First Mistake? 50 Pack of Frozen Feeder Mice

Please forgive the novice question as I am completely new to this.

I bought a 50 pack of feeder mice for my soon to be delivered snake, assuming I would be covered for the better part of a year! Excellent experience with Perfect Prey, product was delivered quickly and appears to be quality, excellent packaging, etc.

However - I didn't think to see how the product is packaged! All 50 mice are in a single vaccuum sealed bag, versus individually packaged. I will only have one snake. How do I thaw and use one at a time? Is it even possible? I haven't opened the bag yet, but do you think the individuals will just slip out or are they frozen solid together in an ice brick of fur?

I am sure I should have done more homework before buying, but can anyone answer this? Thanks all!

They should just separate relatively easily Hun xx I purchase mine in bulk and they come packaged together xx


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

They separate easily.

To keep them "fresh" longer, I would have a vacuum machine ready (or double bag in ziplock bags) and re-package them into 10 5-piece packages.
This way, when you open a package, those 5 will stay fresh while you open and re-close the ziplock a few times until they are fed off. And the others will be un-disturbed in their packaging until you get ready to open the next one.

edited to say: while you re-package, keep them in the freezer !!! Only pull out the 5, re-package, put back into freezer, pull out the next 5...and so on. You want to keep them frozen solid while working on this.

Whew! Thank you both!

This makes perfect sense - I was getting ready to start a giveaway poll for those members with roughly 49+ snakes! :cool:

I envisioned trying to break apart frozen chicken breasts and it was not a pretty thought for those poor mice.

Fragile bits like tails and paws can sometimes snap off if you aren't careful, but for the most part they don't stick together.

What kind of snake are you getting and how large is it? I only ask because young snakes grow pretty fast and will outgrow their prey sizes quickly.

Roughly 150g Ball. I figure if she outgrows size quickly I'll just feed her two instead of one. Or feed her slightly more often!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by skiajl6297

Roughly 150g Ball. I figure if she outgrows size quickly I'll just feed her two instead of one. Or feed her slightly more often!

---

The biggest mouse Perfect Prey sells in packs of 50 is the Hopper size, which she's outgrown already at 150 grams. Hopefully you didn't order any smaller than that! You'll definitely be doubling, tripling, or even quadrupling up those mice sooner rather than later.

Here's a good guideline on what size feeder items are recommended as your girl grows: https://ball-pythons.net/forums/show...ing-Guidelines.

Good luck!

I did get hopper size! Perhaps she will be spoiled by double feedings! If it gets to be too much or she doesn't like double or triple feedings I will definitely order up in smaller quantities and just cut my losses.

Related question - how "old" roughly is a female at roughly 150g? And how big (roughly) is a well fed female at roughly 1, 2, 3 years old? I probably overdid it on a young snake enclosure when she is just going to pork out and need a new enclosure before I know it. (Excuse to get another youngin to fill the small cage? :D

I should dial back the enthusiasm though, I don't even have a day of snake ownership under my belt.

keep a look out on CL or your local gift everything for one of the older food savers and dedicate it to rodents, they really help keep the food fresh, like 5 times longer, your snake will thank you!

Food Saver :gj:
Yeah hoppers are really for right out of the egg. You might feed 3 or more at a feeding....

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by skiajl6297

Related question - how "old" roughly is a female at roughly 150g?

---

Likely no older than just a few months. They hatch in the 50 to 100 gram range, so it doesn't take many meals at all to get up to 150 grams.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by skiajl6297

And how big (roughly) is a well fed female at roughly 1, 2, 3 years old?

---

That's much harder to say. I've had females by 1400+ grams by the time they were a year old and others that were around 600 grams when I got them at a year old. With that wide of a window, you can imagine that putting a weight range on a 2 to 3 year old is even more difficult. Healthy body proportions on a well-cared for animal is the most important thing.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by skiajl6297

I probably overdid it on a young snake enclosure when she is just going to pork out and need a new enclosure before I know it. (Excuse to get another youngin to fill the small cage? :D

---

You'll start out needing excuses like this to get more snakes. Those excuses gradually devolve into "because it's Thursday". :P

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by skiajl6297

I should dial back the enthusiasm though, I don't even have a day of snake ownership under my belt.

---

NEVER dial back the enthusiasm!!!

Quote:

---

You'll start out needing excuses like this to get more snakes. Those excuses gradually devolve into "because it's Thursday".

---

HAHA yep. For reference on feeder size, my scrawny little lesser het clown girl is 131g definitely under fed, and took a fat adult mouse. My 170 gram boy happily snarfed a rat wean.

It looks like you have all the answers you need, but yeah, they come apart very easily.

So as to not waste my too-small mice, how do you go about feeding more than one mouse per "feed"? Offer one at a time over several hours, days, etc? Or just feed more often than once a week, e.g. offer one prey item every 2-3 days?

I don't mind the extra work assuming it is not a negative for the snake. If this is something that could be too stressful for the snake, I can just buy more appropriately sized prey!

how much was shipping if you dont mind my asking?

If I'm feeding multiple prey items I wait until they finish the first one and then offer the next one. I've never fed any of my snakes more than 3 prey items at a feeding.

@ m3gz- I believe the OP ordered from Perfect Prey. Their shipping is usually about $30.

$25 for shipping, $22.50 for the 50 hoppers!

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by skiajl6297

$25 for shipping, $22.50 for the 50 hoppers!

---

That's $47.50 for (50) hoppers. I used to get a pack of (6) hoppers at Petsmart for $13. That means (48) hoppers at Petsmart would cost me $104. I still think it's worth it to buy in bulk even with just one snake. I have (8) snakes so the shipping costs are very reasonable to me. Here's my last Perfect Prey order.

Product	Quantity	Price
Fuzzy Rats (25/Pack)	1	$18.75
Small Rats (15/Pack)	2	$45.00
Large Rats (5/Pack)	2	$27.50
Rat Pups (25/Pack)	1	$25.00
Weaned Rats (20/Pack)	2	$50.00
Medium Rats (10/Pack)	4	$70.00
Day-old Chicks (25/pack)	2	$19.50
Cart Subtotal:		$255.75
Cart Discount:		-$9.75
Shipping:		$27.89 via FedEx Ground Home Delivery (2 days)
Out of state - No Tax:		$0.00
Order Total:		$273.89

Man, I'm glad I got a local guy, I don't have to deal with over pricing OR shipping!

Thanks :) trying to figure out if the little pet shop here in town has ok prices haha

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by skiajl6297

$25 for shipping, $22.50 for the 50 hoppers!

---

Dri ice and the shipping is the same for one bag or a full box. Im fixing to do a $300 order that will last me about 6 or 7 months and the box still wont be full.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Lizardlicks

Man, I'm glad I got a local guy, I don't have to deal with over pricing OR shipping!

---

This local guy is switching to ft just because Im getting tired of cleaning them.