How to feed a baby snake frozen mice

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.

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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.

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

How To Feed Your Snake Frozen Mice

Posted on October 5, 2021

Knowing how to feed your snake frozen mice is an essential aspect of snake care. It’s just as important as getting the right size enclosure, figuring out their ideal temperature range, and understanding the quirks of that particular species. Yes, feeding your pet is a basic concept, but extra consideration needs to be taken when cold-blooded animals are involved.

In this article, we’ll cover the different steps of preparing and serving a frozen mouse to your snake. This knowledge will allow you to safely feed your pet snake in a way that enhances its health and strengthens your bond.

4 Steps to Properly Using Frozen Mice

As fundamental as the knowledge of what to feed your snake, so too is how to feed it. Frozen rodents are the de-facto standard, providing the snake’s natural prey in a way that’s convenient, economical, and most importantly, a lot safer for all parties involved.

1. Thaw the mouse

Defrosting a frozen mouse is easily the most important aspect of the preparation process. Ectotherms (cold-blooded animals) cannot regulate their own body temperature and are at the mercy of external heat sources. Colder temperatures slow the snake’s metabolism and other key bodily functions, such as digestion. Still-frozen mice, then, can be extremely difficult for the snake to digest and result in harmful health issues.

There is a slow and fast method of thawing a frozen mouse. Both involve removing the mouse from its packaging and putting it in a separate bag as it comes to the proper temperature. The fast method takes around 30-60 minutes (the precise time frame will depend on the size of the mouse). Put it in a bowl, run cold water over it, and let the mouse sit out until thawed. The slow method is equally simple. All it requires is putting the mouse in the fridge for about 12-24 hours.

Both methods are equally viable, however, there is a wrong way to do it. It is strongly recommended against thawing a frozen mouse in the microwave. It will likely cook the mouse rather than warm it (and probably unevenly at that) which could then make it too hot for a snake to safely consume. It may also result in an exploding mouse.

2. Warm the mouse

Once the mouse has been thawed, the next steps on how to feed a snake frozen mice are all about making said mouse more appetizing. Warming the mouse both aids in digestion and mimics the body heat given off by a live animal. You can use a heat lamp, the sun or a hair dryer to warm up an already thawed out mouse.

3. Dip the mouse in broth (Optional)

This step is recommended if you have a picky snake or are trying to feed your snake a frozen mouse for the first time. Dipping a frozen rodent in broth gives it a stronger, more enticing, scent. Chicken broth is the most commonly used but any sort of animal stock broth will work.

4. Offer the mouse to the snake

Any snake owner will tell you that it’s best to use forceps or tongs when presenting your snake with its meal. This prevents your snake from mistaking your fingers as food. While this advice isn’t exclusive to frozen rodents, feeding forceps do offer another particular benefit. They allow you to dangle and move the mouse in a way that triggers a snake’s instinct to strike. If your snake doesn’t seem interested in their food initially, sometimes a gentle tap on the nose (with the mouse) can do the trick.

You can also utilize forceps to your snake’s advantage by holding the mouse from either its head or tail. This allows the mouse to be at an optimal angle for digestion when your snake strikes.

Why Use Frozen Rodents To Feed Your Pet Reptile

The benefits of frozen mice and rats boil down to cost, convenience, and safety. Using pre-killed mice saves owners the cost of having to care for living mice or paying a premium to a pet store that does. Freezing mice allows them to keep much longer than a freshly killed mouse would. Frozen mice are easy to store in your freezer without additional preparation. Simply grab as many (or few) as you need.

The most important benefit is that frozen rodents are a much safer way to provide a snake with its prey. A living mouse has sharp teeth and claws and even though the snake will eventually overpower it, a tiny mouse can still do a significant amount of damage. This means less stress for both the snake and the snake owner. You and your beloved pet snake have nothing to lose, bet everything to gain, by switching to frozen rodents.

how to feed your snake frozen mice and rats

Sometimes snake owners have problems feeding their pet snakes. Some snakes, such as pythons, are known to be reluctant to eat, but any snake species can have feeding problems.

The most common feeding problem for owners is when their snake does not want to attack and eat pre-killed animals such as mice and rats. Feeding pre-killed prey, both fresh and previously frozen, is recommended for the safety of the snake, but sometimes snakes are reluctant to take pre-killed prey.

This is especially pronounced if the snake has been caught in the wild or is offered prey that it has never eaten before. Fortunately, there are several ways to get a reluctant snake to take a frozen mouse or other prey.

About snakes: What snakes eat at home

Here are some tried and tested methods to get your snake to eat: become at least room temperature. Thaw frozen prey in a bag in the refrigerator or place it in cold water and then place it in warm water just before feeding it to keep it warm.

Never use a microwave oven to thaw frozen prey. Snake burns can be caused by uneven heating of the prey, or your prey could explode in the microwave during heating and no one will want to clean it up.

Use feeding tongs

Use feeding tongs, not your hand, to present thawed and warm prey to your snake. The tongs will help the snake not bind your hand to the food. The tongs will also allow you to wiggle your prey, mimicking the lively movement that a snake often swipes.

