Can a snake eat a mouse that is dead?

Question

My snake is not eating I wonder if it is becuase the mouse is dead or something else. Can any one help?

Answer 1

They like live food, buy him another mouse.
Like all reptiles, snakes are cold-blooded, or more correctly, ectothermic—that is, they cannot produce their own body heat. Instead, they rely on the sun to heat their bodies and then regulate their temperature with behavior. Because they do not rely on energy from food to generate body heat, snakes can survive on an extremely meager diet. Some wait for months between successive meals, and a few survive by eating a single, large meal just once or twice a year. When they do eat, snakes swallow their prey whole rather than biting off small pieces. Many snakes have specialized jaws that enable them to swallow animals that are far larger than their own heads. Although uncommon, some snakes, such as the African rock python, have been observed eating animals as large as an antelope or a small cow.

Answer 2

Please give us a little more information if you can.

For example - how long have you had the snake? If you got him very recently, I'd give him a week or two to adjust to his new surroundings before trying to feed him. If he is not a new snake and has been eating regularly, I would not worry. I feed my snakes once or twice a week, but if they stop eating, I don't worry about it if they are otherwise showing normal behavior and activity levels (disclaimer - I don't keep any constrictors). Just wait a week and try again.

How is the cage set up? If the temperatures are too low, he may not eat. If the snake is getting ready to shed, it may not eat until the shed is complete. Make sure that the cage temps are right on the warm and cool ends of the cage. The snake should have a place to hide on each end. Also make sure that the cage is humid enough. If the air is too dry, he could have problems with the shed. Last, but not least, make sure that the snake has something to rub against when he's ready to shed. My snake hide boxes don't provide many edges for the snake to rub against, so I put an angular rock in the cage when the snake is about to shed.

How big is the snake and how big is the mouse? The mouse shouldn't be much bigger around than the snake's head.

You've received some good answers already. I agree with the following:

You're doing the right thing by feeding pre-killed mice. This prevents the snake from being injured by mice that are left in the cage when the snake is not hungry. This also allows you to keep a frozen food supply on hand for your snake instead of having to take care of a mouse colony or make a weekly pilgrimage to the pet store.

Your boa has heat sensing pits around its mouth to find its prey. It "sees" the body heat of the prey. As others have noted, you'll want to heat the mouse up to a temperature that mimics a live mouse's body temperature. Put the mouse in a plastic bag and float the bag in a bowl of hot water for a few minutes until it feels like it has a true-to-life body heat. Don't put the mouse in the microwave; just trust me on that one!

If heating the mouse didn't work, I would also try scenting the mouse. I would use chicken broth from a can, or the water from a tuna fish can. My snakes love fish, and the smelly tuna water will often get a finicky eater back on the feeding schedule.

If heating and scenting don't work, I'd do the "dance" routine suggested by another person. I have a huge pair of forceps to do this with - accidental bites can occur when the snake suddenly goes into feeding mode. You can use a set of kitchen tongs if you don't have a forceps. Sometimes the motion of the mouse will stimulate the feeding response.

If scenting or "dancing" the mouse, the mouse still needs to be heated to a live body temperature.

You might have to experiment further. I had one snake that would only eat in an enclosed space. I would put the thawed and heated mice in a Critter Keeper container and open the door, and that snake would vacuum up the contents. I also keep some frozen day-old quail on hand to jump-start the finnicky eaters. My snakes really like birds - which is why scenting with chicken broth can be so effective.

I've given you a couple of links below for further information. The first link is to the ball python discussion forum at kingsnake.com. Lots of ball python keepers and breeders use this forum to exchange information.

Good luck with your snake. I'd love to hear how it turns out for you.

