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Feeder question: What if the mouse is too hot?

albertagirl

albertagirl

Sharan
Hi, I have a question that I can't believe I'm only asking now. But here it is. How hot is too hot for a mouse to be fed? And if it is too hot, what are the consequences?

I defrost my feeder mice in hot water, and normally I get distracted, and there's several mice defrosting, and by the time I get around to feeding they are very warm, but not hot. Today I was only feeding one snake, and fed it to him as soon as it was defrosted. When I pulled it out of the water, it was hot enough to feel a little burn on my fingers. I held it until it stopped burning (through damp paper towel), but fed it pretty quickly after that. It was still kinda hot, but I gave it to him without thinking... and then sat there and thought about it while he was eating it, and now I'm worried. How hot is too hot, and if it's too hot, what are the consequences?

I am feeling worried, and not so smart. Please tell me I didn't just hurt my snake. :(

Edit: forgive me for not searching for this first. Searching for "too hot" was too generic and got kicked by the search. Searching for "mouse temperature" brought up every reference to temperature which was a LOT. I didn't know what else to search for.
 
Your post got me thinking. I just did a lot of searching and web reading and have no answers, though I now know what a live mouse's normal body temp is. (37C)

The first time I fed Dolly, I had the opposite and was afraid that the pinky was too cold. The fear hit right after he had swallowed it. I sweated that until the mouse was pooped out and all other signs pointed to his being fine.

I don't have words of wisdom, just comfort. Hugs. I hope everything is all right. Odds are it is.
 
Thank you so much for searching for that information for me. I had no luck with it either.

I really want to check on him, but don't want to bother him because on top of it being hot, it was also really big. You know the whole "bumping up a size" worry. Hopefully he's fine, these snakes seem to be very forgiving, but as we've seen in various threads here they certainly are not indestructible. I feel terrible when I read about other people's misfortunes, and I would be heartbroken if I hurt him. Normally I leave them alone for a day after feeding, but I will check on him today.
 
I hear you. Slowly lifting a hide to do a wellness check has not seemed to cause any problems IME. Sometimes mine barely lifts his head and he certainly doesn't move off his chosen spot.

Especially when in hiding when in blue, my snake could be dead for days and I'd not know it if I didn't sneak a peek.
 
I usually wait until the mouse is slightly warm to the touch before feeding since I warm it in hot water.
 
If it was too hot, the snake would not have eaten it. I have unintentionally overheated a mouse before, and the snake struck at it but immediately recoiled because it was too hot. In that instance, I just let it sit out for a minute or so so it could cool down a bit and then the snake ate it with no problem.
 
hypnoctopus said:
If it was too hot, the snake would not have eaten it. I have unintentionally overheated a mouse before, and the snake struck at it but immediately recoiled because it was too hot. In that instance, I just let it sit out for a minute or so so it could cool down a bit and then the snake ate it with no problem.
Click to expand...

Well that's a relief! Thank you for your answer Olivia. I do purposely try to make the mouse hotter than my hand, just to make it more tempting to strike at than me. I had a mouse that was a little too cold once, and my snake literally went around the mouse to strike at my hand. I got long tweezers after that. LOL

I did just check on him. I'm quite amazed actually. Last night the bump was so big you could see the feet and everything right through him, and today you can hardly tell he even ate. They digest so fast! I'm feeling better now, but I will definitely be more mindful in the future not to feed when I'm distracted.
 
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