what do you do with a f/t if the snake doesnt take it?

[nick654377]

What do you guys do with your frozen thawed if your snake does not take it? do you throw them away or refreeze it once? i heard people say you can refreeze but i usally just pitch them.

[StudentoReptile]

I toss them.

[nick654377]

thanks. ive tossed them before but she has been eating and now she is in shed and figured i would try to feed and she wants nothing to do with it. this one does smell alot like urine and is plenty warm enough.

[StudentoReptile]

Maybe if they're not thawed out all the way, and I realized a snake was in shed, or I am thawing out one too many, etc....I'll put it back in the freezer. But never once its been completely thawed.

[KORBIN5895]

I always refreeze them once. I have never had an issue with it.

[Lankyrob]

Treat thrm like you would your own food, would you refreeze a chicken once thawed and then thaw it again to eat? I eouldnt :)

[nick654377]

its tossed like i did with all the rest of them in the past. i was just curious to what you guys do.

[Aaron_S]

I offer to someone else. If not then tossed.

I also thaw usually a couple less than I need. Someone usually isn't interested so it gets given to someone else. Less waste.

[TeaNinja]

Treat thrm like you would your own food, would you refreeze a chicken once thawed and then thaw it again to eat? I eouldnt :)

lol i was like retyping this before i saw your post. i 2nd this.

[KORBIN5895]

Treat thrm like you would your own food, would you refreeze a chicken once thawed and then thaw it again to eat? I eouldnt :)

That's a nice thought and all but snakes can eat some pretty harsh stuff without any adverse effects. Their digestive system is way stronger than ours.

[nick654377]

Kinda hard to pass onto the next snake when you only have one..... For now��

[TeaNinja]

That's a nice thought and all but snakes can eat some pretty harsh stuff without any adverse effects. Their digestive system is way stronger than ours.

snakes that are kept in a home with controlled environments are not subjected to the harshness of the wild and do not build the immunities and things that wild snakes would. would be terrible to have some bacteria pop up from letting it thaw and then refreezing and having it kill your snakewhereas it might not fade a wild snake. wild snakes eat roadkill and all kinds of nasty things but indoor snakes do not. that's my opinion. wild snakes are also full of parasites and things from the disgusting meals they eat.

i've had snakes not want to eat before and if none of the snakes eat it, i just toss it.

[KORBIN5895]

snakes that are kept in a home with controlled environments are not subjected to the harshness of the wild and do not build the immunities and things that wild snakes would. would be terrible to have some bacteria pop up from letting it thaw and then refreezing and having it kill your snakewhereas it might not fade a wild snake. wild snakes eat roadkill and all kinds of nasty things but indoor snakes do not. that's my opinion. wild snakes are also full of parasites and things from the disgusting meals they eat.

i've had snakes not want to eat before and if none of the snakes eat it, i just toss it.

So at what point do they start building these immunities?

I think it has more to do with the fact that they have amazingly potent stomach acids. I mean look at how thick a Guinea pig skull is and how quick they digest it.

[infernalis]

I always refreeze them once. I have never had an issue with it.

same here.

People, we all eat carrion.

Did you know that all beef is "aged" for a period of time before it's cut up?

With the prices where they are at now, we can't afford to be paranoid about bacteria that has no effect on reptiles.

http://www.wildherps.com/travels/Golfito2001/yummy_road_kill.jpg

[TeaNinja]

So at what point do they start building these immunities?

I think it has more to do with the fact that they have amazingly potent stomach acids. I mean look at how thick a Guinea pig skull is and how quick they digest it.

i thought they didn't digest that stuff. isn't that what urates are? but i still say to each their own lol. just an opinion.

also wayne, i would have to think humans have spent PLENTY of time building immunities for the things we ingest. i heard a story of people i knew who used to be super germ paranoid and cover their silverware with plastic and all this excessive stuff and apparently they got sick a lot lol.

[KORBIN5895]

snakes that are kept in a home with controlled environments are not subjected to the harshness of the wild and do not build the immunities and things that wild snakes would. would be terrible to have some bacteria pop up from letting it thaw and then refreezing and having it kill your snakewhereas it might not fade a wild snake. wild snakes eat roadkill and all kinds of nasty things but indoor snakes do not. that's my opinion. wild snakes are also full of parasites and things from the disgusting meals they eat.

i've had snakes not want to eat before and if none of the snakes eat it, i just toss it.

i thought they didn't digest that stuff. isn't that what urates are? but i still say to each their own lol. just an opinion.

Have you ever seen them poop out a rat skull?

[nick654377]

i thought they didn't digest that stuff. isn't that what urates are? but i still say to each their own lol. just an opinion.



are you serious about the urates? i hope your not even i know that is there pi**.

