Current Events > My pet store gave me a feeder mouse that's alive

(+) Yeah! (+)

I haven't dealt with them for years, but off memory.

2. If it's a pinkie it really shouldn't be able to, it's when you get closer to the hoppies (juvenile mouse, small with fur, fully functional and jumps crazy high, thus the nickname) that it becomes a risk. Pinkies can barely walk/move and rely on feeding off the mother, so biting/scratching is very unlikely. The real harm would be if it were killed, ignored long enough to attract ants, then the ants can attack and harm the snake. My brother did this with 2 snakes by leaving a dead mouse in the tank for 2 days letting ants run rampant on the snakes. The snakes weren't harmed, but a bit longer they'd probably be blinded/die a terrible death. Last I checked both are dead, one died from the heat lamp/rock cooking it... not sure of the other.

3. They do like some room and it entirely depends on the species. I know corns and garters love being with others of their kind, but there can't be too big of a size difference. Obviously a hatchling is basically food for an adult.

MabusIncarnate posted...

Yes, you let it thaw out by various methods.

No, the baby mouse, and again i'm gonna be cruel, is basically bite sized and they don't feel the need to strike, coil, and eat it unless it's a small snake, they will typically just grab it and swallow it. It does not have the jaw strength or capacity to bite a snake in that stage, no.

Reptiles aren't capable of feeling emotions, so the need for socialization isn't there. Their primary goal in life is staying warm and eating. Pythons detect heat through the vents above their upper jaw line. At times, they cannot distinguish between a human hand and prey. People who claim their snake "loves them" likes to wrap around them solely for heat and to stay warm. They aren't capable of love. So considering that, if the snake has adequate space, is warm, has a water source it can soak in and is being fed, it's perfectly content in a enclosure as a pet. It will never have an awareness that it's "trapped".

This picture shows those vents, they are for detecting heat signatures, they aren't nostrils.

Thanks so much for the info, I feel like I should be paying you lol... have you tried signing up for a website like "JustAnswer" or something to get paid for your expertise?

Also, when you mean they can't sometimes distinguish human hand from prey... how come more bites don't happen? Is it because the owners feed them a lot? I'd assume by what you said bites would occur more often if they sometimes can't distinguish.

---

The first rule of owning a snake is do not move your hand directly in front of it's face at any time and avoid fast movements. I've been bit a few times because of this, even as a snake owner for years, I slipped up once and got a 6 foot boa clamped on my forearm for a few seconds. Approach from behind and feed it in a separate enclosure so it isn't anticipating food where it's home is. Once it learns you picking it up is you bringing it to it's feeding ground, bite are at little to no risk. At that point, if you get bit, it's your fault and you did something wrong handling it.

And I had no idea there were sites like that, I just like to discuss and share stuff like this because it's interesting.

---

My banana ball python is a lazy bum. But my normal does not act like a boa at all. Hes currently hanging off a branch

---

One snake I always wanted but never got was a green tree python. They start off as a baby and they are either yellow or brick red, and phase into green into adulthood. I think that's cool.

---

Im just nervous becuase theyre supposed to be bitey. But I went to a store that specializes in tree boas. Id have to get a baby and normalize it to being handled

---

imagine going to all this trouble to try and save a mouse thats meant to be snake food
---

I mean who cares, its no effort besides giving it food

---

MabusIncarnate posted...

The first rule of owning a snake is do not move your hand directly in front of it's face at any time and avoid fast movements. I've been bit a few times because of this, even as a snake owner for years, I slipped up once and got a 6 foot boa clamped on my forearm for a few seconds. Approach from behind and feed it in a separate enclosure so it isn't anticipating food where it's home is. Once it learns you picking it up is you bringing it to it's feeding ground, bite are at little to no risk. At that point, if you get bit, it's your fault and you did something wrong handling it.

And I had no idea there were sites like that, I just like to discuss and share stuff like this because it's interesting.

