Snake didn't eat... What do I do with the live rat pup?

[cobweb2000]

With my uneaten mouse (my snake went into shed), I just threw it outside. Success!

The mice and rats we feed our snakes are domesticated animals. They have been bred in captivity for generations to get certain traits, behaviours and colorations. They are as different from wild rats/mice as our dogs are from wolves. Please reconsider before turning a domesticated animal outside to fend for itself, it will not have the skills to do so.

[abuja]

The mice and rats we feed our snakes are domesticated animals. They have been bred in captivity for generations to get certain traits, behaviours and colorations. They are as different from wild rats/mice as our dogs are from wolves. Please reconsider before turning a domesticated animal outside to fend for itself, it will not have the skills to do so.

The mouse's two fates were #1 Death by Snake #2 Death by other outside Predator. It was gonna die anyways. Also, my dad sure as heck was not keeping a mouse in the house overnight!

[ballpythonluvr]

Why would you throw a mouse outside??!! You should have just held on to it until the next feeding. You could have at least humanely euthanized it if you didn't want to keep it. I just don't get why you would throw a defenseless creature outside. I don't understand people that have snakes and are not willing to take responsibility for the live feeders that do not get eaten. Why is it so hard to keep a feeder alive until the next feeding day or at least to properly euthanize it?

[Elise.m]

Why would you throw a mouse outside??!! You should have just held on to it until the next feeding. You could have at least humanely euthanized it if you didn't want to keep it. I just don't get why you would throw a defenseless creature outside. I don't understand people that have snakes and are not willing to take responsibility for the live feeders that do not get eaten. Why is it so hard to keep a feeder alive until the next feeding day or at least to properly euthanize it?

In my case, I didn't have the resources to keep it or humanly euthanize it. Some people make mistakes. Deal with it, hope they learned their lesson and move on please. You seem to be very disturbed by this thread, I would suggest not reading it anymore.

[cobweb2000]

In my case, I didn't have the resources to keep it or humanly euthanize it. Some people make mistakes. Deal with it, hope they learned their lesson and move on please. You seem to be very disturbed by this thread, I would suggest not reading it anymore.

You had a hopefully isolated incident and will be better prepared the next time you need to deal with a live feeder (even better if your snake eats and you don't need to worry about it ). I have a feeling Abuja does not see why what he/she did was not the best option.

But I fully agree with Python1024; part of our responsibility of being snake owners are dealing with the feeders in a responsible and humane manner.

I mentioned this in another post, but I keep pet rats and work with a rat rescue so I am on a lot of forums/groups for people who own mice/rats/rabbits/gerbils--many of these people would have been affected by HR699. A very large percentage of all individual believe that people only own snakes because they enjoy seeing a small animal get killed. They are as afraid of snake owners as they are of the snakes themselves, if we continue to act like feeders are inanimate objects that have no right to be treated with a modicum of humanity, do you blame those people for not standing up with us to keep all exotic pets legal?

[abuja]

You had a hopefully isolated incident and will be better prepared the next time you need to deal with a live feeder (even better if your snake eats and you don't need to worry about it ). I have a feeling Abuja does not see why what he/she did was not the best option.

But I fully agree with Python1024; part of our responsibility of being snake owners are dealing with the feeders in a responsible and humane manner.

I mentioned this in another post, but I keep pet rats and work with a rat rescue so I am on a lot of forums/groups for people who own mice/rats/rabbits/gerbils--many of these people would have been affected by HR699. A very large percentage of all individual believe that people only own snakes because they enjoy seeing a small animal get killed. They are as afraid of snake owners as they are of the snakes themselves, if we continue to act like feeders are inanimate objects that have no right to be treated with a modicum of humanity, do you blame those people for not standing up with us to keep all exotic pets legal?

I disagree, because that mouse's life span is about 2 years anyways. I understand where you're coming from, but we don't have dry ice, nor the will to care for it until my snake had shed, so the MOST humane thing to do was actually release him! Yeah, he was probably killed, but he would have been anyways! The venom from another snake or a bite from a wild animal killed it quicker than a ball python's constriction would have.

[Lolo76]

Everyone who feeds live, should either know how to, and be prepared to, feed and care for live prey that is refused.. or be equipped to humanely euthanize the prey animal if the snake refuses. Just my 0.02.

I agree... I've been stuck with live prey before, which is why I bought 2 critter keepers and researched what they eat. One of the rat pups was so cute, I actually ended up keeping him - then I got him a friend, and that same night my roommate's dog broke the cage open & ate the original pup. That left us stuck with the other rat, which I ended up giving to a friend (as a pet).

Aside from that one occasion, I just keep them alive until the snake is ready to eat. We had two rejected mice when Delilah was in shed, and kept them in the critter keeper for a few days... rats and mice will eat basically anything, but I usually offer things like cereal, fruit and bread. Rat pups are a different story, however, and I actually had to hand-feed baby formula (with a syringe) to that one little guy. So yes, if you will be feeding live, you should have a back-up plan for the leftovers - it happens more often than you think! As for freezing the rat, you did what you had to, and I won't judge you for it.

[Lolo76]

If the pup doesn't get it's mother's milk, it will eventually die in a few days. Rat pups cannot survive when they are that young, especially when their eyes are still closed.

I managed to keep that one rat pup alive, but it wasn't easy! I got Similac baby formula and hand-fed him with a syringe, 4-5 times a day until he opened his eyes. Luckily that happened in less than 2 days, and then I moved him onto a mushed cereal/formula mixture. He was sooooo cute...

[littleindiangirl]

What ever happened to the rat pup? I sincerely hope that you did not just let it starve to death. Starvation has to be one of the worst ways to die, imo.. It can't be legal and humane to do that. I cannot imagine someone letting a puppy or ktiten starve todeath.. and I don't see how it would be any less cruel to let a rat pup do the same. Gas it.. freezing a mammal is not a humane method of euthanization.

Everyone who feeds live, should either know how to, and be prepared to, feed and care for live prey that is refused.. or be equipped to humanely euthanize the prey animal if the snake refuses. Just my 0.02.

Agree 1000%.

[Elise.m]

I definitely learned my lesson, and will be more prepared. Since learning that our snake normally eats on Thursdays (One of the employees had told me either Tuesday or Wednesday, I can't remember which day) and the fact I tried to feed her on a Tuesday, helps alot. If I had known that in the first place, I wouldn't have even bothered buying a rat pup! I didn't get around to it today (Lazy day), but I will be creating a little holder tank for the critters.