What to do with a live hopper mouse?

I have an extra LIVE hopper that I do not need to feed my snake until a few days, possibly next week. I just fed her one live one and I am wondering what to do with the other. obviously I am going to have to kill this thing and what I am wondering is would it be ok to just stick it in the freezer why it is still alive? I am not worried about the mouse's well being to be completely honest, i just don't want it to contaminate my food. Is this safe?


Please understand I don't condone the mistreating of animals but for somethingtolive (my snake), something has gotta die. Cycle of life baby, cycle of life. :)

Be kind and whack it over the head first, then put it in a ziploc baggie. Freezing animals alive is just sick and wrong.

break its neak..... put it in a small tub with a lid and keep it around... if your snake is eating live you dont wanna kill it and not have food fer your snakie...

Keep it as a pet until u need to feed it :D

Why would it contaminate your food, I dont understand :weirdface

They dont need a lot of space, something small to keep it, water and bread or dog food, or anything really... I think it's easier to keep it alive for 1 week than kill it freeze it and defrost next week.

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Originally Posted by bamf64

Keep it as a pet until u need to feed it :D

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:gj:

You say you don't care about the well being of the mouse and then in the next breath say you don't condone mistreating animals... :rolleyes:

Snap its neck. Or a stiff, blunt force to the head. Make sure it's actually dead though and not just stunned so that it doesn't wake up in the freezer and panic.

As for the dead/frozen mouse being in your freezer... As long as your food you have in there is properly sealed and the mouse is properly sealed you won't have anything to worry about. I keep up to a couple hundred frozen rats in my freezer at a time. Granted they're sorted by size and stored in their own container, but I've never had issues. (And no one else I know has either.)

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Originally Posted by Mettle

You say you don't care about the well being of the mouse and then in the next breath say you don't condone mistreating animals...

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Good question, and big difference.

I don't care about its well being to the extent that I do not care if it lives or dies.

However, I'm not going to drown the thing or burn it on the stove or torture it or anything.

Got it?

I have the thing in a very small rectangular tupperware container with holes punched in and some food thrown in as well. He keeps trying to bite his way out through the holes I punched in the top. Any way he can do it?

Hi,

Very probably yes - if theres one thing rodents do well it's chew. If they can get a tooth hold then they can do a lot of damage really quickly. ;)

If you feed live it's always a good idea to have a critter keeper or something with a waterbottle and some rodent food - refused feedings are a fact of life so it helps to plan ahead.


dr del

Hmmm, looks like I'll be shoving into the freezer and saving for next week.

Press down on its neck with a pencil and pull its tail really hard this is how they do it in labs and is considered humane (cervical dislocation), then place it in the freezer I would rather have my neck snapped quickly then freeze to death. Its also nicer then whaking it in the head.

I don't think you should freeze it alive whether or not you care about the animals well being, that is just cruel. You should at least kill it first in a fairly respectable manner and then freeze it.

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Originally Posted by ed4281

Press down on its neck with a pencil and pull its tail really hard this is how they do it in labs and is considered humane (cervical dislocation), then place it in the freezer I would rather have my neck snapped quickly then freeze to death. Its also nicer then whaking it in the head.

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I find it very interesting how you say "this is considered humane"


P.S. I donnt see how thatr is any "nicer" than your other method. This proves it is all subjective. I must suspecnd my ego for a moment.

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Originally Posted by DJ_Bizarre

I don't think you should freeze it alive whether or not you care about the animals well being, that is just cruel. You should at least kill it first in a fairly respectable manner and then freeze it.

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Really?

Yet breaking its neck is better? I mean look at those words...........break its neck....

There is no humane way to get rid of a mouse, plain and simple. Everyone has their biases, yet everyone has to do it to feed there snake. Morality is absent from this.

Anyone know how much protein a mouse has? I'm afraid that if I cook it the heat will burn its flesh to the point that protein remains no longer, I am considering a slow drown. I think this will be painless and humane. Thoughts?

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Originally Posted by EvesFriend

Anyone know how much protein a mouse has? I'm afraid that if I cook it the heat will burn its flesh to the point that protein remains no longer, I am considering a slow drown. I think this will be painless and humane. Thoughts?

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Your hilarious. Just cause you were made fun of as a kid and a little porky doesn't mean you should torture an animal. I feel bad for your snakes if you mistreat a mouse like this. But meh, who am I to judge right?

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Originally Posted by Jeremy78

Your hilarious. Just cause you were made fun of as a kid and a little porky doesn't mean you should torture an animal. I feel bad for your snakes if you mistreat a mouse like this. But meh, who am I to judge right?

