In
most cases when feeding lizards frozen prey,
the food animal will be mice, pinkie mice, or baby rats.
There are a couple reasons to keep frozen mice on hand.
If you buy in bulk you can get the food at a cheaper
price, and freezing animals for 25 - 30 days kills off
all potential parasites. You should be able to keep
the prey in the freezer for 4 to 6 months before it
spoils.
Even though the prey is kept frozen, feeding lizards
cold prey is detrimental to their health. With lizards
being ectothermic, or cold-blooded, the consumption
of cold or partially frozen food lowers their internal
temperature. You must warm up the frozen food before
feeding lizards the prey. Soaking the food in warm water
for a while will do be sufficient, but make sure they
are completely unthawed and warmed to be above room
temperature.
The risk of lowering your lizards body temperature
is not the only reason for warming the food either.
Lizards in the wild naturally eat warm food and are
accustomed to this by nature. Lizards in captivity
still react to prey in similar ways, and warm food tends
to attract the lizard by scent. |
