Nervous about feeding live...

[NormanSnake]

Hi everyone! Today, I'm feeding my baby ball python live mice, because the only place I can get f/t at the moment is Petsmart, and they are not good quality. I'm really nervous that the mouse is gonna bite him or something.. He's 122 grams and he's getting a 13 gram mouse. I got 2 mice because they seemed small, but I'm going to save one for the next feeding. It's only 10 grams, so I'm hoping to fatten it up a bit. So my question is: Is it really that common for mice to bite snakes? Should I be concerned? I don't really have any way to pre-kill the mouse. I'm probably just worrying excessively but I always like a second opinion.

[GummiBear]

Due to a hunger strike with one of my balls I've had to feed live, mine is ~123 g I need an updated weight because I've been trying to leave him alone, however I fed him a 20g. Fuzzy rat and my experience has been the rat doesn't have a chance to fight back before he strikes and its done. Not that it can't happen but is been pretty quick and uneventful for mine so far. I'm hoping to get him back switched to ft after he gets some weight on him so I don't have to deal with bigger rats that could do damage.

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[LLLReptile]

While yes, the mice can bite the snake, the risk of serious injury is quite small. I feed live to all of my snakes just because it's easier for me to snag some live prey items from work and bring them home - over the last 5 years I've had a small handful of bite incidents, but none of them were serious. The worst was a small scab the size of a scale on an adult snake, which shed off and is no longer noticeable.

If you are really really worried about it, just hang out in the room with a ball point pen, and watch to see what happens when the snake snags the mouse. If the mouse bites your snake, just stick the tip of the pen in the mouse's mouth, and viola, it won't be able to bite your snake anymore!

-Jen

[bx718]

If you are really really worried about it, just hang out in the room with a ball point pen, and watch to see what happens when the snake snags the mouse. If the mouse bites your snake, just stick the tip of the pen in the mouse's mouth, and viola, it won't be able to bite your snake anymore!

-Jen

x2 i do the same with my bp but with a unsharpened pencil..

[lX V1P3R Xl]

I fed live for 7 months before I swithced to f/t. I'd keep feeding live but I had to switch because I'm moving and there is no where to purchase live rats where I am going. I'd breed my own but my landlord wouldn't allow it. Anyway, I only had a rat bite my BP once and it left a small puncture wound but disappeared after a shed or two. If you are to feed live, just keep an eye on whats going on after you put that rat/mouse in. As long as you do that and stop bites by inserting a pen or simply moving its head aside from the BP's body, you'll be fine. I enjoyed feeding live, it was more fun to watch. Feeding f/t is boring :/

[Inarikins]

If you throw the mouse some food and water before you feed it off, you're less likely to get it biting your snake, especially if the snake is refusing. A lot of the time, pet store rodents aren't very well cared after. But yes, also keep something handy to stuff into the mouse's mouth if you're worried.

[NormanSnake]

Well, I gave him the mouse and he nailed it right on the head so that the mouth of the mouse was inside his mouth. It was a pretty small meal for him, and he still seemed hungry. There definitely wasn't a lump, but I decided 2 would be a little too much for him. I'm still nervous about feeding live, but I think it's better for him as far as nutrition. Something makes me feel like freezing the mice makes them less nutritious, although that's probably not true. The petsmart mice are just downright bad quality, but with only one snake, it's not very efficient for me to buy frozen rodents online, especially since he's still growing and they come in bags of like 50. He'd grow out of them before he was halfway done..lol

[SlitherinSisters]

They could bite your snake, there's always a chance of that happening. The chance of the bite being bad enough to worry is pretty slim. Just make sure the mouse is fed and watered before you put it in with the snake. Also don't leave it in unattended for more than 20-30 minutes.

[Inarikins]

Not true that freezing the rodent makes them lose nutrients. Or if it does, none of the hundreds (thousands?) of breeders over several decades have noticed. Layne Labs offers feeders in 10 or 25 counts.

[NormanSnake]

The problem with buying online is the shipping cost, really.