Feeding Mice to picky eaters...

[KathandStu]

I read some adive on another Snake forum today & thought I would run it by you guy to see what you thought. 'Zar isn't a picky eater at all but perhaps someone might be able to use this advice if it is sound?

Get a frozen/thawed mouse & blow-dry him (with a hair dryer) to warm it up. It makes the fur all fluffy (looks more like it's alive apparently) & because it only heats the skin there are no worries about accidently cooking the flesh. Obviously the mouse would have to be completely thawed before doing this as blow-drying alone wouldn't be enough to get rid of all the frozen-ness inside. Apparently very good for picky eaters (or snakes who are being weaned off live prey).

So...What do you guys think? Have you heard of this idea before?

Kath

 

[MrBredli]

Yes, it is fairly common for frozen mice to be warmed up, especially for pythons who use heat to detect prey. With some fussy eaters, especially first time feeders, it can really make a difference.

 

[MrBredli]

I haven't heard of using the hair dryer though. I thaw all my mice in luke warm water, then place in warmer water for about 3-4 mins to get the temp of the mouse up near 30 degrees.

 

[KathandStu]

I warm up all the f/t fuzzies I feed 'Zar, though I usually pop it in a plastic bag in a cup of warm water to heat it up. I guess I was more asking if people had heard of blow-drying their prey items before feeding?

 

[Rennie]

Sound interesting but I think just moving it like its alive would work better. JMO

 

[olivehydra]

I would guess that the "fluffy" factor has little or no effect on feeding response. Try a warm wet looking mouse and a cold fluffy mouse at the same time, and see which the snake prefers. I would think the heat signature of the prey item would be the attractant. Could be an interesting little experiment.

 

[KathandStu]

Rennie: I agree. Like I said I have never had any problems feeding 'Zar just warm mice (no fluffy hair-drying) & giving it an enticing wiggle!

Olivehydra: I think you might be right. Maybe it might be a little bit more appealing if the mouse was fluffy AND warm but I suspect generally if it was warm that would be the main thing. Still if someone was having trouble feeding a picky eater they might as well give it a shot than not.

 

[instar]

Blow dry it and give it a perm! Bit of lippy and its all ready for dinner!

Ive blowdried mice/rats before, though only once or twice, since then I roll it dry in an old towel.

 

[reptililian]

I used to blowdry mice for my hybrid babies. They soon began to respond to the sound of the hairdrier.

 

[yommy]

I got "the complete condro" for chrissy and greg maxwell holds nothing back especially getting them started with feeding. He soaks them in warm heated water and feeds wet as the h20 he reckons acts as a lubricant as well very interesting reading even if you don't have condro like most of us the info in the book can apply to all pythons, i'll be trying new ways to see if they work better. Great book recommend it as a informative read.

 

[Nephrurus]

I used to blowdry mice for my hybrid babies. They soon began to respond to the sound of the hairdrier.

I'm not sure if it's the sound they respond to, not having ears and all...

-H

 

[Vat69]

I've had experience with snakes that respond much better to rats that I've 'fluffed up' (just using the kitchen paper I use to dry them off after defrosting).