Feed wow

[zoe]

lol dont you hate when that happens?

[dobermanmick]

Yes i was having some peppermint chocolate but if you want you can save me some of that sounds yum

[maximus]

aycaramba,,, she took it!
thought shed get stuck on the hind legs but she got it all in..
phewww...

hmm, im hungry

[ponybug]

hey , i have just started feeding my snakes frozen mice and rats, i have been just letting them defrost with the help of a fan, i presume from your rat popping, that you use a microwave, how long do you do it for and what temp, and is it better then with the fan

cheers,
steve......

[sxereturn]

Maximus...she'll swallow an adult mouse in 5 minutes.

I start all my hatchling carpets (including Diamonds and Jungles) on hopper mice.

[Hix]

I let mine defrost on the kitchen wiondow sill over about 12 hours, then warm them in the microwave for about 3 seconds on high.

Hix

[ponybug]

thanks for that Hix, i usually feed live or freshly killed as we breed our own rats and mice, but as the demand outgrew our supply's i've had to use frozen, most liked them, but my stimmy girl just won't go for frozen,

cheers,
steve.....

[NoOne]

Hot water is the best way to defrost rodents and unless they are off they won't pop.
My carpets eat adult mice by the time they are 9 months old. If a prey item is to big for the snake to swallow it won't get it down and will spit it out. As long as you keep them warm with a nice hot spot they be fine, big feeds can't hurt snakes, they are designed to eat large meals.

[ponybug]

thanks NoOne, i have 11 snakes from hatchling to about 15 months old, 6 coastal carpets and 2 stimmy's and 3 maccies, i've just started feeding the 15 month old carpet 2 x 4 week old rats, he took both and was looking for another, he was on 4 half grown mice and as mice were short all i had was rats, i was a bit surprised he took them as he always refused them before. i've even started feeding my maccies on 2 week old rat pups,

cheers,
steve.........

[Greebo]

With younger snakes regularly offer them something larger. If they can get it down then it is time to move them up to the next size.
A lot of people under estimate what a snake can eat when they are starting out.

[maximus]

i just place them in a plastic bag and then dip the bag in hot water until its defrosted...i dont like putting them straight into the water they tend to pop more often.

adult mice at 9 months oldd!

[Fuscus]

A chance to show my carpet and cat photo again.
http://150.101.58.70/thumbnails.php?..._Python&num=05
Actually I think it was a bandicoot.

[Hix]

I recall some discussion a long time ago with an expert who said you should only use cold water to defrost because, although it will defrost them quicker, hot water will actually "cook" the meat on the outside.

Hix

[Greebo]

I use hot but not boiling hot water to defrost rats. I find if the water is too hot then the smaller rats will pop. The temperature of the water is not hot enough to cook the outer layer of the rat. Even if it did cook the outside meat, I can't see how this would be detrimental to a snake as the acid in their stomachs is very powerful.

[zoe]

yeah i found i was getting a few pop when i put them straight from frozen into really hot water - not boiling but as hot as it gets under the tap. i usually do the first one or 2 with warm water and then hotter the last few times.