|
1-10 of 11 messages
|
Page 1 of 2
Next
|
|
A Dash Of Salt ???
|
Reply
|
|
by Cro on March 5, 2008
|
Mail this to a friend!
|
I have found that if you warm frozen thawed pink mice in warm water to which a small amount of sea salt has been added, that snakes are more abpt to eat them, than if they were thawed in just plain warm water.
Might be worth experimenting for some of you who are feeding new born snakes. I have been feeding young cottonmouths, copperheads, and pygmy rattlesnakes this way.
I can tell a definate difference on how the small snakes I am feeding respond to salted verses non-salted mice. Just don't over-do the amount of salt, after all, we are not seasoning a roast, LOL. I just add a small shake of sea salt to the warm water in a small soup bowl that I thaw the mices in.
Brining does wonders on pork, chicken, turkey, fish, and beef before it is cooked, as it replaces the natural juices of these animals that have been lost by drainage of blood from the tissues and dehydration from freezing.
Could be that the addition of a bit of salt also helps the mice absorb more of the water that helps replace fluids lost by the dehydrating effects of freezing, and possibly restores some scent to them, and perhaps some texture to their flesh ???
If you give it a try, let us know here if it makes a difference that is noticable with your animals. Just dont try it on some mega expensive rare snake, just in case their are snakes that have a super-sensitivity to a bit of Sodium Chloride.
Best Regards JohnZ
|
| |
|
RE: A Dash Of Salt ???
|
Reply
|
|
by LarryDFishel on March 5, 2008
|
Mail this to a friend!
|
Sounds interesting, might have to give that a try next time.
However, just to be overly nit-picky:
Adding salt to the water will actually cause LESS water to be absorbed by the pinky and would even dessicate it if you added enough (that whole osmosis thing).
Soaking in fresh water for too long will actually cause the skin cells to burst. Salting the water will prevent that which might make the mouse smell more "normal"? Just a guess.
|
| |
|
RE: A Dash Of Salt ???
|
Reply
|
|
by Phobos on March 6, 2008
|
Mail this to a friend!
|
It just would not be you if there was not a bit of nit-picking in your post Larry....LOL
You're correct as usual Larry but who cares if it helps!
Thanks for sharing Cro
|
| |
|
RE: A Dash Of Salt ???
|
Reply
|
|
by earthguy on March 6, 2008
|
Mail this to a friend!
|
my natives like salted pinkies, but my exotics prefer cilantro ;)
Just kidding Cro! I'll try that next time I do a F/T. At the moment my snakes are destroying pinkies as fast as my breeders can produce them. Fresh always beats frozen, no matter what spices you add :)
|
| |
|
RE: A Dash Of Salt ???
|
Reply
|
|
by Cro on March 6, 2008
|
Mail this to a friend!
|
Larry, being nit-picky is fine, as long as I get to play also, LOL !
I wondered who would first bring up Osmosis. That is why I mentioned brining chicken and pork chops.
While it is true that Osmosis can play an role, as it will cause SOME movement of the less-concentrated solution (fluids within the cells of the mouse), to move to the more-concentrated solution (the salted water), accross the semi-permeable membrane of the cell wall, it is not quite that simple.
Living cell walls indeed work that way, and will cause the well known pruning of skin of folks who spend time swimming.
However, a pink mouse that has been frozen for months has become "freeze-dried," and has lost a significant amount of body fluid in the process. This can be seen from the tiny ice crystal that often form in bags of frozen mice and even steaks and other not well sealed frozen items. The cell walls of the mouse are not quite as semi-permeable as they once were.
This freeze drying process is similar to "squeezing" a sponge. It you take two dry natural sponges and throw one into a bucket of fresh water, and one into a bucket of salt water, both sponges will absorbe water ! Will one absorb less water due to osmossis? Perhaps, but the net will still be that both will absorb water. That is because the cells are dehydrated.
If you take two frozen pinks of exactly the same weight, or two pieces of beef jerky for that matter, and put one in salt water, and one in fresh water, both will absorb water and plump up. Dry them off and weight them. Both will have gained weight that is more than their original "dry" weight.
How's that for picking nits ???
Best Regards JohnZ
|
| |
|
RE: A Dash Of Salt ???
|
Reply
|
|
by Crotalusssp on March 6, 2008
|
Mail this to a friend!
|
This is something I will most certainly try. I still can't help but think the scent is some how amplified by the hypertonic salt solution drawing out some "flavor", LOL. Thanks for the tip.
Charles
|
| |
|
RE: A Dash Of Salt ???
|
Reply
|
|
by yoyoing on March 6, 2008
|
Mail this to a friend!
|
How in the world did you come up with the idea of trying this? This sounds so promising if true.
The "osmosis" theories are a bit overboard as a pinch of salt are unlikely to have this effect (and lucky for us skin is not a semi-permiable cell membrane).
|
| |
|
RE: A Dash Of Salt ???
|
Reply
|
|
by Cro on March 7, 2008
|
Mail this to a friend!
|
Most body fluids like tears, blood, and urine are salty.
Perhaps the presence of these adds to, or enhances the smell of a food item, and makes it easier detected by a snake. This would probably be more important in a snake detecting a pink mouse, as it does not have fur that would hold the "mousey" smell.
A pink mouse that has been thawed in warm plain water will have very little odor left on it.
I just know that it works well for the snakes I am feeding, and hope others will give it a try and see if it makes a difference with problem feeders.
Best Regards JohnZ
|
| |
|
RE: A Dash Of Salt ???
|
Reply
|
|
by Phobos on March 7, 2008
|
Mail this to a friend!
|
Good osmosis stuff Cro but lets try a simple answer why they may like the salted pinks over the plain ones: Salt is a absolutlely needed substance for animals to survive. I think they taste it and the switch goes off and instinctually they grab it. Nothing more, nothing less.
Just a thought.
Al
|
| |
|
Email Subscription
You are not subscribed to this topic.
Subscribe!
My Subscriptions
Subscriptions Help
Check our help page for help using
, or send questions, comments, or suggestions to the
Manager.
|
