Baby mice snake food

Feeding Snakes Frozen Mice and Other Prey

Lianne McLeod, DVM

Lianne McLeod, DVM, is a small animal and exotic pet expert with over a decade of experience writing about veterinary care. After caring for animals in her veterinarian practice, Lianne went on to study biology and research water quality and chronic disease at the University of Saskatchewan.

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Updated on 06/28/21

Fact checked by

Cherisse Harris

Fact checked by Cherisse Harris

A meticulous researcher and editor with 17 years of fact-checking experience, Cherisse Harris reviews articles at The Spruce Pets for factual accuracy and consistency. She has fact-checked articles for multiple publications, including InStyle Magazine, Refinery29, The New York Times, Seventeen, and Details.

Learn more about The Spruce Pets' Editorial Process

John Macgregor / Getty Images/

Occasionally snake owners encounter feeding problems with their pet snakes. Some snakes, like ball pythons, are known to not want to eat but feeding problems can occur with any kind of snake.

The most common feeding problem owners have is when their snake doesn't want to strike and eat pre-killed food items like mice and rats. Feeding pre-killed prey, both the fresh or previously frozen kinds, is recommended for the safety of the snake but sometimes snakes are reluctant to take pre-killed prey. This is especially true if the snake was wild-caught or is being offered a prey item it has never eaten before. Thankfully, there are several ways you can try to entice a reluctant snake to take a frozen mouse or another pre-killed prey item. Some tried and true methods to get your snake to eat include:

Warm the Prey

Make sure the frozen mouse (or another pre-killed prey item) is warmed up until it is at least room temperature. Thaw frozen prey in a bag in the refrigerator or by floating it in cold water and then placing it in warm water just before feeding it to your snake to warm it up. Never use the microwave to thaw frozen prey. Burns to your snake may result due to uneven heating of the prey or your prey may explode in the microwave during the process of heating and no one wants to clean that up.

Use Feeding Forceps

Use feeding forceps and not your hand to present the thawed and warmed prey to your snake. The forceps will help keep your snake from associating your hand with food. The forceps will also allow you to wiggle the prey item to mimic live motion which often elicits a strike from the snake.

Enhance the Scent

Dip the thawed prey in sodium-free chicken broth. The scent of chicken broth appeals to some snakes and may encourage them to strike.

Make It Familiar

If you are attempting to feed your snake a new kind of food, rub the new prey item with another favorite food that your snake is familiar with. For example, if your snake likes chicks but won't take mice, rub a chick on a pre-killed mouse and then attempt to feed it to your snake. The familiar scent of a favorite food may trick the snake into taking the new item.

Try a Different Color

Try a different color of the prey item if there are some available. If you have already tried a white mouse without success, try a multi-colored or dark-colored mouse since some snakes seem to balk at albino mice.

Cut It Open

Although it seems a little gross, the scent of brain matter is particularly effective at stimulating the feeding response in pet snakes. Therefore, exposing the prey's brain, or at the very least cutting the prey open to expose blood, may help in getting your snake to eat it.

Use a Special Enclosure

Place your snake in a small enclosure that is used only during feeding time. This should be in a quiet place. Give your snake some privacy while it feeds.

Adjust the Feeding Time

Feed your snake at night and cover the tank. You can also provide a dark hide box for your snake since some prefer to eat in a secluded spot.

Try Different Sized Prey

Try a different size of prey. Maybe your snake would prefer it's prey to be slightly smaller or larger than what you are already offering. Pinkies and fuzzies are good small prey options.

Don't Feed During a Shed

Make sure your snake isn't about to shed. If your snake's skin appears lighter or more dull than usual and its eyes are a milky blue than they may be about to shed. Most snakes that are about to, or actively, shedding will not eat.

Keep Your Snake Warm

Check the temperatures in your snake's enclosure. If your snake is too cold it's metabolism will slow down and it may not eat.

Article Sources

The Spruce Pets uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read our editorial process to learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.

Your Pet Snake’s Diet: Dead or Alive? University of Illinois College of Veterinary Medicine.

