Live to Frozen

[2Gs]

Hello All

We are trying to make a change over to frozen from live. We have been giving live mice to our BRB but we can not get live fuzzys or pinky's .The local pet stores only have large mice that she eats but they are to big.

She just won't eat the frozen & it's been a few weeks since her last feeding. Should we just hang in there & keep trying the frozen until she gives in to it?


Also, as she is growing we hold her more but she is striking more. We use a hook to remove her from the tank. If you try to take her out of the tank by hand she will strike but never when holding her once she is out. Is this normal behavior.

Thank you for your advice

[millertime89]

I would hang in there. You can try to superheat the head of the frozen prey by dipping it in hot water. It's worked for me in the past. The other thing you can try is getting live but then killing it yourself before feeding.

[2Gs]

She seems to be growing fast with live large mice but We feel the smaller would be better for her now at this time.
I thawed a pinky the other day in hot water & waited till it cooled down but no luck. We left it in the tank for a while after tapping her on the nose with it but nothing, no interest.

[millertime89]

You want to just dunk the head in steaming water that comes from the tap. Get a temp gun and check the temp. I heat the head to about 120F and feed right away. It gives the snake a nice hot target to aim for.

[EL Ziggy]

That's a gorgeous BRB. Best wishes with her feedings.

[pet_snake_78]

Agreed to making sure the head of the mouse is warm, works for me often. If that won't work, used stunned prey, then prekilled prey, etc. until you finally get there.

[2Gs]

Thanks for the suggestions. I will try this method. We were able to get a few frozen pinky's so hopefully she will take it warmed up.

[Bandit]

Some snakes just take a while to make the switch. Don't give up, it'll happen eventually.

[2Gs]

Will do Bandit

What do you think about her striking in the post above?

[Bandit]

Do you feed her in the tank or in a separate enclosure? And does it seem like a defensive strike when you stick your hand in there or more does she flick her tongue and look like she's ready for food?

[2Gs]

Yes, She is fed in her tank & she does strike & drew blood on my son twice & me once.
But if we pick her with the hook & hold her she is fine.
Only once we had her on the rug a last week & it is a deep shag rug so when I went to pick her up she got me on the hand. It seems if she gets comfortable in a spot she does not want to be bothered with.

[revent]

I dunno... she looks a little on the large side to be eating pinkie mice to me....