Bit of a feeding scare....

Well, it was friday, so I had to take my usual trip up to the pet shop for a mouse. I noticed that the adult mice we were getting seemed too small for Pelota, as she was taking them down within a few minutes, no trouble at all. So I asked him if he got rats in yet. I figured he'd get some rat pups, small adults, mediums, etc...all sizes. Nope. He had little rat pinkies, and small adults. One size = too small, other = too large. So I just asked him to give me two frozen adult mice as usual. He said "sorry, don't have any frozen right now. I can give you two live ones though". My smile quickly turned to a frown. I hadn't killed a mouse yet in my short experience with snake keeping, and wasn't looking forward to it. So he grabs two cute furry mice, puts them in an old small box he had from a fish tank filter, tapes it up, and charges me 7 dollars(ya I know...3.50 a mouse...kinda steep). So I walk out, go home, open up the box, look in and noticed a few things.

1. They were a bit bigger than the usual "adult mice" he gives me. Which solidifies my thoughts that he's been giving me weanlings up till now. So this might be quite a work out for Pelota...

2. They're too damn cute. It's gonna kill me to...well, kill them.

So I reluctantly grab a baggy, put the smallest one in, seal it up...and almost cry. I asked my mom if she'd do it. She said only if I put it in a bag that's not see-thru. So I said nevermind, and I did it myself. I just cleared my head, looked away, and gave it a good whack to the wall. I looked back, and it was already dead. That was easy, I thought. Then I realised what I had just done...so I quickly put the bagged mouse in the freezer and went upstairs with the other one. I wont lie, I shed a few tears(takes a real man to admit it. ;)). But quickly set my mind to making a make-shift home for the other mousie until I can buy one of those all-you-need hamster cage set ups. Not bad...new pet for 3.50. :twisted:

Anyway, few hours later, it's 9pm. Mousy was happily pigging out on lettuce and carrots in my sisters room, and I was just checking on his little brother that I was now thawing out. Feeding time. I go upstairs, set everything up as usual. Plop the mousey under the heat lamp for a few minutes. I washed my hands good, and picked up Pelota so I could lay down the news paper in her cage. This is when I realised she could smell that fresh mouse that was warming under the lamp on the table a bit away. Usually she doesn't sense anything and is fine, but this time she struck at me. Sorta spooked me since usually she was as calm as could be, but I dont blame her. So I quicly laid down the paper, got my sister with the tongs in hand to grab the mouse. I knew Pelota would be striking at anything that moves as soon as she goes into her cage, so I had my sister hold the mouse half way in the cage so Pelota can strike at it quickly. I put Pelota down, and within a blink of an eye she had striked, flung herself around all crazy, and coiled up. She was acting crazy. I dunno if it was because it was sorta a fresh killed mouse and still had a strong scent from not being froze long or what, but she was quite the "killer", lol.
Anyway, she finally started uncoiling, and this is when I knew the mouse was a bit bigger than she's used to. Instead of gobbling it up, she started sizing it up. She was moving her head all down the body, then after a few minutes, seemed to ignore it. So I pulled the mouse away from her and had the head facing her. I figured maybe she just needed some help finding the head. I was right. She clamped onto the head and started swallowing it down. I felt so bad though....she was stretching herself out so bad trying to get this thing down. She did get it down though, but thats when the scary part happened. As she was getting to the tail, I thought it was home free, but no...suddenly her jaw twisted a bit weird, and she flinched. I could tell it hurt. I looked and I thought it looked like she had broke her skin. I'm thinking the worse here...thinking "oh God, her jaw bone just popped out or something from so much stretching...what am I gonna do now". But then she yawned 5 times until her jaw re-aligned. I looked, and her mouth looked fine now. Guess her jaw twisted a bit and I'm sure it hurt her, but after a bunch of yawns for re-aligning, she seems good. Phew.
But was it over? No. This big mouse put quite a lump in her. Now I know why she was a bit underweight, being only 150g's. The other feedings up till now never left a noticable lump. This one did. She was so thick, she couldn't slither into her hide. I had to lift the hide up in the front so she'd squeeze in. She's so big now, that the hide is up off the ground and is just laying on her, lol. She's comfy though. So now I'm leaving her for 3 days instead of the usual 2. I'm making sure she's real rested up after the ordeal we had tonight.


