Wild mice

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Originally Posted by evan385

Well hell if I had a car I would just drive to Knoxville and buy some live mice, but I don't. I just want him to eat..

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what area do you live in in knoxville? i use to live there, and might be able to point you to a few places that have live,,,, otherwise, i would thank that in the next 4 or 5 days, you would be around somewhere that has feeders.
spooky

I could go to Critter Barn, they've always been great and i've done a lot of business with them. I just got a job so as soon as I get a car i'm getting rid of my rats and going back to Critter Barn. I thought that all parasites would be killed off by freezing for more than 24 hours so I was going to try that. Seeing as that's not the case i'll just wait another week or two for the rat pups to grow rather than risk a parasite and a vet bill. Also (not to you, someone else) to say that I disregard everyone else's opinion on all of my posts is completely asinine.

This thread has served it's purpose. I'm gonna wait on the rat pups to grow. Please close :)

evan385 you have become a bit defensive, no body is trying to make you feel this way. The question is a valid one, and the reasons understandable. The point is figure all wild caught rodents carry parasites and figure that to be 100% certain all cysts and ovum are killed you need 30 days at 19.4ºF. That only leaves the possibility of other things aside from poison things like oils, antifreeze ect. Add virus into the mix and it becomes less certain again. These are good reasons why it is not a very good risk.

It looks like you will have 4 snakes soon? I'd suggest that it might be a good idea to check out the get many rodent breeders whom ship frozen rodents to you. It is likely you will save money and not be so reliant on a store for supply. Some of the large breeders claim a pinky rat is born every second of every day they have huge output and rarely if ever run out. This way you are only relining on your self to ensure you don't run out.

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Originally Posted by mr.spooky

yes, they eat wild mice/rats in the wild, and have from the day that they were born.
*i might be talking out of my ass here* but it seems to me that they (the wild ones) probabaly have imunities to deseases that your captive bread snake might not... think of when the europeans came to america (the name we call it today)..
they brought deseases and stuff that theirimune system could handle, but it wiped out thousands that werent use to it.
spooky

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Wild animals are rarely "healthy." Wild animals have drastically lower life spans than those kept in captivity. Some of this is from predators but parasites and other illness is a real issue as well. Wild animals have intestinal parasites, ticks, and mites and they live with them. Parasites have not evolved to kill their hosts. They live with you causing issues that you can live with.

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Originally Posted by evan385

I didn't ask whether I should do it or not. I'm going to, my question was more like should I feed it live because I know he'll eat it or freeze it to be sure any parasites are killed off. It has been below 32F several nights in a row so i'm not really that worried about parasites.

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There is a flaw in your logic. You said you found a live mouse. Mice are mammals. Mammals are warm blooded. When its 32F outside its nice and warm in a mouses belly. Parasites are not killed off by cold weather unless the host animal is killed.

Ya it's just yucky. Even if any of my feeder mice escape. And yep they escape occasionally. As soon as I find and catch them they are immediately put down and tossed in the trash. I wouldnt risk it.


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To the OP....
I know a guy that is a professional rat and mouse breeder (he paid for his rodent breeding facilities with what he made selling them, and even has his own brand of rodent block custom blended and bagged). He does ship them all over the US. He is in Indiana, and I'm sure Knoxville shipping wouldn't be horrible. Just have them shipped to you until you get your car.
PM me and I'll give you his contact info.
Or there is always the big name places (rodent pro, mouse factory, big cheese rodents etc....just do a google search.)
Shipping would more than likely be cheaper than a vet bill.

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Originally Posted by mikeandsheleen

To the OP....
I know a guy that is a professional rat and mouse breeder (he paid for his rodent breeding facilities with what he made selling them, and even has his own brand of rodent block custom blended and bagged). He does ship them all over the US. He is in Indiana, and I'm sure Knoxville shipping wouldn't be horrible. Just have them shipped to you until you get your car.
PM me and I'll give you his contact info.
Or there is always the big name places (rodent pro, mouse factory, big cheese rodents etc....just do a google search.)
Shipping would more than likely be cheaper than a vet bill.

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see,,, thats the beeoch,,,,,, S&H will eat you up..... i do a 6 month stock when i order my F/T's.... shipping usually cost as much, or more than the order. dont know if it makes a difference, but i order for 26 snakes.... maby 5 or less would come out better.. next time, ill be finding a breeder, and driving there. ever if its 200$$ in gass,, ill be coming out better in shipping.. id be getting more feeders for the price of 4 or 5 pieces of dried ice................
spooky

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Originally Posted by mr.spooky

see,,, thats the beeoch,,,,,, S&H will eat you up..... i do a 6 month stock when i order my F/T's.... shipping usually cost as much, or more than the order. dont know if it makes a difference, but i order for 26 snakes.... maby 5 or less would come out better.. next time, ill be finding a breeder, and driving there. ever if its 200$$ in gass,, ill be coming out better in shipping.. id be getting more feeders for the price of 4 or 5 pieces of dried ice................
spooky

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I guess thats where I'm lucky...I just drive 10 minutes to pick them up, and I don't have that many bp's to feed.