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Do cold mice "taste" different?

lilmike227

lilmike227

New member
Just a random question. One of my coworkers were telling me how they were feeding the snakes and after being defrosted one of the pinkies stayed out and got cooled off and it wasn't warm anymore. Do corns snakes sense the heat in food before eating them? Would a corn be less likely to eat if the food was cold? Not that im offering my snake a cold mouse I was just curious thats all
 
corns don't have the heat pits that pythons have, but they do have a good sense of smell. i imagine that eating something cold would feel for them like swallowing an ice cube is for us. i expect that they'd hate it.
 
So do you think that if you put a frozen mouse in front of it it would be able to tell the differenc between that and a thawed mouse?
 
Absolutely. But they do have very small, primitive brains, and if hungry are going to eat. I have personally dealt with people who fed frozen mice only to get a regurge, and didn't know you "had to thaw them out." :rolleyes:
 
My frozen mice don't really have a smell to them, but once they're nice and hot, they do have a faint scent. I also find that when I let them get really hot, the snakes have a more dramatic response.
 
I've also noticed that Stig will be much happier to eat his mousie if it's super hot, but less excited if it's closer to room temperature.
Rodents do naturally run at a higher temperature, it could even be instinct. "This mouse is nice and hot, it must be a recent kill and not rotten carrion."
 
Mine both like theirs soggy & hot. I partially dunk their meals in hot water (think hot coffee hot) right before it's offered. They will both take mice that have been warmed through in plain hot tap water but it's with much less enthusiasm. It adds 5 mins to my routine to do the extra dunk so it's not a big deal.
 
Alicia P said:
Mine both like theirs soggy & hot. I partially dunk their meals in hot water (think hot coffee hot) right before it's offered. They will both take mice that have been warmed through in plain hot tap water but it's with much less enthusiasm. It adds 5 mins to my routine to do the extra dunk so it's not a big deal.
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Mine seem to prefer theirs soggy as well. And after (or sometimes before), they'll drink up the water droplets left by their wet mouse.
 
I think they smell strongly! Frozen mice smell like shrimp to me, and once they are thawed- ew.
 
OOh yeah, soggy mice are a big hit too. I don't mind if they are, it seems helpful to know the snake is getting a bit more water in him too. :)
 
just wanted to chime In that corns DO have heat sensing abilities like pythons and Boas, they do NOT have the pits, but the lines between the scales on their heads actually have heat resepters in them, so they too do rely on a sence of heat, and the adverage mouses core themp when alive is a bit warmer then ours I'm pretty sure its about 102 f.. so I'm sure a nice hot mouse would be taken more enthusiasticly. :)
 
This is so informative!

How hot is too hot and how long would it take to dunk a pinkie in hot water to get it at a nice temperature for the snake but not cook the pinkie or burn the snake?
 
umm, not Long at all.
ill usually take out the pinky, put it in my cup, and then add HOT tap water as hot as the tap will go.. and then I run it over the pink, and go and get the snake into his bin, in the time it takes to get the snake out and in his bin the pinky is usually good to go!

I always like to take it out and feel it to make sure that its fully defroster. and then I blast it with one last shot of hot tap water and feed it. :)

hope this helps!
 
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