So, in short...I don't know why I type all this out, since no one in their right mind would read it all. But if you did, thanks! Had to share my "fun" night. Oh well, atleast I got a full snake, and a new furry pet. ;)

heh, I could never kill one of those little guys! When I can't get frozen mice, I have to feed live... I just can't do it.

i read it all!! Pandora p*ssed me off tonight.... first, she struck at it then missed. then, she tried again, and missed. so she stared at it for a good hour and a half... then, i boiled water to make it warmer, rubbed some mice on it to make sure she'd eat.... she finally ate the dumb thing, and then as shes got it halfway down... it explodes. so i got to clean up rat guts tonight. :) made my room smell AWESOME

i'm happy she got the snake down without breaking her jaw... that would worry me too!!

Long story but a good one. I have had that happen a couple of times with my ball switching to large rats and the burm i had switching from rats to rabbits.

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Originally Posted by oorob00

Long story but a good one. I have had that happen a couple of times with my ball switching to large rats and the burm i had switching from rats to rabbits.

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you had a burm!?! o.O what happened to it?

I traded him for 3 adult ball pythons

oh wow... how big was he when you traded him?

9ft and 20pounds

thats awesome

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Originally Posted by Super_Smash

i'm happy she got the snake down without breaking her jaw... that would worry me too!!

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Yep, she got that snake down just fine! :chew:

8)

yeah he was a great snake just too much to feed. rabbits were costing me $10 for a 5pound rabbit each week or 2 and plus the other balls that i have

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Originally Posted by Cody

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Originally Posted by Super_Smash

i'm happy she got the snake down without breaking her jaw... that would worry me too!!

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Yep, she got that snake down just fine! :chew:

8)

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ahahahaha... oops... *rat

*mouse

I love being a pest. <3 :)

I read it all! Have you considered getting frozen thawed online? Then you could get whatever size you want, and you won't have to kill it.

I've considered getting plenty online! Just no credit card, and bad credit. :( Although we cleared it up...but tell that to MasterCard!

It sucks to be poor. :)

there was probably too much mice scent on you and in the house. when they go into feed mode anything with a heat signal and movement is fair game for strikes. i have some females that will wake up and go searching when i bring the first thawed rat/mouse in the room! man, if mice go for $3.50 each in canada you need to breed rats/mice. locally here in va they go for $1.25 mice/ 3-4 dollars for rats. online frozen around a buck for rats and .50 cents for mice.

thanks
vaughn

yea, i'm prety sure you're snake had a stronger feeding response due to the fact that it was getting p/k this time. I'm sure it has alot stronger of a smell, thus causing them to have a stronger response.

I read it all! :) Watching them eat something huge can be nerve wracking! I had to buy rats in Canada this summer... I drove three hours to the nearest pet store that had rodents. I called them to see if they had large rats, and they said they did... "large" rats to them were small enough that they didn't know whether to charge me for a rat or a mouse! It ended up being 7 bucks a piece! I get large rats for $1.85 each here in Mass! Er.. I guess I drive to NH to get them now... but whatever, lol.

i get rats cheap here too... i think mine are around $1.85 too. yay for cheap rats!!

Just curious, why did you freeze the mousey after you did the deed instead of just feeding it right away?

(and I read it all too!!)

Better get your BP consistantly eating frozen before you have to make the switch to rats. Rats are much more difficult to kill, not hard, but certainly takes more umph than a mouse does. Killing rodents is part of the game of owning these snakes...you might want to think about maybe trading your bp for a cornsnake or something smaller if you are having touble with you feeders this early on...just my .02

The rodent breeder, couldn't gas/kill them himself for you?!

