What to do with thawed rats?

[RyuujiHasegawa]

Hey guys,
I was just wondering what do I do, if my snakes won't eat thawed rats. I have two snakes. I've had them for 3 months now, they were eating just fine, but if they don't eat, can I freeze these rats again, or throw them away?

Sorry for bad english :)

[Scubadiver59]

I wouldn't suggest it once you completely thaw them.

Wait a longer time between feedings so the snakes get a bit more hungry, and then try again.

The more experienced individuals might suggest some other feeding approaches, but I still wouldn't refreeze the rats after they've been out at room temperature and started going bad.

Hey guys,
I was just wondering what do I do, if my snakes won't eat thawed rats. I have two snakes. I've had them for 3 months now, they were eating just fine, but if they don't eat, can I freeze these rats again, or throw them away?

Sorry for bad english :)

[RyuujiHasegawa]

Thank you for quick response.

[frankadank]

i wouldn't refreeze them. would you refreeze a steak you decided not to eat after thawing? i wouldn't. and the snake will know you're offering one she already scented, maybe she doesn't want to eat it for a reason. sadly you lose money on that one and toss it. luckily i live in the park so i throw the rat in the woods if she doesn't take it. something will get a meal out of it. but me personally just throw it away or try with another snake.

[akane]

Throw them out. Luckily I don't have much eating rats but I've thrown out a dozen hopper mice the past 2 months and a few other things. I am probably disposing of a small uneaten guinea pig tomorrow. Not sure if koijin is eating that gerbil but he looked more interested.

[Tsubaki]

If they've been freshly frozen and haven't been defrosted in hot water or anything I just refreeze them once, it's no big issue to be honest unless you would do it every time (the nutritional value goes down a little bit that I know of).. Sorry to inform you guys but a lot of feeder rats/mice from bigger companies have been frozen more than once already... You wouldn't do that with your own steak because structure is a part of our palette, and the structure weakens/softens every time it freezes. That's why if you do it more than once you have a chance they will burst while defrosting.. But yea, the snake doesn't really give a 'rats ***' :D So refreezing a freshly frozen defrosted rat/rabbit every now and then, isn't a big problem. I would be more careful if it's been out too long or if you defrosted it in warm water, as that would change the cell structure.

I love this video of a gorgeous burmese python eating a less than fresh looking bird off the road.

UpHARz_8d7s

[Andy_G]

Although what Tsubaki is 100% correct of course, I have a differing opinion. I would either feed it to something else if the option was available, or pitch it. The fact that rodents from large companies have already been thawed and refrozen would be something to support pitching it instead of refreezing to me. They certainly do eat some nasty stuff in the wild and they'll eat nasty stuff in captivity too, but that doesn't mean that harmful bacterias that can lead to health conditions if continually expopsed (salmonella group for example) such as septicemia or other issues wouldn't be present on those nasties. If something has been thawed out in let's say a fridge and hasn't been exposed to temperatures where those bacterias flourish, then my personal opinion would be different. Saying all that, as I said, although my opinion differs from Tsu's, she's NOT wrong. Now you have both sides of the coin to consider is all. ;)

[EL Ziggy]

I've refrozen prey items that were refused and used them later with no ill effects. Like Tsubaki said I would only do it once. Another solution is to just get more snakes to eat the leftovers. No meals go to waste at my place. ;)

[Andy_G]

Another solution is to just get more snakes to eat the leftovers. No meals go to waste at my place. ;)

I personally endorse this message. :D

[akane]

Yes the lower quality commercial rodents in particular get partial to fully thawed (but they should not have gotten warmed) periodically and commercial rodents not from quality companies that are better at keeping them solidly frozen smell disgusting and are in horrible condition in those packages compared to fresher, not thawed. They are horrid. Half my snakes won't eat them or insist on more frequent meals if eating them versus local. If I just stuck it in the fridge and it is a fresher one of good quality (frozen myself or locally with unlikely full thaw at any point) then I might but after I've heated them heck no. At best I'd put it in the fridge, not freezer, for one night if I'm ready to go to bed just to keep it fresh enough I can get it to another snake instead of leaving it all night to start to rot and definitely waste in the warm cage. They are already going off a bit by the time I thaw, warm, and have left it in a warm cage until I give up on a snake eating them to offer them to other snakes. I rarely warm them back up fully again if moving one snake cage to another but I don't have heat sensitive pythons so there's no point adding to the degredation of the rodent. The insides are also far more likely to be in bad condition so the belly bursts when you freeze, thaw, and warm it again and the tails soften to the point they might even start to break off at least toward the end. Burst rodent insides smells putrid from those pet store ones that have probably partially to fully thawed a few times or been warmed twice by me with several hours rest in the fridge when my once frozen, once thawed raw dog food has no smell when they rip it open.

[dannybgoode]

what snake(s).is it and how often are you feeding?

[RyuujiHasegawa]

what snake(s).is it and how often are you feeding?

Two carpet pythons. I feed them every 3-4 weeks.

[dannybgoode]

3-4 weeks between feeds seems quite a long time for a carpet. I'd be surprised if they refused on that feeding schedule!

How old are they?

[RyuujiHasegawa]

Not sure about the age. Forgot to ask when buyin them. So, you think, that I should feed them more often and smaller rats?

[dannybgoode]

Depends on age and size. Carpets can handle big meals, much bigger than say a boa.

Until mine escaped it was on a weaner rat every 10 days or so and was around 1yo. Since he escaped he's been a little fussy but then there has been the stress of a house move as well so I've bumped him down to a rat fluff every 7 or 8 days.

When he eventually moves to small adult rats and beyond he'll be fed every 2-3 weeks and occasionally pushed out to 4 for variety.

[RyuujiHasegawa]

They should be around 3 years old, one of them is at least 210cm and second one is probably 170-180cm. I'm feeding them by the schedule of the breeder I got them from.

[EL Ziggy]

I feed my carpets every 10-14 days. A little less in the winter months.