often helps make that freshly killed or F/T mouse look more appealing to a snake that has a preference for live. Trying an appropriately sized F/T rat pup may also help switch a snake from live to F/T. You can also try washing the F/T mouse in Ivory bar soap as sometimes, the smell of urine and feces is greater in F/T due to the whole process of euthanasia, packaging and freezing.

[cole]

yes i allways let the mouse thaw til i felt it getting about room temp and i would put it in there and sometimes dangle it around to get him interested but he just would just investigate it and then leave it alone.
and also how come its a bad idea to feed a corn in their own tank instead of moving him to anew one to feed?
thanks for the input:]

[jlindp]

Many people prefer to have their snakes feed in a separate tub/enclosure/etc. to avoid any possible ingestion of substrate (such as aspen shavings) which can lead to impactions. A lot of people have not had any issues with this, though, so I think it all comes down to personal preference.

[chad27]

Well I can say my cream has always ate live up until coming out of brumation. He ate a f/t twice then went back to live. I think for some there is no switching. Though this may not be the case for you.

[Buzzard]

You can try scenting the f/t pinks with the lives ones. Also, make sure the f/t pinks are really hot when you heat them and try dangling them around to mimic a live pink's movement. You can also try braining (the f/t, not the live!), which seems to release a scent that is very appealing to snakes.


Good call Jess, Hot as you can get it without cooking it. I have one that will only eat a f/t asf when it is as hot as the tap. Then of course I make a fool of myself dancing it in front of him....Oh, by the way love your horses name :) Jess)