Snake Food | Learn About Food For Snakes & Other Snake Feeding Tips

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Feeding Frozen/Thawed Prey Items to Snakes in Captivity

Under captive conditions, most snakes will thrive on a diet consisting of frozen/thawed rodents. For example, generations of captive breeding have made it where snakes that only eat birds in the wild will easily accept a frozen/thawed mouse in captivity. It is ultimately the owner's responsibility to understand the dietary requirements of the animals in their collection. The following article is intended to provide you with advice on snake feeding. To learn about safe handling procedures of frozen/thawed prey items please read: Food Safety/Best Practices When Handling Frozen Foods for Captive Animals.

When selecting the appropriately sized prey item for your snake, start by choosing the size that shares the same circumference as the thickest part of the snake’s body. If you are not 100% certain on what size to order, you can contact us and a RodentPro customer service representative will gladly assist you in making the correct choice. If you would rather make the choice on your own, remember that it is better to offer a prey item that is too small as opposed to one that is too large for your snake to ingest. If you receive an order and are concerned that the feeders you ordered are too small, it is safe to offer your snake two smaller prey items per meal instead of one regular sized prey item.

Most baby snakes in captivity will eat a frozen/thawed neonate mouse within 7 to 14 days after birth. When feeding a baby snake it is critical to offer it the correct sized meal, a prey item that is too large could cause the young snake to regurgitate its meal and die from the stress of doing so. Some species of baby snakes will only eat pinky mice that have been scented with lizards or toads, normally it takes several months for these babies to readily accept a non-scented pinky mouse. As young snakes continue to grow, the size of the prey item will continue to get larger. Some adult snakes will never eat a prey item larger than a Medium Mouse while other snakes will eat much larger prey items such as Guinea Pigs or Rabbits. Most reptile owners feed their snakes once every seven days but the frequency of meals can vary based on the species of the snake. You may witness behaviors that indicate your snake is hungry such as the snake becoming more active in its enclosure or an increased number of tongue flicks.

One of the biggest challenges that a snake owner may face is when their reptile refuses to eat. Snakes are ectotherms meaning that they cannot regulate their own body temperature, they are solely dependent on the ambient temperature of their environment which can directly affect their appetite. If your snake is not eating, it may be too warm or too cold, so it important to constantly monitor the temperature in your snake’s enclosure. Timid snakes may require that you place their frozen/thawed prey item in front of their hide box so that they have a sense of seclusion when eating. Some snakes will not eat during their shed cycle, normally it is easy to tell if a snake is in shed by their milky colored eye caps. If your snake refuses to eat over an extended period of time you may consider trying a few of the following tips:

Feed at Night
Most captive snakes are nocturnal so try feeding your snakes at night before going to bed. If your snake does not take the prey item immediately then try leaving it in the cage overnight. Check the snake's enclosure the following morning to see if the frozen/thawed feeder has been consumed, if not discard it immediately.

Offer a Different Prey Item
Some snakes may be intimidated by the size of the prey item and prefer a slightly smaller meal. As mentioned before, you can easily feed two smaller prey items at once instead of one normal sized prey item. Some snakes prefer mice to rats or vice versa. Also, try feeding your snake a guinea pig, hamsters, gerbils, chicken or quail. Most snakes will readily accept these items when all other attempts fail.

Mimic Live Motion
Pick up the prey item with a pair of tongs or forceps and move it across the cage mimicking a live animal. The movement could entice your snake to follow the feeder around the cage. Observe the snake for increased movement and tongue flickering. If your snake begins to follow the prey item around the cage, hold the feeder still and allow your snake to come to the food item. Be careful to minimize your presence, as you may intimidate the snake causing it not to eat.

Cupping
Cupping the prey item is another great way to persuade a reluctant eater to accept a meal. Place the frozen/thawed feeder item in the cup along with the snake. Once the cup lid has been firmly secured, place the cup in a warm, dark area and check back every two hours.

