Funkadelic Rat Smell

Psidewindr · 09-14-17, 01:06 AM

I have a few questions about feeding my 4-ft ish hog island male boa, Sebastian. I switched over to frozen/thawed a few weeks back (from fresh killed at the pet store) and have some concerns.

First, Sebastian seems less interested in eating now. He doesn't strike the rat anymore, but may eat it if I leave it for a while.

Today I tried feeding him after thawing the rat at room temp for several hours and then heating it in warm water in a baggie. The rat got some water on it and it smelled really funky. Not like a rot or decomposing smell, just like a wet rodent gross smell. It's the first time it has smelled like this and he has eaten two of the frozen rats prior. S acted curious about it but ended up just laying his head on the rat's body and wasn't going for a meal. Soooo, I tossed the rat.

Has anyone had similar experiences with weird f/t rat smells? Is it likely he just wasn't hungry? I'm hopeful we won't keep having a repeat of this as I bought $50 worth of medium to large rats trying to save some money. But I've already thrown two out because I didn't want to refreeze after thawing.

Any thoughts or tips on this are appreciated!

Herpin' Man · 09-14-17, 08:12 AM

Do you tease feed (i.e., jiggle the rodent so that it appears to be alive)?
If not, you should try it. If a snake is tease fed each time, most snakes will respond immediately, unless they are simply off feed for some reason.
Hog Island boas are usually strong feeders. If you are keeping it warm enough, and not feeding it too often, it should eat.
If it is simply being particular, let it get good and hungry before you try again.

Scubadiver59 · 09-14-17, 08:30 AM

You haven't met my yearling...

Quote:

Originally Posted by Herpin' Man

Do you tease feed (i.e., jiggle the rodent so that it appears to be alive)?
If not, you should try it. If a snake is tease fed each time, most snakes will respond immediately, unless they are simply off feed for some reason.
Hog Island boas are usually strong feeders. If you are keeping it warm enough, and not feeding it too often, it should eat.
If it is simply being particular, let it get good and hungry before you try again.

**EL Ziggy** · 09-14-17, 09:16 AM

Where did you order your f/t feeders from? I ordered from one supplier and the feeders were soiled. A few of my snakes wouldn't eat them but the others did. I don't order from that supplier anymore. You can try rinsing the rats in clean water to see if that reduces the smell. I have refrozen refused feeders before when I only had 1 or 2 snakes. If they refuse them twice then I would pitch the feeder. I also agree that if your snake refuses food don't offer again for at least 10-14 days.

Scubadiver59 · 09-14-17, 10:29 AM

Personally, I had one bad rat fuzzy that was not normal, it bloated up by morning like it had been baking in the heat all day, and none of my other feeders have done that, before or after.

It might have just been a bad "one" since I haven't seen it again, but even with quality control there's no telling what's going on internally with the prey that will manifest itself when you thaw it out at it did with the fuzzy mentioned above.

Psidewindr · 09-14-17, 06:17 PM

Thank you for the replies and suggestions!

I bought the rats (about 25 medium and 10 large) from rodentpro. Since then I have read a few people suggesting other suppliers. There is a definite learning curve to caring for these amazing creatures (snakes, not rats, haha).

I tried the dangling trick but my snake won't strike still. I also tried melting a little chicken fat and rubbing some on the rat fur prior to feeding. That worked, but I just happened to be cooking chicken that night.

I'm going to wait a week and try again. Hopefully hunger will outweigh being picky. Any other thoughts are welcome!