Field Mice?

We have trapped multiple field mice on our farm.. What harm is there in feeding them to our snakes? in the wild snakes eat wild rodents.. and who is to say that the mice/rats you buy are not carrying mites, diseases and other pests? The barn cats eat them and don't seem to have any adverse effects. And I must admit these mice are very fat (especially those we catch in the feed room) I have not done this I am just curious..

I would have to say no.

refer to the following.
http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showt...556-Is-it-safe

I guess my first question would be why? Is it worth the risk? Save a few bucks on the chance they could be safe?
Snakes in the wild eat wild rodents, you are right. Snakes in the wild also often have mites and parasites both, and a significantly shorter life-span than those in captivity. (from being hunted etc also of course)
You could feed your snakes wild mice. But why take the risk? If our captive bred mice have issues, we have someone to trace it back to. If they are dirty or sickly, we know the source for which to complain / avoid.

Your barn cats are not snakes, so that comparison is irrelevant. That would be like saying well my kids eat spaghetti and it seems alright for them so my snake should be fine too. It's just silly comparing completely different
animals. Some things effect species differently.

I'm not saying your field mice are disease ridden, or are going to definitely kill your snakes or anything. I just don't see the point in risking it whatsoever.

Wild mice not only can carry disease and parasites, they could have also gotten into something toxic. (i.e. rat poisons).
It's just not worth the risk to feed your snake wild caught food.........

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Originally Posted by satomi325

Wild mice not only can carry disease and parasites, they could have also gotten into something toxic. (i.e. rat poisons).
It's just not worth the risk to feed your snake wild caught food.........

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x2 ^^^ outback reptiles sells many wild caught ball pythons that feed on rodents in the wild. he also treats for internal parasites and mites, do you?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Sand

I would have to say no.

refer to the following.
http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showt...556-Is-it-safe

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Yes I already read that thread and found it helpful

I was just curious as to why not. As I said I have never done this, and I wasn't going to start. It was a question asked to me by one of the farm guys and got me thinking because I could not come up with a definitive answer.

Thank you for your replies!