Scenting
Scenting with a poultry item is also a great option. Start by thawing out a feeder item for your snake along with a chicken or quail to scent with. Take the chicken or quail and rub it on the prey item for two minutes. Move the feeder item around the cage as instructed in the Mimic Live Motion section above. The snake should be enticed by the scent of the chicken or quail and hopefully consume the prey item.

Most zoos, serpentariums, and commercial breeding facilities do not feel that it is necessary to give vitamins or minerals to the snakes in their collection. These organizations order their frozen food items from established and respected companies such as RodentPro.com. You know the old saying “you are what you eat”, this is especially true for snakes so ordering from a company that offers the highest quality frozen thawed snake food is imperative.

RodentPro carries a complete line of frozen mice, frozen rats, frozen rabbits, frozen guinea pigs, frozen hamsters, frozen gerbils, frozen chickens and frozen quail to meet your snake’s dietary requirements. Contact us today if you have questions about any of our products.

To learn more about the benefits of feeding frozen/thawed prey items you should read Feeding Frozen/Thawed Food vs. Live Prey to Captive Reptiles.

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Most snakes should be fed prey that is about the size of a snake's body at its widest point. This means that as the snake grows, you will have to adjust the size of the prey it is fed to match its increasing size.

Choosing too much prey can cause serious health problems for your snake. If the prey is too large, the chance of injury increases and may cause intestinal strangulation.

Prey Sizing

If you have trouble figuring out how big your snake is compared to the size of the prey at the pet store, measure your snake at the widest part of its body.

If you bring a length of rope cut to this size to a pet store, you can quickly check the circumference of an available prey to find the best match. However, this does not have to be an exact measurement.

Smaller or slightly larger loot is fine too, and a little variety never hurts. If in doubt, ask your pet store salesperson for help.

Feeding chicks

Very small hatching snakes may eat newborn mice and then gradually grow to larger sizes. The main terms used for food mice are puffballs, larvae and weaners or weaners, then large and very large adults.

About snakes: What snakes eat at home

Feeding snakes with rats

they are used to eating rats, not mice.

While mice are very timid creatures with little defensive ability, rats are very inquisitive and a larger rat can do serious damage to your snake.

You must train your snake to eat prey that can fight back while it is still young. The younger rats are equal in size to the older mice, so when your snake has moved on to larger mice, it's time to switch to rodents.

Feeder rats are named in the same order as mice: pinky, fluffy, calves, weaners, then adults from small to very large.

How to Prevent Snake Burping

Snakes have unique jaws that allow them to swallow prey that is larger than their head, but your snake may have difficulty digesting items that are too large, leading to regurgitation. Another common cause of regurgitation is touching the snake too quickly after it has been eaten.

Although all snakes are individuals, you should wait at least 24-48 hours after feeding to touch your pet. 2 If he burps when you treat him after 48 hours, try giving him another day of rest.

Snakes also regurgitate due to stress. If your snake is stressed by loud noises or people tapping on the aquarium glass, try placing it in a quiet area after feeding and give it space. Your snake will be ready to play in a couple of days.

Regurgitation is very tiring for snakes, so wait about two weeks before trying to feed them again. When you feed them, reduce the amount of food.

It is important to understand the difference between regurgitation and vomiting in a snake. Regurgitation occurs before food reaches the stomach. 2 When a snake expels the overcooked food that was in its stomach, this is called vomiting and is usually a sign of illness.

Vomiting is more of a problem than regurgitation because the snake loses many of the amino acids it needs to survive. If your snake is vomiting or constantly regurgitating food, contact your veterinarian immediately.

Vomiting and regurgitation can be fatal to snakes.

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Baby mice snake food

Feeding Snakes Frozen Mice and Other Prey

Warm the Prey

Use Feeding Forceps

Enhance the Scent

Make It Familiar

Try a Different Color

Cut It Open

Use a Special Enclosure

Adjust the Feeding Time

Try Different Sized Prey

Don't Feed During a Shed

Keep Your Snake Warm

Snake Food | Learn About Food For Snakes & Other Snake Feeding Tips

what kind of food your pet snake needs

Prey Sizing

Feeding chicks

Feeding snakes with rats

How to Prevent Snake Burping

Learn more

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