Hey! I'm getting a 2 to 3 year old corn snake who has only been fed live rats. Has anyone been able to get a corn snake that's only eaten live food to take frozen? If so, were you successful and how did you do it? I really do not want to have to feed him live for his, and the poor rats, sake. Many thanks in advance for your help!
Danni
Hey! I'm getting a 2 to 3 year old corn snake who has only been fed live rats. Has anyone been able to get a corn snake that's only eaten live food to take frozen? If so, were you successful and how did you do it? I really do not want to have to feed him live for his, and the poor rats, sake. Many thanks in advance for your help!
Danni
Hi Danni! How ya been?
I think Giga's suggestion is the easiest, not to mention the BEST way to ensure a snake will eat frozen rodents. However, you sound as if you've already decided on an adult snake who eats only live rodents. While it's not impossible to switch, it CAN be a challenge! Some folks act as if it's like trying to book a reggae band at a ku klux klan rally! And that's just not true!
First, I would place the snake in question into a separate feeding tub, with enough room for it to eat comfortably. It's not critical for success, but for other reasons, including a positive experience on the part of the snake which includes NOT eating anything else by accident, such as substrate or debris of any kind. Secondly, and this is REALLY important, is to try to make the recently-thawed rodent appear as closely as you can get it, to a live one! Therefore, when thawing it out, you might want to place the rodent in a freezer-fresh ziplock which is also hopefully airtight and sealable. Place that in a container or small bucket of piping hot tap water (as hot as it will get by the tap as long as it's not boiling!) and submerge the bag with the help of a heavy utensil or something which will ensure it stays submerged for a few minutes (I use a pair of tongs that I will use later on to pick the rodent up with). Make sure there is as little air as possible in the bag with the rodent as this will assist in keeping it submerged.
After the rodent is thoroughly thawed - you may want to repeat submerging the rodent more than once, if necessary - open the bag and take hold of its rear legs with the tongs and dangle it above your snake. The scent from the rodent plus the warmth of its fur from keeping it submerged in hot tap water should provoke a strong feeding response from your snake. Don't shake it TOO much, but just gently, as if it were actually alive and if possible, allow it to lightly brush by the hopefully flicking tongue of your snake who should now strike at it. If it does strike, try not to let go until the snake grasps it in its jaws, though as long as it goes for it, it shouldn't really matter if you drop it in the tub with the snake. One of my adult snakes doesn't actually strike anymore and will wait for me to place the rodent in the tub with him where he will appear to nudge it as if trying to wake it up! You will get to know after feeding your snake a few times whether or not it's going to strike or not. My other adult corns will strike and constrict a rodent and actually SQUEEZE it as if it is still alive for a few minutes! It's situations like THESE that make me thankful for feeding them separately in a tub and not in their enclosures as it would create a mess I just wouldn't WANT to have to clean!
In any case, if your snake acts like it isn't interested, just drop the rodent in the tub with him or her, seal the cover on tightly and walk away for about a half hour and come back and check on it. Some snakes won't eat a thawed rodent right away. At least you don't have to worry about the rodent harming your snake!
You may be surprised at how easily corns can be converted from live to f/t'd rodents.
Another suggestion: If the above-written suggestion fails. you can try feeding a small frozen thawed rat as opposed to a mouse. My adult corns LOVE rats! Don't know exactly why. I know they are typically 55-70 grams each, so you have to have a snake that's at LEAST 300 grams or more, though the rule-of-thumb that says the rodent should be 1-1.5 the widest part of your snake and no wider is probably the best rule to go by in these cases. I have read that some folks say they have a hard time switching BACK to mice after feeding rats, but I have never had a problem with my snakes. Just sayin'.
Either way, hope this helps and please keep us updated!!
Good luck!!
