Shaving mouse?

Can i shave the feeder mice?This is a serious question i want to feed mice with less hair but i have no where near me to buy hairless mice like some of you guys have.So is it ok if i buy some clippers (small ones) and just shave most of the hair off the mouse then wash it to get the clipped hair pieces off?Right now in my mind there is nothing that can go wrong with this so is it a bad idea or can i go for it and if it makes any difference i can pre kill the mouse before i shave it.

Why? :confused:

Because it is healthier so can i do it?

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Originally Posted by Deborah

Why? :confused:

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Exactly! Why?

There will be less hair in the digestive track,and i cannot get my hands on some hairless mice so im wondering can i just shave them?

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Originally Posted by Thepythonman12

Because it is healthier so can i do it?

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Healthier? Care to elaborate on that?

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Originally Posted by Thepythonman12

There will be less hair in the digestive track,and i cannot get my hands on some hairless mice so im wondering can i just shave them?

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Trust me if they can digest bones, nails, teeth, a little fur is not gonna hurt them they do it all the time. You are not feeding angora hamsters you are feeding mice ;)

Of course if you want to make simple thing more complicated why not? :rolleyes:

come on guys .. have yall never watched the documentary on the anaconda ? it clearly shows the anaconda kill the Capybara and then take out his shaving kit clean him up .. j/j but i dont see how its healthier. but it could be

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Originally Posted by Deborah

Trust me if they can digest bones, nails, teeth, a little fur is not gonna hurt them they do it all the time. You are not feeding angora hamsters you are feeding mice ;)

Of course if you want to make simple thing more complicated why not? :rolleyes:

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Deborah is correct. Snakes digest the hair and bones. There really is no reason to shave a feeder mouse.

That's one of the dumbest things I think I've ever heard...well...herp related anyway...

Ok im a new owner and i read before that mice/rat fur can literally build up in there digestive track over time and cause serious problems.But i really do not see my self shaving a mouse its kind of like animal cruelty and im not with that.But thanks there will be no shaving.But if any one has anygood sites where i can buy some hairless rodents or any stores in the Long Island area that sells them?Please let me know.

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Originally Posted by sho220

That's one of the dumbest things I think I've ever heard...well...herp related anyway...

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'Ouch!

I've often considered rodent hair in rodent-eating pythons' diets to be equivalent to fiber in our diets.

Don't shave your mice.

^
should be a new slogan

Do snakes shave their mice out in the wild? I don't think so. Like Deb said, if they can digest teeth and bones perfectly fine then hair is no problem what so ever. Your definatly making it WAY more difficult for yourself.

In this situation you really cannot use wild snakes as an example,thats like asking and saying do snakes in the wild get rid of scale rot with Neosporin and a dry enclosure exxcc ,No so do not do anything with scale rot (get what i am saying). The ball pythons in the wild do not live aslong as the ones in captivity and thats because of proper husbandry so just because they do it and die in the wild does not mean you should not investigate and go head in towards any potential danger when it comes to your snake.

Fur in a snake's diet acts as fiber like in our diets. It helps move things through the digestive tract and helps keep it clean and working properly. Snakes eat furry animals throughout their entire lives and I'm pretty sure there has NEVER been a single case of snakes becoming impacted with fur from their food.

There are people here who have been keeping snakes for years. Possibly several decades, and they have never had a snake become impacted with fur. When I clean poop out of my snake's enclosure I see fur in the feces. There is a reason for the fur. Just like we need fiber in our diets to help keep our digestive tracts in working order (we don't live in the wild) so do our snakes. Only difference is, they can't eat broccoli so their digestive systems utilize the fur of the rodents to do the job.

You are the only person I know of with this concern and you seem to be fighting for why your idea is correct which leads me to believe there is a good chance you are going to do what you think is right regardless of what everyone else says. I am going to say what I think anyway but it does not seem like it will make a difference. I understand the concern for your snakes saftey but trust me it will be quite fine eating mice with the hair still on it. If you want to look at it from a captive bred point of veiw (I will give one example), there are people who own single snakes worth $25,000 and up and they do not feed their snakes hairless mice or shave them down as far as I know. If hair caused that much of a concern they would be using hairless feeders themselves (or shaving) to protect their pets/investment. Anyways, good luck with whatever you decide to do :salute:

In a non herp related way, I have shaved a mouse before and it is really difficult. We had to do it for my Small Animal Laboratory Science class and they were under anesthesia. I could not imagine doing it to an awake mouse that will freak out at the sound and feel of clippers...

