The Art of Befriending Your BP

[Xazereth]

We have one male that's particularly ornery and he used to love to strike at us and get really nasty. But my partner and I put small scraps of cloth that we wore in our clothing for a few days in his cage and he's much better now. He's still tense and rather shy, but he won't try to tag us anymore. Worked for us.

That's a really cool idea!! Thanks for sharing, I'm gonna do that.


Rather than make a new post about it, I'm just gonna throw this out here. Now this is just a thought, an idea, a paranoid one at that. So those who look down on live feeding argue that the mouse could hurt the snake, which is absolutely true. But...not with broken limbs...

Anybody ever think about doing that? Its pretty cruel but snake > mouse. I don't have intentions do necessarily do this but...it was an interesting thought I figured I would share.

[OmNomNom]

That's a really cool idea!! Thanks for sharing, I'm gonna do that.


Rather than make a new post about it, I'm just gonna throw this out here. Now this is just a thought, an idea, a paranoid one at that. So those who look down on live feeding argue that the mouse could hurt the snake, which is absolutely true. But...not with broken limbs...

Anybody ever think about doing that? Its pretty cruel but snake > mouse. I don't have intentions do necessarily do this but...it was an interesting thought I figured I would share.

Uh....yeah that's not....not very kind. Plus, it's not the limbs you have to worry about, it's the teeth. There are two things I would suggest for lives if you're really worried (which is legitimate) about the rodent hurting the snake.

1) Do a "sloppy" cervical dislocation. It's easier than it sounds, if you're new at it, you probably do it all the time. A broken back or a crushed skull will result in a twitching, jumpy mouse that the snake will think as live, but will not be functioning well enough to bite the snake.

2) If you don't want to do a CD, then "twirl" the mouse/rat. They get surprisingly dizzy very easily. Pick them up by the tail and twirl them either by spinning them or just twirling your thumb and forefinger for a bit. Get them good and dizzy and dump them in with the BP, it'll take them a minute to orient themselves and it may be enough time for the snake to grab them before they're able to respond.

Just some ideas...

[Xazereth]

Uh....yeah that's not....not very kind. Plus, it's not the limbs you have to worry about, it's the teeth. There are two things I would suggest for lives if you're really worried (which is legitimate) about the rodent hurting the snake.

1) Do a "sloppy" cervical dislocation. It's easier than it sounds, if you're new at it, you probably do it all the time. A broken back or a crushed skull will result in a twitching, jumpy mouse that the snake will think as live, but will not be functioning well enough to bite the snake.

2) If you don't want to do a CD, then "twirl" the mouse/rat. They get surprisingly dizzy very easily. Pick them up by the tail and twirl them either by spinning them or just twirling your thumb and forefinger for a bit. Get them good and dizzy and dump them in with the BP, it'll take them a minute to orient themselves and it may be enough time for the snake to grab them before they're able to respond.

Just some ideas...

Reading your post just cracked me up, lol. You're right its not very kind at all. I just couldn't help but notice the mice will scratch like crazy when she curls up on them. Like the really fast, maniacal scratching to try and break free. And then I noticed a little scratch on the top of her the following week, and I'm betting that it was the damn mouse!! I know its cruel...but the damn mouse is going to die anyways and if by some chance that mouse were to hurt her I know I would regret not flailing that little son of a butch in a plastic bag for 20 minutes.

I'll look into the CD..lol, might just stick with the plastic bag. That's not too inhumane anyways.

@Raber Your statistics encourage me to treat the mice better. Lol. I will take this into account!!

[Crazy4Herps]

I agree with Robin; the only time a mouse is actually going to damage a snake is if it's left in overnight to chew on the snake. If you supervise feedings there's no serious risk. Worst case scenario, the mouse gives the snake a little nibble and you remove it. No harm done. Or the snake grabs the mouse too far down and the mouse turns around and bites it for a few seconds. Snakes are tough; a tiny nip or scratch from a mouse (which is in and of itself uncommon) isn't going to cause a problem. This is what snakes are built to do; as long as you don't lock them up in a confined space with a mouse that they're not going to eat, they can take care of themselves.