Hi,
After moving to Cairns, I discovered that mice are hard to come by here because they won't breed once it gets past a certain temperature, a temperature that Cairns hits and surpasses quite often in the warmer months. After some research into the nutritional value of small adult mice versus fuzzy or weaner rats, I decided that Zephyr's diet was going to have to change.
Today I defrosted a mouse and a fuzzy rat in the same container of warm water. Given the problems some have switching their snakes from mice to rats, I was prepared for her to reject the fuzzy, despite it being scented. Secretly, I suspected she'd take it because she's such a guts.
She took her mouse, same as always. When she finished she looked at me, flicking her tongue, which I always interpret as "More?" I pinched the rat's tail in the tweezers, held it above the click-clack and, coordinated soul that I am, dropped it on Zephyr's head. Fortunately, this elicited a strike response. Unfortunately, she grabbed it around the middle and took a little time to figure out she wasn't going to get it down that way.
When she did start swallowing head first, I noticed that she really had to strain to get her jaws around the chunky head, but the important thing is that she ate it. As long as she doesn't regurgitate it, I call that a success. Now for an unscented fuzzy rat.
If anyone knows of a good rat supplier on the Cairns Northern Beaches that isn't a pet shop, please PM me.
After moving to Cairns, I discovered that mice are hard to come by here because they won't breed once it gets past a certain temperature, a temperature that Cairns hits and surpasses quite often in the warmer months. After some research into the nutritional value of small adult mice versus fuzzy or weaner rats, I decided that Zephyr's diet was going to have to change.
Today I defrosted a mouse and a fuzzy rat in the same container of warm water. Given the problems some have switching their snakes from mice to rats, I was prepared for her to reject the fuzzy, despite it being scented. Secretly, I suspected she'd take it because she's such a guts.
She took her mouse, same as always. When she finished she looked at me, flicking her tongue, which I always interpret as "More?" I pinched the rat's tail in the tweezers, held it above the click-clack and, coordinated soul that I am, dropped it on Zephyr's head. Fortunately, this elicited a strike response. Unfortunately, she grabbed it around the middle and took a little time to figure out she wasn't going to get it down that way.
When she did start swallowing head first, I noticed that she really had to strain to get her jaws around the chunky head, but the important thing is that she ate it. As long as she doesn't regurgitate it, I call that a success. Now for an unscented fuzzy rat.
If anyone knows of a good rat supplier on the Cairns Northern Beaches that isn't a pet shop, please PM me.