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I was being sarcastic.


If I didn't care, I wouldn't have asked.

LOL! Whew! Well if its just a hopper, chances are it may not live anyway. Like everyone else said, there really is no way to not hurt it. It will die. You can just choose to do it in a way that is least painful. Wacking it on the head is really the best I think. Animals have a much higher pain tolerance than we do as a survival mechanism. If you can knock it into a mild stupor then breaking its neck with a long screw driver will be fast and will not hurt at all. If it were an adult I would say to just do that anyway. It sounds bad but it is very fast and its over before the rodent has a chance to realise anything.

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Originally Posted by EvesFriend

Good question, and big difference.

I don't care about its well being to the extent that I do not care if it lives or dies.

However, I'm not going to drown the thing or burn it on the stove or torture it or anything.

Got it?

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I'm sorry but no I don't "got it".

There are certain ways of euthanizing an animal that are less cruel than others. Sticking them, alive, into a freezer or cooking them alive/drowning them is not one of them. (You shouldn't feed a cooked mouse to your snake, anyway.)

I'm beginning to see though that this is all a joke to you. I am starting to wonder if you even have a left over mouse or not? If you're just trying to get a rise out of people or what?

You asked for and received advice and you seem intent to lash out or fight back against at those trying to help you. Why bother posting in the first place if you are so determined and your mind is made up? That's what I would like to know.

Are you feeding a ball python? If so what size is your ball? My thoughts are just go ahead and feed the mouse to your snake. I have a pretty large collection and I feed them several ASF rats a week. My adults eat three large ASF's usually and my babies eat a couple fuzzies. So I would just see if your snake will go ahead and eat it. Then you don't have to worry about it.

Josh

Drowning is a horrible way to go. I'm sorry, just keep it alive for a week. Small container, a carrot or something, then feed your snake.

You don't seem to understand what the meaning of humane is, so just don't try to kill it at all if you refuse good advice.:colbert:

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Originally Posted by A.VinczeBPs

Drowning is a horrible way to go. I'm sorry, just keep it alive for a week. Small container, a carrot or something, then feed your snake.

You don't seem to understand what the meaning of humane is, so just don't try to kill it at all if you refuse good advice.:colbert:

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He was joking about the drowning...

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Originally Posted by Foschi Exotic Serpents

He was joking about the drowning...

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Ok, then putting it in a freezer while alive or burning it is also not humane. Either way he seems to be joking about the whole thing.:rolleyes:

When I feed live I flick the mouse in the back of its head. Knocks 'em out pretty quick. I dont know if I could do it to a hopper, though. They be so cute :tears:

You need to be prepared for things like this. It is our responsibility as keepers to treat animals humanely in an event like this. You have been given some really sound advice, whether or not you choose to comply with it is entirely up to you.

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Originally Posted by EvesFriend

I have an extra LIVE hopper that I do not need to feed my snake until a few days, possibly next week. I just fed her one live one and I am wondering what to do with the other. obviously I am going to have to kill this thing and what I am wondering is would it be ok to just stick it in the freezer why it is still alive? I am not worried about the mouse's well being to be completely honest, i just don't want it to contaminate my food. Is this safe?


Please understand I don't condone the mistreating of animals but for somethingtolive (my snake), something has gotta die. Cycle of life baby, cycle of life. :)

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You Suck....Anyone who would mistreat any animal shouldn't have anything but stuffed toys to care for.

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Originally Posted by Arsinoe

You Suck....Anyone who would mistreat any animal shouldn't have anything but stuffed toys to care for.

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How has he mistreated the hopper? Or are you talking about his snake? You understand that a lot of people believe it's wrong to feed live, right? I am not one of those people even though I feed f/t.

Putting his joking aside, he doesn't want a pet rodent. Cervical dislocation would be the humane way to dispatch it if you do not have a c02 chamber. Drowning would be much more stressful, but a botched cervical dislocation is not an easy way to go either. Read up about it, there is a proper way to do it, it's not simply put an object on the head and pull the tail.

edit: I would just keep it for the week though and feed it off.

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Originally Posted by Mettle

I'm sorry but no I don't "got it".

There are certain ways of euthanizing an animal that are less cruel than others. Sticking them, alive, into a freezer or cooking them alive/drowning them is not one of them. (You shouldn't feed a cooked mouse to your snake, anyway.)

I'm beginning to see though that this is all a joke to you. I am starting to wonder if you even have a left over mouse or not? If you're just trying to get a rise out of people or what?

You asked for and received advice and you seem intent to lash out or fight back against at those trying to help you. Why bother posting in the first place if you are so determined and your mind is made up? That's what I would like to know.