[TeaNinja]

Have you ever seen them poop out a rat skull?

of course the acid breaks it down, but is it "digested"? no.. everything that can't be digested comes out as a urate. (i think?)

are you serious about the urates? i hope your not even i know that is there pi**.

of course....but is pee white....no. it contains all the extra calcium and stuff from bones that couldn't be digested.

[nick654377]

no urates are their pee. snakes absorb their pee in their kidneys again and drys it out and that is what is left of their pee is urates. from my understand me correct me if im wrong.

[infernalis]

That's a nice thought and all but snakes can eat some pretty harsh stuff without any adverse effects. Their digestive system is way stronger than ours.

Precisely my friend... See the biggest issue is incorrect husbandry. Reptiles in general are pretty damn rugged animals. I have seen more than one snake in the wild with lawn mower injuries, bird attack injuries, big chunks missing and once I even found and picked up a snake that was missing half it's face (entirely healed over, looked like a very old injury.)

These animals are damn near bulletproof in nature, and if their not while in captivity, then husbandry is off.


snakes that are kept in a home with controlled environments are not subjected to the harshness of the wild and do not build the immunities and things that wild snakes would. would be terrible to have some bacteria pop up from letting it thaw and then refreezing and having it kill your snakewhereas it might not fade a wild snake. wild snakes eat roadkill and all kinds of nasty things but indoor snakes do not. that's my opinion. wild snakes are also full of parasites and things from the disgusting meals they eat.

i've had snakes not want to eat before and if none of the snakes eat it, i just toss it.

See above statement. If that controlled environment is not what the animal's physiology has evolved to live in, then immunities will be weakened.

i thought they didn't digest that stuff. isn't that what urates are? but i still say to each their own lol. just an opinion.

also wayne, i would have to think humans have spent PLENTY of time building immunities for the things we ingest. i heard a story of people i knew who used to be super germ paranoid and cover their silverware with plastic and all this excessive stuff and apparently they got sick a lot lol.


Whatever amount of time "we" have had to "build immunities", reptiles have us beat by millions of years. :cool:

************************************************** ***

I wonder frequently what a BP would do if it was in a cage identical to what my monitors live in, after all they are from the same part of Africa, I bet a BP would be a whole different snake in a big, hot, bioactive, humid enclosure with an Underground hide chamber with a burrow entrance.

[Aaron_S]

Wayne and the Idiot are correct.

Personally, I just toss them as that's just my choice.


Wayne, after mentioning all the stuff you've seen some of these guys do it makes you wonder how soo many people baby their animals when they see them do almost anything but the "norm".

If we're talking reptiles on a whole, crocodillians lose LIMBS and are eating within minutes/hours later. They just go "meh, I walk funny now". These bodies are built to last.

[infernalis]

Wayne, after mentioning all the stuff you've seen some of these guys do it makes you wonder how soo many people baby their animals when they see them do almost anything but the "norm". .

Speaking of, there are thousands of BP out there being "babied" under screen tops on aspen shavings and NO hygrometer.

Lost count of the "stuck shed" threads.

Then they always die from "parasites" or "infections" uh huh....

[Aaron_S]

Speaking of, there are thousands of BP out there being "babied" under screen tops on aspen shavings and NO hygrometer.

Lost count of the "stuck shed" threads.

Yeah, lots of animals. "My animal is so cute when he cuddles me." LAME!

[KORBIN5895]

Get used to it Aaron.

[Little Wise Owl]

There is already a ridiculous amount of bacteria in a raw, dead feeder animal... A little more isn't going to do much to a healthy animal that is built to eat sometimes rotted, dead animals. If a snake gets ill from a refrozen feeder, it's being kept wrong or it is already ill.

If a snake doesn't show interest in a food item, I either leave it over night (it's usually gone in the morning). Sometimes if I'm 90% certain it will not be eaten, I feed it to the cats/dogs/ferrets/tegu. If no one wants it, I'd refreeze it immediately.

They just go "meh, I walk funny now".

Rofl

[KORBIN5895]

So I had a rat order shipped on Monday the 26 th. It was a two box order and one of the boxes got lost. The company sent me a replacement box when the replacement box showed up on Thursday the 6th the lost box also showed up. Those rats had Been thawed and refrozen at least once because the weather was about 8°c. I live by the philosophy waste not want not. So two days ago I fed five of my boas out of those rodents and not a one hesitated or has had an issue.

[infernalis]

I have accidentally fell asleep while thawing rodents for a night feeding, woke up in the morning and fed the mice off and that was almost a year ago.

Every animal that ate from that batch is still here and doing fine.

What I find odd, we have (and have had) hundreds upon hundreds of reptiles pass through this house, I keep nearly 50 reptiles and in almost a decade only two reptiles have ever had to see a vet.(Chomper & 1 snake with cysts), I have never had a full on "mite outbreak", emergency de-worming, MBD, nor any of these other maladies that I read about almost daily, why is that??