The only time I've ever heard of fur causing problems is either when the snake eats it backwards and regurges, or someone my vet knew who was feeding a large snake multiple mice per feeding and feeding every other day! :O But he just had buildup in general!

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Originally Posted by mainbutter

I've often considered rodent hair in rodent-eating pythons' diets to be equivalent to fiber in our diets.

Don't shave your mice.

^
should be a new slogan

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This made me giggle for about five minutes. :8:

But in all seriousness, no, shaving is not necessary. Several far more reputable people than me have already established that - just didn't want to be a thread stealer. :rolleyes:

Sometimes when we're learning something new and we read a compelling article...the "facts" from that article can stick with us pretty hard. Someone who has been doing the same thing for years might read such an article and just laugh...but for someone just learning, it can have a big impact. Maybe the article was flat-out wrong. Maybe you misunderstood it. But either way, your perception that rodent hair is bad for snakes is real to you. I get that.

I do hope you can understand that folks here are trying to help. That we've got combined experiences of decades and hundreds and thousands of snakes. There is a LOT of false information out there and it can be confusing for someone just starting out to try and figure out what's real and what's bunk. I hope you'll be willing to listen to the general consensus of a whole bunch of keepers who know what they are talking about....if for no other reason than to simply make life easier on yourself.

There is absolutely no reason for you to fret about hair on your rodents. Shaving is out, as you've already stated. But you also really don't need to worry about trying to find hairless rodents. These animals were created to eat WHOLE prey items and to make use of the entire prey. If you remove one significant element of that item, you are removing something that the snake needs to stay healthy. It's one reason ball pythons poop so infrequently...because they are so very efficient at using up the whole prey. Very little material is left over as waste and it takes awhile for enough to build up for them to eliminate. No matter what one article said, I can promise you there is NO scientific evidence supporting the supposition that rodent hair is bad for snakes that are meant to eat rodents.

The one that always makes me giggle is when people think that thawing feeders directly in water is unhealthy for your snake.. somehow a little water in a pet's diet will poison it.. :rolleyes:

Maybe it's just me, maybe something is rotten in Denmark, but I STILL smell fish.

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Originally Posted by JLC

Sometimes when we're learning something new and we read a compelling article...the "facts" from that article can stick with us pretty hard. Someone who has been doing the same thing for years might read such an article and just laugh...but for someone just learning, it can have a big impact. Maybe the article was flat-out wrong. Maybe you misunderstood it. But either way, your perception that rodent hair is bad for snakes is real to you. I get that.

I do hope you can understand that folks here are trying to help. That we've got combined experiences of decades and hundreds and thousands of snakes. There is a LOT of false information out there and it can be confusing for someone just starting out to try and figure out what's real and what's bunk. I hope you'll be willing to listen to the general consensus of a whole bunch of keepers who know what they are talking about....if for no other reason than to simply make life easier on yourself.

There is absolutely no reason for you to fret about hair on your rodents. Shaving is out, as you've already stated. But you also really don't need to worry about trying to find hairless rodents. These animals were created to eat WHOLE prey items and to make use of the entire prey. If you remove one significant element of that item, you are removing something that the snake needs to stay healthy. It's one reason ball pythons poop so infrequently...because they are so very efficient at using up the whole prey. Very little material is left over as waste and it takes awhile for enough to build up for them to eliminate. No matter what one article said, I can promise you there is NO scientific evidence supporting the supposition that rodent hair is bad for snakes that are meant to eat rodents.

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Thats an extremely good, and i thank you all for the explanation.As a newbie to the whole ball python keeping thing i am constantly worried about everything i want nothing to go wrong so any thing i read that sounds threatened (ball python wise) i immdiatley jump on it and find out everything i could on the matter.I am going to stick with live mice,all of you gave great answers and the one i am quoting is by far best and very helpful thank you all!

:O I've never heard this before.

Don't shave your mice

Would you mind sharing where you read this information ?

Perhaps if we knew where this was coming from, we could help other people confused by the information without going overboard.

Judy put this in the best possible way, and I'm glad she has a cool enough head to explain things, that's why she's a Mod here!

Anyway, as confusing as the information out there on snake husbandry is, I found out the best thing to do is when I read something, I try to find out how many OTHER related sites carry the same information. If one site out of 15 says something is bad, and the other 14 says it's ok, I'll usually go with the majority.

Gale

Not only is the fur a form of fiber and a good thing for the digestion, but shaving a mouse will result in 'sharper' stubble that may actually irritate the snake's innards.

I admit I had a giggle imagining someone trying to shave a live awake mouse.