Most captive snakes will thrive on a rodent-only diet, whether it be various sizes of mouse, rat, guinea pig, rabbit or whatever, depending on the size of your snake and the species. Two things that every rodent has are sharp claws, and even sharper teeth. If you feed a live rodent to a snake, there is a high risk of that rodent fighting back and possibly causing severe injuries to your snake's face or body. I have seen snakes with one eye or massive scars across the mouth and nostrils from rats that they were trying to constrict. I've seen snakes with ugly, horrible scrapes and cuts on their bellies and sides from struggling mice, and believe me...you don't want this to happen to your snake.
So...how do you feed your snake? The best option, in my own opinion, is to feed your snake's on a diet of frozen rodents that you defrost before feeding. Not only do these frozen rodents pose absolutely no threat to your snake, you can keep many of them in several sizes(if necessary) in your freezer, so you never have to run around town looking for the right size mouse on feeding day.
Defrosting mice and rats for feeding to your snake is very simple, really. Just put the hottest tap water you can get in a bowl, bucket, tub, or cup, and drop in your mouse or rat. This hot tap water will do a great job of defrosting your prey item in short time, without "cooking" it. Your snake will have problems eating the food if it is cooked, so DO NOT just put the prey in the microwave. The larger the prey, the longer it takes to defrost. For mouse pinkies and fuzzies, it shouldn't take more than 5-6 minutes for it to fully defrost. For medium adult rats, it can take quite a bit longer; up to 20 mintues or more. In order to fully defrost the larger items, you will want to monitor the temperature of the water they are in. As the water cools off, empty it and refill the container with fresh, hot, tap water. You can do this as many times as you like until the food is completely defrosted and warm to the touch.
If you are feeding a boa or a python of some sort, you will want the prey to be very hot. These snakes hunt using heat pits at the front of their face, and if the food isn't hot enough, they may not eat it. A colubrid, like a kingsnake, milksnake, or cornsnake, will hunt using scent, so "warm to the touch" should be a good temperature for them.
To test if the item is ready, take it out of the water, and GENTLY squeeze the belly area and head. The head should be firm, but pliable. Be careful not to crush the skull. You should feel it "give" slightly under gentle pressure. The belly should be soft all the way through. Bend your index finger, and gently push your knuckle into the belly. It should feel warm to the touch with no cold spots.
Do not give your snake prey that is not completely defrosted. Ingesting partially frozen prey can cause regurgitations from your snake. The first "regurge" leads to more, and consecutive regurgitations can lead to the death of your snake. If you are even slightly doubtful of the prey's readiness, leave it for a little bit longer until you are positive it is ready. This is for your snake's health and safety, so please don't rush the process.
If your snake has always eaten live prey, it may not recognize frozen/thawed without movement. To give your defrosted prey movement to stimulate your snake's feeding response, you can hold the prey with hemostats or tongs by the base of the tail, and wiggle it along the floor of the feeding bin. This movement will usually catch your snake's attention, causing it to go into "feeding mode", and chase the prey around, striking at it. Let your snake take the prey when it grabs it. It should constrict and swallow the prey as normal. However...not all snakes willingly take frozen/thawed(f/t) prey right away. Here is a list of some "tricks" to get a reluctant f/t feeder going, if movement doesn't do it:
1)Sometimes the wetness of the prey will confuse your snake. Blow drying the prey after defrosting can cure this, or you can defrost the prey inside of a watertight Ziploc-type bag.
2)Some snakes will not eat if they can see you. This makes "teasing" them difficult. The best trick I have found for these snakes is to put them in a small container with the f/t prey, move the container to an area with very minimal people-traffic, cover the container with a dark piece of clooth like a t-shirt or a hand towel, and leave it alone for several hours. Often, when left alone in a small dark place, the scent of the prey will overpower their live food instincts, and your snake will feed on it's own. I have seen this take as little as 5 minutes and as long as 7 hours. I have even left snakes in deli cups with f/t prey overnight until they decide to eat on their own. Be patient, and resist the urge to check on them. Everytime you lift the towel(or whatever) and check on them, you startle them, and may scare them away from the food...again.
3)If teasing, blowdrying, and a small dark container all fail to entice your snake to eat f/t prey, you will need to start slow. This often happens with older snakes that have eaten live prey their entire lives. They simply don't associate dead items with a viable food source. If this appears to be the case with your snake shoot me a PM or send me an email, and I will go over some steps you can take to "convert" your stubborn snake to f/t from live. It's not hard, but it takes time, patience, and a stubborness of your own that can outlast your snake's.
One of the biggest mistakes people make when trying to convert a snake to f/t prey is simply trying too hard. If your snake refuses to eat his prey after several hours(or even overnight), and you are forced to throw it away, make the snake wait until it's next scheduled feeding day to try again. If you try to feed your snake on consecutive days, you are only causing stress, and actually scaring your snake away from the food. If a snake feels stressed out, they may not eat. If you are trying to feed your snake every day(or even every other day), you are causing stress, therefore, they will only continue to refuse your offerings. This can start a bad cycle of food refusals by your snake. To avoid this cycle, simply offer your snake only on it's scheduled feeding days. If you feed your snake once a week, and he refuses a meal, wait until the next week to offer again. If he refuses again...wait another week, and so on. Snake's can go for an incredibly long period of time without eating.
If you find yourself in a situation where your snake continues to refuse it's food, monitor it's weight. As long as the snake does not lose a large amount of weight...keep making them follow the feeding schedule. If your snake starts to lose a lot of weight, or otherwise looks lethargic or unhealthy, you have another problem, and it is best to take it to a qualified reptile vet.