Ugh that must have sucked, did it draw blood and leave a bunch of marks? You mentioned feeding them in separate areas so they distinguish one area as a food area and the other as their "home" but also said they don't have an awareness that they are "trapped". Is that because all their needs are being fulfilled and they don't care to move around a lot? How do they distinguish a food area versus their home if they don't really have a sense of spacial awareness? When you approach the snake from behind, do they realize it's "you" (a human) that isn't there to harm it? Are they aware you are the source of their food? Probably silly questions but this topic got me interested in snake behavior.

And yeah, I've used "JustAnswer" a few times. Payed less than $20 on each occasion and got really detailed answers about things within less than an hour, and also was able to ask plenty of follow up questions. They have all sorts of experts on there for various topics

---

I agree with the people saying to freeze it. At least it will have some use as frozen food later. Iys noy likely to survive long without the mother, and if it does and sits for almost any amount of time it won't be good for the snake.

Part of being a snake owner is knowing that the snake is going to need to eat other animals. Sometimes that means preparing the animals yourself. At one point I had built a gas chamber specifically to kill rats with co2, so my snakes could have warm food. It was cheaper and easier than buying frozen rats regularly.

Also if you keep the mouse around, you are more likely to get its scent on your hands, and end up being bit by a confused snake.

---

Lol wow..."be humane and dont feed your pet" Back in Phoenix I had a 12ft Burmese python that I had to buy then breed white rabits.And yes once a month he would get a live rabbit.We would give rabbits to the store if we would have too many.

---

modena posted...

Lol wow..."be humane and dont feed your pet" Back in Phoenix I had a 12ft Burmese python that I had to buy then breed white rabits.And yes once a month he would get a live rabbit.We would give rabbits to the store if we would have too many.

i mean, we bought frozen mice. We bought a couple


---

Some of the comments do make me wonder how they'd handle a giant centipede feeding. It's like a horror show.

Houston posted...

Ugh that must have sucked, did it draw blood and leave a bunch of marks? You mentioned feeding them in separate areas so they distinguish one area as a food area and the other as their "home" but also said they don't have an awareness that they are "trapped". Is that because all their needs are being fulfilled and they don't care to move around a lot? How do they distinguish a food area versus their home if they don't really have a sense of spacial awareness? When you approach the snake from behind, do they realize it's "you" (a human) that isn't there to harm it? Are they aware you are the source of their food? Probably silly questions but this topic got me interested in snake behavior.

And yeah, I've used "JustAnswer" a few times. Payed less than $20 on each occasion and got really detailed answers about things within less than an hour, and also was able to ask plenty of follow up questions. They have all sorts of experts on there for various topics

Scent and territory is the more basic answer. It understands it's habitat by it's scent, it's where it sheds it's skin, defecates, etc. It will establish it's enclosure as it's home and territory. They will understand a basic routine, and when it's getting close to feeding day, typically once a week. When it's handled enough as a baby, it learns these things through instinct, much like how it's important to handle a juvenile snake a lot when it's young so it learns it's part of its existence. That's why if you approach an adult snake in the wild, no, you cannot go behind it and pick it up and not expect it to turn on you and strike.

Generally the day it feeds, you return it to it's enclosure and don't handle the snake for at least a full day. It needs time for primary digestion. Until it's ready to feed again in 4-5 days it has little to no interest in striking at a hot meal. That's why approaching it from behind, it doesn't sense your heat in front of it's face and it's already used to the interaction so you can then pick it up, handle it outside of the cage, even if you are comfortable enough, let others handle it.

---

Also, many smaller pet stores are able to provide pinkies and fuzzies by having a couple enclosures with mother rats and mice that they pull from for feeders. At the rate rodents breed there is almost always a fresh litter. You get a healthier feeder that way, which is better for the snake.

Once you've worked in a pet shop for a while, it's hard to see these mice as anything other than feeders. They exist to be eaten by snakes and lizards. After a couple months its pretty easy to just grab a mouse by the tail, break its neck, and feed it off.


