Rant: My bp finally decided not to eat..

So about a month ago I fed my BP a pretty decent sized rat. Took him about 30 minutes to finally get it down. Stupid pet store gave me a large rat as opposed to a small / medium sized rat. My fault for not looking.. ah well.

Anyway I went to feed him another small rat (dead this time, figured it was about due to swtich him to pre-killed). Anyway he didn't even feign interest in it.

So I decide to wait two weeks, and a few days ago I came home with a small live rat just begging to be played with. Again Dante flicked his tongue at the unsuspecting rodent, but no appetite apperently.

So on top of having a non-feeding python, I now have a live rat that I have no idea whatsoever to do with.

I couldn't return the rat, I couldn't just let him go.. and I loathed killing it myself. I was in a moral predicament. Finally I broke down and decided to freeze the poor thing and save it for a later meal..

SO I put him in a disposable tupperware container, and without flinching stuck him in the freezer.

Before anyone starts freaking out, calm down and it'll all be ok. About 20 minutes went by and I just couldn't do it. I pulled the poor critter outta the freezer and let him warm up a bit. Finally I decided to go run some errands. On my way to the supermarket, I pulled over near a large stretch of chaparel near my house and gave the little rat "nicknamed Frosty" a renewed chance at life.

Frosty is now running free in the wild. If he's smart, he'll walk about 500 yards north to a local Carls Jr. and terrorize their dumpster hopefully.

Despite my extreme hatred for rats, that one was spared. Anyway, just wanted to rant.

Eh, when I'm forced to do away with a rat I've never really thought about it. I felt a bit bad about the cute mice and gerbils, but rats get on my nerves.

Maybe the meal was to big for him, give the bp some more time :)

I got stuck with a pair of live mice once that the snake wouldn't eat. I told the pet store they could even keep my money if they would just take the mice back. I figured a couple bucks was worth losing so as not to suddenly have a breeding colony of mice on my hands! (They happily took the mice back and just dumped them back into the big tank full of mice.....I didn't think that was very bright on their part.)

Here's the kind of doofus I am. I keep an extra freakin tank set up so that when Rex decides it's a one mouse kind of a day, I have room for the little leftover critter. Then I nurtre it and care for it until the next feeding day.

2 points - I don't like mice, and they stink. Yes ladies and gentlemen, I AM a doofus. :shock:

I kept rats as pets in the past and I could never kill one myself. Mice and gerbils... *shudder* I hate them. If Eleanor doesn't eat within the next two weeks I'm trying a fresh killed gerbil on her... reason I'm waiting the two weeks is my boyfriend might be visiting from Canada, and he won't have a problem killing a small furry animal, lol.

Last night we had a left over live mouse (Seymour didn't want to eat), but the cat took care of it before I had a chance to worry about what to do with it.

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Originally Posted by Marla

Last night we had a left over live mouse (Seymour didn't want to eat), but the cat took care of it before I had a chance to worry about what to do with it.

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LOL!! That's one way to dispose of unused mice!

It certainly is! I hadn't planned it, but he took advantage of the opportunity before I had to figure out whether to whack it or what. :) Hes sitting here looking very pleased with himself as I type this.

i just thought someone should probably mention that releasing non-native animals (probably even native animals) into the wild is illegal. and if it not illegal everywhere, it still shouldnt be done.
odds are the one rat you let loose wont cause any harm. but the potential is there to spread disease or disrupt the ecosystem in other ways.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Marla

It certainly is! I hadn't planned it, but he took advantage of the opportunity before I had to figure out whether to whack it or what. :) Hes sitting here looking very pleased with himself as I type this.

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LMAO!! I'll bet he is! Ohhhh I miss my cats!

When I was a kid, we had a cat that would catch mice outside and bring them into the house to play with. More than once, the mouse would escape into the house somewhere. There's few things funnier than watching your cat racing after the loose mouse, only to smack headfirst into the closed door that the mouse darted beneath! (At least...it was funny to me...my Mom didn't find it so amusing!)