When do mice/rats go bad?

[frankykeno]

Loki,


I assume most snake owners do not dangle the rodent infront of their snakes because it could lead to the snake accosiating a hand with food.

Sorry guys if I asked a rather repeated question but I'm still new to this particular board and I'm not familiar with its ins and outs. I'll use the search next time.

Thanks,
Austin

Most snakes won't associate the food with a human hand Austin as most keepers know to use hemostats, long tweezers or tongs to actually hold the frozen/thawed or pre-killed rodent with. Feeding direct from the hand leads to SFE's (stupid feeding errors LOL). The dangling is actually more of an attempt to replicate the lifelike movements of a live prey item in order to encourage a feeding strike (you'll see it called the "zombie mouse dance" or the "dead rat boogie" )

We currently feed all live (both mice and rats). When we fed f/t we only refroze prey items that were fully furred. Pinkie size tend to be very mushy if refrozen. Prey items that were refused and removed within 30 minutes were refrozen immediately but marked as a refreeze with the snake's name so it was only offered back to that same snake (to avoid prey sharing between those in quarantine and the regular collection). Anything that was left longer was tossed out.

Whether you choose to feed live, frozen/thawed or pre-killed is up to you and the snake. All feeding methods are appropriate if done correctly. In the end it will be mostly the snake that decides as they tend to imprint on a prey type and a feeding method pretty strongly. Part of your purchasing decisions should be looking for a young healthy snake that has been fed in the method you prefer and with prey (rats or mice) that you can supply it with regularily and of a superior quality.

If you need any help to locate specific threads using our search function, caresheets, etc. please don't hesitate to ask. It sounds like you are trying to get your bases covered before buying the snake and that's always a good thing. There are also some great threads about housing, heating, etc. that will give you some good ideas and likely save you a ton of money (pet stores are notorious for overcharging and selling you things you do not need...they are also not the best source for a good snake).

[tmlowe5704]

pre killed or stunned and sometimes live is what my snakes get. my small BCI won't touch f/t and my ball takes for every for that. prekilled live or stunned is a different story though for the ball.

[Austin Smith]

I've read into enclosure set ups extensivley, and I previously owned a Green Iguana so I know about the various reptile products. I just have no experience with food that is, or was, once alive.

I'll give live rodents a try I suppose and move pre-killed if that falls through.

As I said earlier, I'm most likely going to purchas a python from Petco. I have looked over the ones that have available and they appear to be healthy. I just hope they are captive bread.

If anyone knows a breeder in the beaumont-houston area of Texas please let mw know as I would feel much more comfortable buying directly from a breeder.

Thanks for the advice,
Austin

[mmchoppers]

I've read into enclosure set ups extensivley, and I previously owned a Green Iguana so I know about the various reptile products. I just have no experience with food that is, or was, once alive.

I'll give live rodents a try I suppose and move pre-killed if that falls through.

As I said earlier, I'm most likely going to purchas a python from Petco. I have looked over the ones that have available and they appear to be healthy. I just hope they are captive bread.

If anyone knows a breeder in the beaumont-houston area of Texas please let mw know as I would feel much more comfortable buying directly from a breeder.

Thanks for the advice,
Austin

I would avoid Petco along with most pet places when buying snakes. Although it may look healthy it may also have internal diseases. They house like 20 together and most are Captive Hatched which is really gambling when trying to pick the healthy one. I know there are a bunch of people on here from Texas, so maybe they will respond with "Worthy Texan Breeder" for ya!!

[mmchoppers]

I'll give live rodents a try I suppose and move pre-killed if that falls through.

It's normally easier to get your snake to eat live. It's converting it to f/t that will sometimes be a problem.

[frankykeno]

While some have been known to get decent pet store snakes (I own a few actually), the simple fact is the vast majority of them are not well started, good eaters, particularily healthy or in fact, captive bred and hatched.

I'm not good on Texas geography so I'm not sure how close you are to some of their excellent snake shows but we have a number of great members here and one Moderator from that state and I'm sure they can give you info on that. As well a reputable breeder can ship you the snake of your choice through FedEx in such a way to make the shipping smooth and easy for you and the snake. I just received an 06 female from Cueball in Texas this week in this manner and she's already well settled in here.

Just be very careful. Not everyone who tosses up an online ad at kingsnake is a reputable breeder unfortunately. Fortunately for us here at BPNet we have a good number of extremely reputable breeders as members.

[Austin Smith]

I was really wandering if people actually mail the snakes. How does that work? Seems Like it could be pretty stressful on the animal. There's no telling what they do with those packages o.o.

Austin

[daniel1983]

I was really wandering if people actually mail the snakes. How does that work? Seems Like it could be pretty stressful on the animal. There's no telling what they do with those packages o.o.

Austin

Snakes are shipped all the time and if you deal with a breeder that knows how to properly ship animals there will be no problems.

and as far a getting a snake from Petco.......how do you think the captive hatched ball pythons ended up at Petco? They came over in crates from Africa to the wholesaler, then they were shipped to the Petco store.

Buy a captive born and breed baby from a reputable breeder and you will be amazed at the quality of service and support you receive.

Here are a few people to check out for good quality ball pythons:
www.baileyreptiles.com/available4.html
www.8ballpythons.com

[frankykeno]

I was really wandering if people actually mail the snakes. How does that work? Seems Like it could be pretty stressful on the animal. There's no telling what they do with those packages o.o.

Austin

You can't actually mail a snake...illegal through the United States Postal Service as far as I'm aware. Those breeders that use FedEx are first certified to do so, then the snakes come by air and truck from the breeder to the customer overnight. It seems a perfectly good system. Our snakes that have been delivered by FedEx have come here in great shape as FedEx requires as part of their certification that the breeder send in a sample box of how they will pack the live snakes for transport. As long as the breeder adjusts for temps (use of hot or cool packs if required) and knows what he or she is doing it's safe for the snake.