---

_Rinku_ posted...

And yet you perpetuate an industry to intentionally inbreeds these creatures to have a cruel, short life with a violent end at your hands. Hm...

By all means, carnivores need to eat meat. Your justification of the suffering of its meal is just weird.

I was just trying to make TC feel better

Jeez

---

StarReaper13 posted...

Because normally they're not alive.

Fuck you, it's alive.

It's supposed to be food. Who cares?

---

We need a reality show of ceman killing snakes prey, just before the kill out in the bush...Crickey!

---

MabusIncarnate posted...

Scent and territory is the more basic answer. It understands it's habitat by it's scent, it's where it sheds it's skin, defecates, etc. It will establish it's enclosure as it's home and territory. They will understand a basic routine, and when it's getting close to feeding day, typically once a week. When it's handled enough as a baby, it learns these things through instinct, much like how it's important to handle a juvenile snake a lot when it's young so it learns it's part of its existence. That's why if you approach an adult snake in the wild, no, you cannot go behind it and pick it up and not expect it to turn on you and strike.

Generally the day it feeds, you return it to it's enclosure and don't handle the snake for at least a full day. It needs time for primary digestion. Until it's ready to feed again in 4-5 days it has little to no interest in striking at a hot meal. That's why approaching it from behind, it doesn't sense your heat in front of it's face and it's already used to the interaction so you can then pick it up, handle it outside of the cage, even if you are comfortable enough, let others handle it.

That makes sense. Thanks again

---

Mabus, are constrictors more docile than venomous snakes? I mean, if it has its venom glands remove could people keep cobras the same way?
---

Houston posted...

That makes sense. Thanks again

np any time. I also know a lot about freshwater and saltwater aquarium keeping, and gardening/farming if you ever have questions regarding those.

---

Purple_Cheetah posted...

Some of the comments do make me wonder how they'd handle a giant centipede feeding. It's like a horror show.

I was going to tag this topic anyways so now I'm curious; what is a giant centipede feeding like?
---

Azarias posted...

I was going to tag this topic anyways so now I'm curious; what is a giant centipede feeding like?

You can find some on youtube easily. Basically take a 12-13 inch centipede, aggressively grappling and paralyzing/killing a mouse with a bite. Then it begins chewing/gnawing with blood abound. Some really get in there...

Azarias posted...

I was going to tag this topic anyways so now I'm curious; what is a giant centipede feeding like?

Depends on what the feeder is. The biggest ones can eat mice, and it's pretty nasty. Ive always fed mine roaches though. Alot easier to keep roaches available, and less mess to clean up afterwards.

---

@Mark_DeRosa

Is the rodent hanging in there?


---

wtf is this shit.

What do you think your baby mice are before they get fucking frozen?

---

Hes doing good, hes got al white fur now

---

FWIW, mice are actually tremendous assholes who are super violent and have a lot of in-fighting. Adults will sometimes just kill a bunch of babies in a litter cuz why not. Males create harems and fight constantly. Plus this isnt even counting the whole e.coli aspect either lol.

They're really shitty animals lol.

---

LostForest posted...

FWIW, mice are actually tremendous assholes who are super violent and have a lot of in-fighting. Adults will sometimes just kill a bunch of babies in a litter cuz why not. Males create harems and fight constantly. Plus this isnt even counting the whole e.coli aspect either lol.

They're really shitty animals lol.

Absolutely. In the pet shop I worked at, every morning I would start the day by disposing of several mangled mouse corpses. Even with plenty of food, water, and space the mice would cannibalize each other constantly.

---

I really doubt that baby mouse is weaned yet. I dont think youll be able to feed him

---

I'm curious now.

---

Da-Etiquette posted...

cooked lentils and bean burrito.. cut into bits.
mashed potatoes.. crushed chick peas. bread
non acidic vegetables and fruits finely chopped

This is the kind of dark humor I come into the internet for

---

It lived? Cool

---