Cody; Trust me pre/killing gets easier each time you do it, you shouldn't feel bad for doing it. I feed my girl p/k only because she won't take f/t. You do it for the snake, they have to eat. Next time try a pillow case.

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Originally Posted by sophie42204

Just curious, why did you freeze the mousey after you did the deed instead of just feeding it right away?

(and I read it all too!!)

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Because I killed the mouse at around 4pm, and I feed around 9. So I froze it, then did the usual thawing process. That, and I want her to stay on f/t. Once she's had a live or prekilled, something might change in her lol. Maybe not likely, but I don't wanna chance it.;)

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Originally Posted by elevatethis

Better get your BP consistantly eating frozen before you have to make the switch to rats. Rats are much more difficult to kill, not hard, but certainly takes more umph than a mouse does. Killing rodents is part of the game of owning these snakes...you might want to think about maybe trading your bp for a cornsnake or something smaller if you are having touble with you feeders this early on...just my .02

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Well, it was my first time having to kill one. Wasn't used to it. If I ever have to do it again, I'm sure it'll be much easier. I know it's part of the game, that's why I did it instead of feeding live like some people might have done. My snake has been eating frozen thawed since she hatched, and came from a great breeder in Toronto, so I don't think there will be any problems switching to rats. I have no reason to get rid of my snake that I love and care for just because I had to kill a mouse. And it's not that early on. I've had her for several feedings now, with all of them going great. I just wanted to share my night. Not look like I can't handle the aspects of owning a snake.:( I'll do fine, don't worry. :)

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Originally Posted by kavmon

man, if mice go for $3.50 each in canada you need to breed rats/mice. locally here in va they go for $1.25 mice/ 3-4 dollars for rats. online frozen around a buck for rats and .50 cents for mice.

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Yes, but just remember...this is the same pet store I've complained about in the past. The guy overprices everything in his store. Such as, the medium half log for 20 bucks. Sweet deal! So yeah, I don't think it's a canada thing...just a rip off thing. :)

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Originally Posted by Blink

The rodent breeder, couldn't gas/kill them himself for you?!

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He's not a rodent breeder. Just a mom n pop operation type pet shop that rips off customers with his prices. And he's the jerk I ranted about a while ago when I found out he doesn't kill them humanely and rather just throws them in a freezer to suffer and die like that. But according to them they just "fall asleep". Agh...he's lucky that's my only way of getting some rodents currently...


K, hope that answered everything, lol.

Cody, I read the whole thing too, and I think you did just fine. My daughter Jess killed her first rat Friday (we got 2 of the 3 boys switched over) and she was hesitant but is all for not feeding live prey so she ended up doing fine too. I would look for another food source though, if I were you.

Yeah, I'm with Marla ... I would start looking for a new place to buy your rats/mice.

Well, we don't have a very reliable vehicle, and the nearest place to buy rodents is in Windsor. If I could get to Windsor I'd go to the Canadian Feeders and stock up. I'm sure one day I'll make it there. I can't keep getting the mice from my current source. :(

Edit: Haha, just noticed Canadian Feeders accepts checks, money orders, etc. That I can do. I think tommorrow I'll send them some money and get some rodents. :)

Excellent. I'm glad you've found a likely better source for your rodents.

i feed my new
bp live mice but he ate 2 in two days is that bad?

and the mice i buy are 1;70 each your gettiing riped dude

I know. I've stated that before. But it's the only source I can use currently. Not many canadian feeder sites to choose from. And shipping kills me. So I have to pay that, or starve my bp.

Also, it's probably best if you try and switch your bp to frozen thawed, or atleast prekilled. Feeding live can be cruel to both the mouse and the snake. The mouse suffers to death, and if cornered and scared enough, can defend itself and injure your snake. A mouse might not do too much damage, but when you get up to feeding rats, a rat can do serious damage. :( Just trying to think what's best for your snake.