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Unfortunately this post was not a joke and I have gotten rid of the mouse. I won't even go into details seeing as youare getting so flustered.

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Originally Posted by Foschi Exotic Serpents

He was joking about the drowning...

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Exactly. I assumed people weren't so uptight to detect that in the first place. From now on, I shall refrain from all jokes and sarcasm. :)

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Originally Posted by EvesFriend

Unfortunately this post was not a joke and I have gotten rid of the mouse. I won't even go into details seeing as youare getting so flustered.

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I don't get flustered by ignorance, I get frustrated by it. There's a difference. When you get older you'll learn that. :gj:

Let me guess, you boiled it and had it along with some egg rolls?

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Originally Posted by Mettle

I don't get flustered by ignorance, I get frustrated by it. There's a difference. When you get older you'll learn that. :gj:

Let me guess, you boiled it and had it along with some egg rolls?

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No, I just gave it to one of my friends who wanted it as a pet. True story.


Little anti-climactic isn't it?

WoW. As if throwing a poor live mouse into a box with a snake is a good fun way to die. lol Being bitten and then having the stuffing squeezed out of you is a blast.

I feed live and F/T as well as P/K so it's not like I care. It's a rodent.

On a side note I am sure rodents feel pain just as any thing else does. To say that they have a higher pain threshold because they are rodents is bull.
Hell rats laugh when tickled.http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/story?id=626264&page=1

Go figure. It's funny how humans think every thing other than people have little to no feelings or emotions or that their genetics don't work the same. It's an animal not human so it is so.

All living things are alike whether you want to believe it or not.

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Originally Posted by EvesFriend

No, I just gave it to one of my friends who wanted it as a pet. True story.


Little anti-climactic isn't it?

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Do you have any idea what pain and anguish you are leaving that animal with by simply giving it to a friend!??!?! ARE YOU NUTS!


;) Rats are social animals, you should suggest to your friend that they should invest in another for companionship. HA

i kept mine for a few days then fed it to my snake when feeding day came again

I know I've gotten into this discussion before and it led to no good. BUT. I don't understand the compassion for a mouse/rat when it comes to disposing of the rodent. Anyone that feeds live rodents to their snakes, don't seem to care how humane that is. You don't seem to take the humane factor into account when it comes to feeding your snakes.

I know, I've heard it all before, but you can't tell me that feeding a live rodent to a snake is humane for the rodent.

Jim Smith

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Originally Posted by Arsinoe

You Suck....Anyone who would mistreat any animal shouldn't have anything but stuffed toys to care for.

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This coming from someone that has been murdered at least 3 times. Aren't you a little biased? :rolleye2:

Jim Smith

The people who feed F/T they purchased in bulk or in an overpriced bag of 1 at petco seem to think the rat was born, grew up and died while being frozen the entire time.

Someone somewhere killed that rodent. It is still unknown if gassing is even safe as it may have residual effects on the snake. But again, no one knows for sure. Many of those companies that sell the already frozen rodents do not waste time or money on gassing. So how do you think they were killed? Food for thought..

Or is it, "out of sight out of mind"?

For the OP. Next time, just do whatever you want with it. Dont bring it up here as you can see what happens. Why do you think so many keepers and breeders do not openly communicate with others about the little details of the hobby. Too much animosity.

If I have a few extras I do not want to keep and don't feel like euthanizing and freeze I just double feed one or more of my snakes.

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Originally Posted by Arsinoe

You Suck....Anyone who would mistreat any animal shouldn't have anything but stuffed toys to care for.

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And Arsinoe. Please stop insulting people based on your personal beliefs. It is very hipocritical to your spiritual beliefs. That is not how BPnet rolls.

I always seem to buy extras so I went ahead and made a diy rack unit, I throw them in there and breed them. If i have too many I go ahead and separate the males and females for awhile and give the extras to my friends for there snakes, so we all benifit, lol. Plus my kids love the colored ones so i gave them some of those, lol. I havnt had to buy food for her for a long time:D

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Originally Posted by EvesFriend

Really?

Yet breaking its neck is better? I mean look at those words...........break its neck....

There is no humane way to get rid of a mouse, plain and simple. Everyone has their biases, yet everyone has to do it to feed there snake. Morality is absent from this.

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Yes my friend, but there is a very big difference in respect to the amount of pain the creature should go through in order to become lunch.

Big difference between cervical dislocation and burning the animal to death for instance. One is (if done correctly) very fast with minor pain and less stress then the other one which must be nothing less then pure hell for 5 minutes..

This is why I feed FT..