A diet of many reptiles consists mainly or exclusively of frozen, thawed items, such as mice, rats, guinea pigs, chicks, or quail. In order to ensure the health and wellbeing of your reptile, you will need to select the right feeder size and option. As a creature that lives in the wild, feeding your snakes and lizards their natural food is a rewarding and fun experience, giving you the chance to observe their natural behaviour.
Your Reptile's Frozen Diet
Reptile diets should be tailored to their species, what they would naturally consume, and their size and age. Young adults will need to be fed smaller mice or rats while they grow, even though a mature Reticulated or Burmese python can happily eat a full-grown rabbit.
Taking the time to research your pet species, what they should be fed, and how frequently they should be fed is crucial, so we recommend viewing relevant care sheets and reaching out to experts such as our store team, who can be reached at ‘info@liveaquaticfoodonline.co.uk’ for any questions you may have.
You can find frozen reptile food quite readily in the UK. Different kinds of mice, rats, guinea pigs, and rabbits are among the most popular, so your carnivorous reptile is likely to consume some of these foods.
Finding Frozen Reptile Food
Following the research process, find a reliable source of frozen food for your reptile once you know what and when it should be fed. A reputable supplier is one that states that they breed hygienically, follow good ethics, and provide high-quality products. In particular, individuals who have not been well fed throughout their lives are more likely to suffer from parasites and poor nutrition from frozen foods from unreliable sources.
The best deals for frozen food can be found online, and we have taken it upon ourselves to do this research for your and provide similar or cheaper foods! This means if you have the freezer space you can buy in bulk saving you time and money. Just make sure that when purchasing frozen you make sure that the delivery suits you.
Feeding Your Reptile
This is were the fun begins! Defrosting the food, there are many ways to do this but we suggest simply defrosting slowly at room temperature. Ensure that it is away from food preparation surfaces and allow them to defrost on a piece of newspaper or paper towel. In no circumstances should you use external heat to defrost your reptiles frozen food, such as microwaves, this increases the risk of cross-contamination and leads to the food items cooking unevenly, which can lead to internal burns.
If this is your first time feeding your reptile, be prepared that your reptile may have an aggressive feeding response, and strike out at the food item very quickly. This might make you and even the most experienced keepers jump a little! Other reptiles may need a little bit of tempting to get them to eat, reptiles have different personalities so be patient with them. In order to keep yourself safe we recommend using feeding tongs, with these you can hold the prey item by its tail or leg, species-dependent, and dangle it in front of your reptile whilst keeping your hands safely out of the way. If your reptile is shy, you may need to wiggle the prey item around a little, imitating the movement of live prey to get your reptile interested.
Frozen Food Guide
All this information can be a little daunting and confusing so we have put together a little guide to help along the way:
Mice Pinkies: 1 to 5 days old, mostly hairless, weight: 1-3g
Mice Fuzzies: 6-13 days old, fuzzy hair, weight: 4-9g
Mice Small, Medium, Large, Extra Large: Look like adult mice, weight vary: 10-30g+
Rat Pups: 2-3 weeks old, Fuzzy hair, weight: 10-29g
Weaner Rats Small, Medium Large: 3-4 weeks old, 30-99g
Rats Small, Medium Large: Adult rats various sizes and weights from 100-350g+