Is there any truth to this?

We recently acquired a 4 ft ball python and the previous owner informed us that she will only eat live. so today my wife went to pick up a couple mice from pet smart and one of the people assisting her said that they inject the mice so if you feed them to a snake it will kill the snake? i personally think the guy was full of it and couldn't find and info to prove or disprove it. My wife didn't let on that the mice where for feeding our new edition either since we have herd rumors that stores can and will refuse to sell you mice if they are aware that you are using them as feeder mice. if anyone can inform me better on the subject it would be appreciated.

I've never heard of it before, but that doesn't mean it's not true. It is true though that some pet store's will refuse to sell rodents for food.

On a side note, I would be feeding a 4 ft bp at least a small rat. I bet it's going to take at least 4 mice to fill him up :)

If it'll kill a snake it'll kill a mouse would be my thought..

Find your self a local-ish supplier for Live feeders, you'l save yourself loads of money and the grief of trying to explain why you're in every week buying 3 mice like clock work.

from what i have herd from the previous owner she is partially blind and a bit skiddish. he had been having problems feeding with rats and suggested we try mice to at least see if it helps.

Partially blind? That's strange. Poor girl. All ball pythons are a bit skiddish though. Only the ones who are constantly worked with become less head shy. I would try a rat first. They don't see that well anyway, and do most of their hunting by their heat pits. Of course, a small rat or weanling would work best.

I would think it would be less stressful than a bunch of mice.

He said she had a couple bad sheds in a row and it messed up her eyes. but i was just reading about bad sheds and if it happens again i think i can start straitening up the eye problem

Oh, so he's probably talking about stuck eye caps. Poor girl. Yeah, definately keep an eye on her humidity and when she goes into shed, bump it up fairly high. Like 70%. Maybe, she'll get those eye caps off. If not, she needs to go to the vet to have them removed.

Do you have any pictures of her? Most of our experienced members can spot a stuck eye cap (or two) and offer the best advice on what to do. Good luck with her!

i will take some and post them tonight

If we knew what state you are in someone here might know a rat breeder in your area.

i and in connecticut in the hartford area

Next time you talk to the mouse guy, as you're leaving and after you've paid, tell him you've coated all your paper money with a powder that will cause his testicles to shrink to the size of peas.

Then leave.

i may actually do that

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Originally Posted by wilomn

Next time you talk to the mouse guy, as you're leaving and after you've paid, tell him you've coated all your paper money with a powder that will cause his testicles to shrink to the size of peas.

Then leave.

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:rofl::rofl::rofl: luv to see his face after that...

maybe i will bring my camera when i do

Should look a lil something like this :D :8:


http://i126.photobucket.com/albums/p...wtf-monkey.jpg

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So today my wife went to pick up a couple mice from pet smart and one of the people assisting her said that they inject the mice so if you feed them to a snake it will kill the snake? I personally think the guy was full of it and couldn't find and info to prove or disprove it.

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Go back to that store and ask to talk to the store manager. Report that person, STAT.

I work at a PetSMART and while it is true, we are not allowed to sell live mice if we suspect they might be used as feeders, it is a blatant lie that we inject the mice with ANYTHING. That associate needs to be reported, that's totally unacceptable behaviour and should not be tolerated.

On that note...because I'm one of the resident "snake people" at the store I work at, I have been told they won't sell me live rodents EVER, just because I have snakes. I pointed out that I feed f/t, never live, and that I have considered a Gerbil as a companion animal...and was told they'd deny the sale due to the snakes. It's absurd but the reality is they can and DO refuse sales to people whom they suspect will feed live.

My advice is to find a local breeder/supplier or go to the nearest reptile expo. :) Best of luck!!!

This is Maverick67's wife. I made sure to tell the guy I was looking for pet mice and since it was me and my friend, I don't think he suspected us as snake people. I didn't think that what he said was true at all, but I didn't want to risk it. Thank you everyone for all the great advice you've been giving us. :)

so i guess no one knows a good rat supplier in ct

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Originally Posted by Maverick67

so i guess no one knows a good rat supplier in ct

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You could always just buy a male and a female rat and breed them yourself. :)

Pssssh.......yeah, they inject them with something to make them kill snakes. I guess that's why my Petsmart manager said to me "hey - we got a male mouse in with our females by accident - do you want him? No charge." She knows I breed ball pythons and she also knew what would become of the male mouse.

My snake that got the mouse is still alive! :P

ya i thought the whole thing was kinda rediculous