Senior snake feeding question

[zoonandes]

My male 43 year old gopher snake has been eating live mice his entire life. As he has gotten older it can take him longer to catch his prey and I worry that some day he just won’t have the strength to do it anymore and that the mice are too big for his old man underweight frame.

So today I gave him his first pinky mouse in over 40 years and I refused to watch, but he ate it.

My question is: is it okay and nutritionally balanced to give him pinky mice?

[Veronica]

Pinky mice don't have much nutritional value. Do you know if he'll eat frozen/thawed?

Also, congratulations on having such an old snake! It seems that a lot of snakes live far longer than most people realize...

[Tsubaki]

That seems very old for a snake! Sounds like a record for the species, do you have any documentation for his age? just curious