Exploded Fuzzy

Yes, hello. It's been a long time, but I return with a question. I was feeding my corn snake, Edgar, and it seemed as if the defrosted mouse split open (innards errywhere). Well, I accidentally dropped it into his tank, and before I could get it back, he had grabbed it and started to gobble it up. It was covered in aspen shavings, and I was wondering what the potential risks and dangers to this are. He ate the entire thing in record time (shavings and all) what do I need to look out for?

Thanks.

check to make sure he goes and does his business when he should. Snakes digest bones, fur and everything that enters them basically so as for as a little wood though not ideal he should be okay as long as he doesn't get impacted. That might be the only issue unless you see signs of something more significant. Just keep a close eye on him till he poops.

One thing I do when feeding since I use cypress is just place a piece of newspaper in so it prevents sunstrate from getting on the food. Works for me and it takes nothing to do it.

What would cause a mouse to split open like that? couldn't have been in the hot water more than 5 or 10 minutes.

Only time I have had issues with F/T mice was when a bit of freeze drying occured. The damaged skin would split on contact with anything, tongs, substrate... Jaws...

Frozen mice can be handy but I found them more of an emergency supply when fresh couldn't be found at a given time. Living as long as I did in AK kept me aware of supply shortages till I started my own mouse farming.

I've read that it can happen when they're heated up too quick.... Someone correct me if I'm wrong, i don't use F/T so not farmiliar with them much.

I don't feed live because it's completely unnecessary. I've been feeding him f/t forever and never had this problem before.

There is alot going on with mousecicles, freezeing damages the cells by ice perferation of the cells. How fast and how cold they where frozen at changes the ammount of damage. A fast deep freeze causes the least amount of damage and these thaw with the least issues for the most part. Also how they are thawed causes damage to some degree, to hot and you have a cooked portion and a frozen portion causing there to be a high degree of damage to the mouse. Thawing at aproximate body temps 100f water in a bowl slowly brings the whole mouse to temp in a reasonable amout of time and sets the temp for a live mouse, hopefully triggering the feed responce.

Thats how I used my F/T mice 10+ years ago and I have not followed anything new on the subject sense than as I don't have mice eaters at this time.

F/t means feeding dead right??

Originally Posted by bradyloach

F/t means feeding dead right??

Frozen mice you thaw out

Originally Posted by bradyloach

F/t means feeding dead right??

...this can't be real.

NO THEY ARE ALIVE AND FROZEN AND THEN THAWED. wow.