Enhance flavor

Dip defrosted prey in sodium-free chicken broth. Some snakes are attracted to the smell of chicken broth, which may encourage them to swallow their prey.

Make Food Familiar

If you are trying to feed your snake a new food, rub the new prey with another favorite food that your snake is familiar with. For example, if your snake loves chickens but doesn't want to take mice, rub the chicken with a pre-killed mouse and then try to feed it to your snake. The familiar smell of a favorite food can trick a snake into taking on a new item.

Try a different color of the food

Try a different color of the prey, if available. If you've already tried a white mouse without success, try a multi-colored or dark mouse, as some snakes seem to resist albino mice.

Cut food

Although it seems a little harsh, the scent of the brain matter is especially effective in stimulating the feeding response in pet snakes. So exposing the victim's brain, or at least cutting it open to expose blood, can help your snake eat it.

Try other prey

If your snake doesn't want mice or rats, try gerbils. Although this can be expensive, some snakes that do not eat pre-killed mice will happily accept pre-killed gerbils.

You can also try hamsters or other rodents as prey, as long as you still stick to animals of the right size.

Use a dedicated aviary

Place the snake in a small aviary that is only used for feeding. It must be in a quiet place. Give the snake some privacy while it eats.

Adjust the feeding time

Feed the snake at night and cover the terrarium. You can also provide your snake with a dark box, as some prefer to eat in a secluded area.

Try different size prey

Try different size prey. Perhaps your snake would prefer a slightly smaller or larger prey than what you already offer. Newborn and young mice are good options for small prey.

Do not feed during shedding

Make sure your snake is not going to shed its skin. If your snake's skin appears lighter or duller than usual and its eyes are milky blue, the snake may be ready to shed its skin. Most snakes that are about to shed or actively shed do not eat.

Keep your snake warm

Check the temperature in your snake's enclosure. If your snake is too cold, its metabolism will slow down and it may stop eating.

what is important to know what to feed, recommendations

Published: 08/27/2020 Reading time: 5 min. 9016

The snake as a pet is a growing phenomenon. These beautiful animals attract with elegance and unpretentiousness. Royal pythons are especially in demand. It is believed that this snake is suitable for beginners: it is not very active, rather unpretentious and non-aggressive. The size of the royal (or ball python) is 1–1.5 m, it has a thick muscular body, an elegant triangular head - this is a very beautiful snake.

Content

What should be the content of python
What and how to feed a snake
Reptilife for python health

What should be the content of the python

The snake does not need constant daily care, but in order for the reptile to be healthy and live a long time, you need to create suitable conditions for it:

spacious terrarium. The dimensions depend on the dimensions of the python: it should be comfortable to be inside;
volumetric drinking bowl-pool. Snakes do not just drink from water containers, they also swim there, so there should be a lot of water, and the drinker itself should be well fixed;
temperature regime. In the coldest corner, the temperature should be at least 26 ° C, in the warmest - up to 32-36 ° C. The background temperature comfortable for a python is about 28 °C. The optimum humidity is 80-90%.

What and how to feed a snake

Python is a predator. During the hunt, he strangles and swallows the victim whole. It can digest what it eats for several days or several weeks, depending on the size of the object. At home, the snake should be fed with food that is as close as possible to its natural prey.

As a rule, owners of snakes buy food mice or rats, frozen or alive, in pet stores. Some pythons do not perceive an already dead mouse, since there is no thermal radiation from it. To make the food more attractive, it must be warmed in water to a temperature of 40 degrees;
The first meal after the first lace shedding is very important. A young python cannot starve for a long time, and it must be fed. So get ready to be flexible in your choice of food items and offer your python mice, rat pups, or even young gerbils. In the most extreme case, force-feeding is used, but only under the supervision of an experienced specialist;
frozen rodents are much more convenient as food, but require snake habituation. Be sure to check if the carcass is completely defrosted;
frequency of meals depends on age. The interval between feedings of cubs should be 4-5 days, an adult python - from 1 to 3 weeks. Keep in mind that pet snakes are prone to obesity, so adjust your meals according to your pet's condition. Female pythons tend to be more voracious and larger;
sometimes the snake refuses to eat. This is normal if the hunger strike does not last too long, although it is royal pythons that can starve for no reason for up to six months. The python also does not eat well during the molting period, when the temperature drops, if there are stress factors in its environment. If the pet does not eat for too long, has become inactive and drowsy, has lost weight and lost weight, contact a specialist;
Live rodents, especially rats and hamsters, can chew on a python. Therefore, if the snake is not interested in prey, it is better to postpone feeding for a day or two and remove the rat from the terrarium.

Reptilife for python health

To maintain the snake's health, provide it with the necessary vitamins and microelements, including during active growth or molting, the Reptilife Powder vitamin and mineral complex will help. The feed supplement was created specifically for reptiles, taking into account their needs, it contains vitamins A, K3, C, D, E, vitamins of group B. It will allow you to cope with beriberi, normalize metabolism, and recover from illness. It is convenient to use the supplement when the python has already switched to eating thawed food.