Quote Originally Posted by billyb View Post
The discussion about frozen vs thawed was more around the process of keeping dead rodents in the freezer, then the process of thawing them (understanding that my wife is not totally on board) sounds like it is a bit more intrusive to a household than a live mouse. I was merely looking to some real world advice in that regard. Sounds like it may not be as bad as I think.
Mice and rats are like miniature cows for snakes. You don't have to cut them up or grill them. Just warm them up. It's a very simple process and you can do other things while you are waiting for it to defrost. On the other hand, with a live mouse you have to come to terms with the fact that you are immediately terminating the life of another animal. If your wife isn't keen on the process, don't involve her. There's a reason my mother doesn't look in brown paper bags in the freezer anymore. As for your concern of it sharing a freezer, just think of raw chicken and frozen peas. You don't expect the sealed chicken to get on the peas, right?

Also thank you for your volunteer efforts with animals.
I would say that if you are looking to rehome an animal that isn't from a breeder or a trusted person, be prepared to take care of a sick snake and have the proper knowledge to do it. Also you should be up to date on what to look for in a healthy ball python when purchasing.

Personally, if your daughter is going to be the one with a snake, have her pick out what morph she wants (but give her a reasonable price range for you). After having a normal for over a year, I would still chose a normal if I had to do it all over again.