A quick post tonight. Second week here, and second attempt to feed a snake.
Having reflected on our failure of last week, this time we made sure the rat defrosted and dried more effectively, before double bagging him/her/it for a good poaching.
Annabel prepared; I handled the rat.
It’s surprisingly hard to identify if a defrosted rodent has reached the correct tempertuare to feed to a reptile, but we assumed ten minutes in a pot of hot water would be sufficent?
Now poached, I carefully carried our offering up the tower; we found the snake exploring the far right of her tank, so I opended the door, and tried to present the rat in a naturally wildlife way, i.e. as if the rat was alive.
Curious our snake turned her head and began to venture towards the white dead rodent, a sniff, and a look, her mouth bumped into her dinner,… she recoiled in fright! I did too, dropping the rat, and removing my hand at speed from the tank. I had heard that snakes can move fast,… they can!
It turns out it is also surprisingly hard to waggle a rat in a tank that keeps a snake interested, and doesn’t present your hand as part of the offering.
Closing the tank, Annabel retreated downstairs, I watched as our snake came back. Once more she looked and smelt, and then decided that pushing against the tank doors to see if they were secure was more worthwhile than munching!
I waited for ten minutes, in part to make sure the tank doors wouldn’t swing open, but also to see if she would dine.
Sadly, no joy. Next week, we’ll try again.