[Lankyrob]

Cos you dont frequent reptile shows or shops and provide excellent husbandry and care? :)

[lady_bug87]

I have accidentally fell asleep while thawing rodents for a night feeding, woke up in the morning and fed the mice off and that was almost a year ago.

Every animal that ate from that batch is still here and doing fine.

What I find odd, we have (and have had) hundreds upon hundreds of reptiles pass through this house, I keep nearly 50 reptiles and in almost a decade only two reptiles have ever had to see a vet.(Chomper & 1 snake with cysts), I have never had a full on "mite outbreak", emergency de-worming, MBD, nor any of these other maladies that I read about almost daily, why is that??

You're a smarty pants?

[infernalis]

You're a smarty pants?

No, not really. I'm simply trying to point out that this whole "sterilize this, wash that" mentality is unnecessary and rather paranoid if you ask me.

My first ever captive snake was one my daughter found out in the meadow, we had no clue, were not on any forums to ask for help, we had a spare aquarium, so I dug up some sod and put dirt with live grass in the bottom of the 35 gallon and put in a water dish, a couple rocks from the creek, a stick from the yard...

I fed her wild caught food from outside my house, and even gave her a "friend" of the same species.

Xena lived roughly one year longer than her average life expectancy, and without a sterile environment.

[lady_bug87]

I was being funny? Lol

Ok well for what it's worth I agree with you. We can't sterilize the world. Its ultimately unhealthy. We are weakening our own natural defenses when we over sterilize.

The same goes with animals. I have put feeders in my fridge over night or for a couple days after thawing if no one else would eat them. I have fed these off with no issue.

Just like when kids are always being plastered with hand sanitizer and everything else they seem I be the ones that get sick easier... Let them play in the dirt. It won't hurt them...

[infernalis]

I was being funny? Lol

Ok well for what it's worth I agree with you. We can't sterilize the world.


Sorry, it's early yet, I promise my sense of humor will improve after more coffee.:Wow:

[nick654377]

dam this got heated

[KORBIN5895]

dam this got heated

If you think this is heated you better invest in riot gear before you go play on the swings.;)

Yeah I had some mice I thawed out last Saturday and I got too busy so I put them in the fridge. I fed them to my young stock on Wednesday. Again no problems.

It just seems foolish to worry about this. People have told me that snakes die from it but no one can pony up proof. I really get tired of people preaching things like its the Gospel when they have no proof.

[Lankyrob]

I have no doubt that snakes will be fine eating slightly older prey the majority of the time, would i do it with my snakes - nope. For the cost of a prey item i would rather bin it than take any risk no matter how small that risk may be :)

[beardeds4life]

Speaking of, there are thousands of BP out there being "babied" under screen tops on aspen shavings and NO hygrometer.

Lost count of the "stuck shed" threads.

Then they always die from "parasites" or "infections" uh huh....

I see them like that all the time to. The past month (at least that's when I first saw it) their has been a ball python at a local petco that I am utterly amazed it is still alive. It has stuck shed that is at least a couple sheds thick. It had an absolutely horrible setup and is in horrible condition. I saw it first about a month ago then again yesterday. It was very hard for me to walk away.

[red ink]

$3 dollar rat wasted Vs an ill (or worse) snake...

I know where my gamble will go...

You could get a lace monitor as a plan B... you know.... if you hate wasting prey items.

[millertime89]

$3 dollar rat wasted Vs an ill (or worse) snake...

I know where my gamble will go...

You could get a lace monitor as a plan B... you know.... if you hate wasting prey items.

No no, YOU could get a lace monitor, they're pretty much unavailable to us in the states. A water, croc, or nile monitor would be my choice.

[UwabamiReptiles]

I refreeze once, never had an issue.

[infernalis]

$3 dollar rat wasted Vs an ill (or worse) snake...

I know where my gamble will go...

You could get a lace monitor as a plan B... you know.... if you hate wasting prey items.


ANY medium to large monitor would do nicely.

I just toss any leftover prey to my Boscs, they never pass up food.

[Wyldrose]

Thanks to my Sav I don't toss any rodents now. Found a dead hopper in my mouse colony, so Raptor had a snack. He's going to be my euth machine if I hatch out any non-eater/kinked/deformed etc corns.

Look at kids who live in sterile places too, they are the ones who get sick all the time. I allow my kids to get good and muddy, not only is it fun it's good for the immune system!

I don't bake wood, branches, substrait, rocks, etc from outside. If they are dirty or have something on them I'll scrub them with hot water.

[Sorraia]

If the snakes don't take it, I feed it to my cats. Currently I am only feeding pinkies and rat fuzzies, and my cats will eat both. Makes me feel better because I know it doesn't go to waste.