Answer 3

your snake may not like pre-killed mice, if it refuses, try wiggling it around, sometimes that will cause a feeding response. if it won't eat pre-kill, feed it live, BUT BE CAREFUL! keep an eye on it, if the snake refuses, remove the prey item, they can rip a snake to shreds in minutes. you should try to get it on pre-killed asap. buy two snake foods, a little smaller than the normal meal, and feed one alive, when your snake finishes, try giving it the other, pre-killed.(i use a blow-gun, with a stun dart, so the mouse/rat is still warm) then your snake will get used to pre-kill, and probably be ok with it. don't feed in the snake's home, use a rubbermaid tub, so no bedding gets ingested. also, if you feed in the snake's tank, it will associate movement inside the tank with food, and you are much more likely to get bitten. is your snake a ball python? they tend to go off food more often than other snakes, but all snakes can go for long periods of time without food. (in the wild, an anaconda can eat 95% of their own body weight, and not need food for another year.) i'll repeat... keep an eye on your feeding snake, and if you feed live, keep a rod or something handy to keep the rodent from biting your reptile . below is a link to a pic that shows why. this poor baby had to be put down.

Answer 4

Yeah a lot of people feed their snakes prekilled food, it is better for the snake because the mouse can't hurt the snake. Snakes sense heat so you may want to heat up the dead mouse before you feed it to the snake. that is why a lot of snake owners get bit because they feed their snakes cold dead food and the snake senses a hot hand and bites it instead of the mouse.

Answer 5

Well it could eat the mouse dead but the problem is ppl put dead things in there with their snake when snakes like LIVE food they like to eat it alive

Answer 6

If you talk to most reptubable breeders in the snake industry, you will find that they feed their snakes FROZEN/THAW. This means the mice are dead and frozen, and when you are ready to feed, you thaw them out and feed them to your snake.

ANY snake can be switched over to FROZEN/THAW. If your snake is used to eating live, put the dead mouse in warm water after it is thawed.. dry it off, and then use some LONG tongs, and "dance" it around infront of the snake. This simulates a living mouse. You can also "Scent" the mouse. For troublesome eaters, I use chicken broth cubes.. just drop it in hot water and voila.

The problems of feeding live are that mice have big teeth. Sometimes snakes do not want to eat and the mouse is able to crawl around on the snake, biting at it, or perhaps poking it with it's nails. Numerous snakes have DIED because mice have gnawled away at them.

It is frowned upon to feed your snake LIVE by any reputable snake owner/breeder.

Answer 7

Yes. Small snakes typically are fed dead mice or dead young mice ("pinkies").

Snakes only find warm food palatable. If you buy your mice or pinkies frozen, soak them in warm tap water for a few minutes before feeding.

Some people try to feed too-large mice to their snakes. Research the size of animal your species of snake eats naturally.

Snakes hate to be cold. With the onset of inter, make sure the heater under your snake's terrarium is working, or buy one if you don't yet have one. Provide some sort of "hidey-hole" that will ge nice and warm.

Finally, snakes that are about to shed are sensitive and vulnerable. Evolutionarily, snakes hide away and lay low as they prepare to shed because their senses are impaired by the heavy layer of scales that is peeling off. You will know this is the case if your snake's eyes and body look cloudy.

If you snake does not accept food within one week after you check all of these things, contact a reptile vet. Hope this helps.

Answer 8

Yes, a snake will eat a mouse that is dead. BUT they like live mice. If you have been feeding it or it had grown up on live mice only, well, you gotta give it a live mouse then. But, you can take a live mouse and wack it on the head to stun it and feed it to the snake if you are worried about the mouse damaging the snake.

Answer 9

it depends on the snake & if the dead mouse is fresh. my ball will eat fresh dead mice, but my corn snake will not eat one dead or if it's injured! try a live one. or maybe it's just not hungry? mine don't eat as much in the winter months. :)

Answer 10

If your snake is used to live mice then he won't eat a dead one. On the other hand, if you normally feed your snake frozen ones and he's not eating, he may be ready to molt and they don't eat alot when that happens. You can usually tell that he's going to shed because his eyes are cloudy looking. Good luck!