Bad Rat?

[Spo0led]

Titan is usually my champion eater but he wouldnt take this rat. Does he know something I dont? Was this rat bad? It didnt look, feel, or smell bad. I didnt even notice how bloated it was until I looked at the pics.

[b3napoleon]

Re: Bad Rat?

Looks like a bad rat to me. I would throw this one away. Feeding a rat like that can kill your snake because of the fat.

[Boa Amarali]

Re: Bad Rat?

I had many Boas in the past mainly fem that would not eat certain rats,

Those Rats were always multi colored and chunky looking

Then I had my feed disaster in '08 caused by the same Multi Colored rats

I'd get rid of that Rat !!

[Hunglikeafruitbat]

Re: Bad Rat?

Looks like a bad rat to me. I would throw this one away. Feeding a rat like that can kill your snake because of the fat.

I don't think that is fat, I think it's gases from decomp. I don't know if boas are like Pythons in this respect but I have heard of more than one Python exploding because it ate something too far into decomposition and couldn't release the gases. If it was in a bag with other rats I say chuck em, they were allowed to sit too long before freezing and are just packed with bacteria by the time they start to do that bloating thing.

Mat.

[snake77]

Re: Bad Rat?

very bloated how long was it out at room temp. Just best to throw away and try again later. As far as did the snake know something you didn't no telling just may not have been hungry at that time. Don't worry it happens.
And I breed rats and that rat is not big from fat.

[Spo0led]

Re: Bad Rat?

I feed my snakes stunned rats and whatever is left I kill then freeze right after. I wrap them individually in paper towels then each in their own zip lock bag then all the bags go into a big freezer bag. After that i wrap them up into one or two grocery bags then put them in the freezer so they arent decomposed before i freeze them as theyve only been dead less than 30 minutes. Should I throw them all out or just that one and any others that look like that?

[Boa Amarali]

Re: Bad Rat?

I've seen plenty of rats that are fat like that

and its FAT not gas Bloating !!

[Spo0led]

Re: Bad Rat?

I've seen plenty of rats that are fat like that

and its FAT not gas Bloating !!

I felt the rat and it definately didnt feel like it was gas. It felt like a rat should feel then you squeeze their belly.

[HopingForBabies]

Re: Bad Rat?

Maybe it was pregnant.


nevermind.....it is clearly a male..lol

[jhsulliv]

Re: Bad Rat?

You know, you could always open up the rat. If you are cutting through layers and layers of fat before you get to the abdomen then it's fat.

To me in looks bloated. When I've killed rats before I've had some of them swell up I think just because I hit them so hard that things in the abdomen ruptured and certainly there was some gas from the bacteria now mingling in there and probably blood pooling. I never had a problem with them, but they were being eaten within 5-10 minutes of whacking so they were plenty fresh.

As everyone else said, when in doubt just throw it out. I had a couple rats way back when that my Dumerils wouldn't eat and I opened them up and they had numerous masses, probably cancer throughout so I guess he was picking up on something and declined them.

[bterrill]

Re: Bad Rat?

I'm mainly just going off of jhsulliv here but I too have had males look pregnant similar to this ... also like him I think I whacked them too hard and it exploded something internally or something. My snakes eat them fine though.

Sucks to waste a rat but maybe it's time to try another. I would of just re-frozen it for time being incase the snake refuses the next.

[MLynch]

Re: Bad Rat?

...Is it me or does that rat look too big for that boa?

[Spo0led]

Re: Bad Rat?

He normally eats 1 - 2 rats that size about every 10 days or so. Depending on when he poops and hes neverhad any problems. I only feed one but you know how BPS can be and when one of them doesnt eat then I will give Titan the other rat and hes usually game.

[Morgans Boas]

Re: Bad Rat?

...Is it me or does that rat look too big for that boa?

Definitely bigger than I would feed -- especially to a male.

[chaosboa]

Re: Bad Rat?

It could be a bad camera angle but yeah he looks bloated. Good thing you have a smart snake. Chuck it.