Feeding a captive snake wild mice?

[satomi325]

Rodents can pass on hook worms and pin worms to a BP. Worm infested BPs tend too go off feed and is just a pain in the butt to deal with and treat.
It's just better off not feeding wild animals to the snakes. Not to mention the mice who have been exposed to rat poisons and chemicals.

Why expose your captive snakes like that when there are other better options of food?


I personally de-worm my rat colony annually, so I know they're clean. I don't fancy parasite infested snakes.

[Shadera]

I personally de-worm my rat colony annually, so I know they're clean. I don't fancy parasite infested snakes.

More detail. please? Hadn't heard of this, but it sounds like solid practice.

Thank you!

[satomi325]

More detail. please? Hadn't heard of this, but it sounds like solid practice.

Thank you!

Ivermectin paste (comes in tubes for horses) from the feed store gets rid of all sorts of internal and external parasites. It's fantastic for worms.
A rice grain size dose for every breeder rat.

[Anya]

Okay, I know, I know, we're keeping the zombie alive...


But couldn't you worm a wild mouse/rat? And quarantine sufficiently to rule out poisoning/let the wormer run it's course? I know that after all that, it makes far more sense to just breed/buy, but I really see no reason why that practice couldn't be used. Anyone?

[KMG]

In the southeast we eat all kinds of wild animals that we cook thoroughly and no one ever gets sick from it. Perhaps if you really wanted to be sure you could boil cook the mice and then let them cool to serve to your snake as it would kill any parasites or bacteria living in them. You would probably have to make sure to use a thermometer to check the boiled mouses internals after though to make sure you weren't going to burn your snake. I think that underneath all these cliche responses is a reoccurring theme that eating anything from the wild is toxic and risky. I think people are too spoiled these days in thinking that everything is clean and sanitary coming from factories where things are made artificially while not realizing the FDA and other regulations allow for things like bug parts per million to be allowed into our food.

Would I feed wild mice to my snake? Perhaps I will experiment feeding wild mice to my regular regius and see how it goes. That is what actually lead me to this forum. I think I would try it since all I ever see is the same pretentious response that everyone gives without any supporting information.

Why would you want to risk contaminating your snake collection? That is just irresponsible. The reason you don't see people testing this is because they care about their collection and don't mind feeding them the best rodents they can. We also understand a wild rodent could potentially pass something to our collection and it is not worth it.

You showed your knowledge on this subject by suggesting to feed cooked rodents and comparing eating cooked food to raw.

[KMG]

Anya have you ever seen a wild mouse or rat that was as healthy as a raised feeder? They are usually much smaller and not nearly as big.

Your plan I think could work but you would still be left with inferior feeders.

[Mike41793]

You showed your knowledge on this subject by suggesting to feed cooked rodents and comparing eating cooked food to raw.

No cooked food...? Wait are you telling me your bloods didn't like that rat soufflé and mouse quiche i sent?!

[KMG]

No, but I really enjoyed it!!!

[Pythonfriend]

i think the biggest problem is accidental poisoning. People poison mice and rats.

External parasites are no problem, because external parasites on rhodents are adapted to a hairy environment, they have claws to hang on to hairs and on a flat surface they stick out. They are vertically high, with all feets on the ground they are high and thin. Still rather flat, but in a different direction. Reptile parasites are vertically flat, and wide. Reptile parasites could not possibly attach to a hairy surface, they have the wrong shape.

That leaves internal parasites. Here i dont know anything.

i would take the mice, and keep them for 2-3 days, offering them water and appropriate rhodent food. If they dont die but thrive then they are unpoisoned, and then i would just go ahead and feed them. Internal parasites will often get killed by the digestive process, unless there are eggs that can resist the acids. And then it is still quite a leap from mammal to reptile.

Dead mice are of no use, and are in no way similar to frozen rats/mice from any halfway decent feeder breeder. If they live happily in your custody for a while it can be fine, except maybe for internal parasites, so its still a risk that maybe can be taken. But if they are dead, forget it, no way.

[DVirginiana]

i think the biggest problem is accidental poisoning. People poison mice and rats.

External parasites are no problem, because external parasites on rhodents are adapted to a hairy environment, they have claws to hang on to hairs and on a flat surface they stick out. They are vertically high, with all feets on the ground they are high and thin. Still rather flat, but in a different direction. Reptile parasites are vertically flat, and wide. Reptile parasites could not possibly attach to a hairy surface, they have the wrong shape.

That leaves internal parasites. Here i dont know anything.

i would take the mice, and keep them for 2-3 days, offering them water and appropriate rhodent food. If they dont die but thrive then they are unpoisoned, and then i would just go ahead and feed them. Internal parasites will often get killed by the digestive process, unless there are eggs that can resist the acids. And then it is still quite a leap from mammal to reptile.

Dead mice are of no use, and are in no way similar to frozen rats/mice from any halfway decent feeder breeder. If they live happily in your custody for a while it can be fine, except maybe for internal parasites, so its still a risk that maybe can be taken. But if they are dead, forget it, no way.

I recently had a snake that had an almost fatal issue with mammalian nematodes. The herp vet I go to is one of the top in the country (near a vet school) and they'd never seen anything like it. This happened after I fed some mice from a local small petstore that I believe may have had questionable freezing practices. I fed it to all my snakes, and only one got sick, but there's definitely a risk. Internal parasites and eggs are designed to survive the digestive system. That's how they become internal parasites.

The only way to for-sure kill internal parasites is to deep-freeze them for about three months (or do a de-worming med course... but that's so expensive, why bother?). That's how I've heard people treat w/c fish for fish-eaters. I'm from the southeast as well, and that's how every person I know who eats game meat, especially boar which has a high human parasite risk, eats w/c meat. The few I know who eat it fresh... Well, they aren't the sort who I trust to cook for me