Well... I think I have a pet mouse now...

[DVirginiana]

I went to feed Moose today, and everything was going as normal. She was very interested in the food. However the mouse (the small rat I got her took her nearly fifteen minutes to kill and almost did some serious damage... scared me back into doing mice more often for awhile) ran around and stayed in her blind spot for a good half hour, despite me intervening to try and get it to run right in front of her. Then, whenever it looked like she was about to strike, the mouse would turn around and just stare into her eyes; seemed to kind of freak her out and she'd back off. After half an hour of this, Moose got fed up and started trying to get out of the enclosure. After about five minutes of her just trying to escape I decided to call it quits on the feeding attempt.
Then, when I got the mouse out he ran up my arm and just curled up behind my head for awhile.

I've always hated live feeding, because I get attached to animals very quickly. The only reason I do it is because my BP won't eat any other way. So, at this point, putting him back in with the snake is out of the question for me. Especially since this wasn't just a case of the snake not being hungry, but the mouse spending half an hour actively thwarting a hungry snake.

So I've got a couple questions:

1. The mouse (Mr. Biscuit) is currently in a ventilated tupperware container with a hide, some of my turtle's vegetables, and water, but no bedding other than newspaper (don't have anything mouse appropriate atm) in my bedroom, which is about 65-70 degrees; is this sufficient food/housing for a couple days?

2. My snake seemed interested in the food, the mouse was just really on his game. Do I try again tomorrow, or wait till the next feeding day? I just ask because this wasn't so much a refusal to eat as a failed hunt.

The place we get mice from does have a return policy, which I will certainly use if this happens again... But Mr. Biscuit just impressed the crap out of me by avoiding being eaten in an enclosed space with a large predator for as long as he did, and the thought of taking him back and having them dump him into an overcrowded bin to either be eaten or starve to death in a seven year old's bedroom makes me feel sick (the struggles of being a vegan snake owner I guess). You know how you sometimes just 'click' with certain animals? Well, unfortunately (because I had no desire for a mouse) we 'clicked'.

[Ax01]

lol sounds like Mr. Biscuit is a ninja.

i think u could wait a day and see if your BP will be cruising tonight, looking for a meal. or you could speed up the process, put Mr. Biscuit's tupperware next to your snake enclosure and see if a head pokes out of the hide and tongue starts flicking.

[Reinz]

I feel ya! I've had the pet rats too.

That's why I quit feeding my BP on a schedule when I used to feed live. Mine is an adult so growing is not an issue here. I wait for my girl to go into feed mode now.

If you are going to keep the mouse, Aspen or pine will help keep the odor down for a few days and they like making a nest and hiding their food. If you can't get mouse/rat food, gerbil food will suffice.

[DVirginiana]

Alright, thanks for the tips. Since she's on mice and gets them more often than she would rats, her next scheduled day isn't far off so I'll just get another feeder for her then. She's been out cruising for food for a few nights now, I think Mr. Biscuit just outsmarted her.

Ugh... I've already joined a mouse forum that's friendly to people who breed for feeders. Oh well, I guess I've just got one more little squirmy thing to baby now.

[Snake Judy]

Haha, one reason why I couldn't do live. I kept rats as pets before snakes and I know I'd wind up with more. Those little eyes!

If you end up keeping your brave mouse for more than a couple of days, you'll want to find a wire/mesh enclosure. Ammonia will build up quick in tupperware and make the little guy ill.

[se7en]

[DVirginiana]

Oh, he's going to be a permanent resident. I went out and bought him a nice enclosure with a wheel and everything. I even got an exercise ball so he can run around the floor at night after I put my dog up.

He hasn't gotten off the wheel since I put him in there, and it hit me that this may be the first time in his life he's actually been able to run or have any space to himself. A bit sad, but he seems pretty happy right now. I think he has some degree of understanding that his life just went from being pretty terrible to pretty awesome.

[nightwolfsnow]

Oh, he's going to be a permanent resident. I went out and bought him a nice enclosure with a wheel and everything. I even got an exercise ball so he can run around the floor at night after I put my dog up.

He hasn't gotten off the wheel since I put him in there, and it hit me that this may be the first time in his life he's actually been able to run or have any space to himself. A bit sad, but he seems pretty happy right now. I think he has some degree of understanding that his life just went from being pretty terrible to pretty awesome.

I bet he's happy . When I started talking about getting a snake one of the first things my boyfriend said was "Are you sure you're going to be able to feed it mice?". I'm a sucker for anything cute and fluffy. Well I'm actually a sucker for pretty much anything alive X). I was a vegetarian for around 3 years so I understand where you're coming from :/.

[distaff]

Good on you for rescuing Mr. Biscut.

I have no problem with feeding the rodents, but it does upset me how feeders are typically raised. Some of the How-to videos on this make my skin crawl. Just horribly crowded. I don't want to support that.

[DVirginiana]

I'd rather not support the way they treat live feeders, but despite all my attempts my BP just will not take f/t.

At least the place I go to now seems a LITTLE better than most, in that the mice rarely have injuries or anything. Definitely still overcrowded, but not to the extent that I've seen at other places.