How long is a thawed rat good for?

[Striker]

Last night I thawed out a rat for my olive. I had a couple of goes at feeding her last night. Each time she struck, but then later I'd check and she hadn't eaten it. I left the rat overnight and it was still there this morning. I figured she wasn't going to eat it and it was time to remove it. As I reached into the cage for the rat she struck at me (missed), so when I picked up the rat I hung it in front of her again. This time she ate it. Bit odd seeing it sat next to her all night. And now I'm wondering how long it would take before a thawed rat shouldn't be fed to them anymore.

 

[Snowman]

If rodents aren't eaten by the next morning. I flick them to other snakes that never refuse.
You have to understand they are not humans and their digestive system is vastly different. Eating whole prey, the animals they eat will decompose somewhat in their stomachs anyway. That and many wild specimens will eat carrion that has been out in full sun etc for quite sometime.

 

[Striker]

No worries. Thanks. I figured she would know what she was doing so I wasn't too concerned. Just making sure.

Thanks for your help.

 

[Pythoninfinite]

As Snowy says, the rat would be in exactly the same state of decomposition if it was inside the snake the next morning (it would still be a whole animal until the digestive juices break through the gut wall and the true breaking down begins). Because snakes don't chew their food into pieces, some decomposition is part & parcel of their digestive process. The bigger the meal, the more the food rots in their stomachs until their digestive juices break it down.

Jamie