Wild Mice

[Rascal]

Is it okay to feed the snake wild caught mice? Do I need to worry about parasites or any nasty issues?

Thanks

[monk90222]

I wouldn't. Wild mice could have eaten rat poison or some other chemical and that could be deadly for your BP. Stick with domestic rodents.

[rabernet]

I agree - I would not feed wild mice to my snakes for the very same reason.

[frankykeno]

Well other than the obvious dangers already mentioned to your snake, you could also come in contact with the hanta virus from wild rodents. Not a nice thing at all.

http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/diseases/hanta/hps/

[Ginevive]

I never would; feeding them would mean you would have to handle them and risk being exposed to a plethora of horrible germs.. and as for the snake, it's best to feed them fat, healthy rats or mice, not the wild ones that could have rabies or something.
Hantavirus= nightmare.

[Rascal]

I've been told that the Hanta virus is only a problem or present when there are lots of rodents/exposure to droppings/unsanitary conditions. We live in a more rural part of town and we do not use poisons in our house. The mice have been feeding off of organic chicken feed and we're starting to catch them. I thought it would be like having free range beef compared to some marshmellow from the pet store. I don't want to put my snake in danger and saving money is not a concern/the point.

The mouse we caught so far is pretty small, about "hopper" size. Smaller than I normally feed my snake. I don't really want to kill it myself and the only other option would be to release it many miles away. I just keep looking at the garbage disposal sitting in my terrerium.

[nebby3103]

I agree for all of the reasons above. Something else to think about: one could imagine that a wild rodent would react to a snake differently than a domestic one; say, defensively? If that's the case, I would be much more concerned that a live wild mouse would injur my snake than I would a live domestic mouse. I'm by no means an expert, but a lot of fears tend to be learned. Corner a mouse that has learned to fear of snakes, and you've got one pissed off mouse. Just food for thought (no pun intended ).

[MarkS]

It's your snake, you make the call.

I'm sure that 99% of the reptile owners you ask will tell you not to do it, and most will have good reasons for it. Yes, wild mice can have parasites and diseases. So can domestic pet store mice, though wild mice may be more likely to harbor them.

Will they affect your snake? Maybe, and maybe not. Most parasites and diseases are host specific so are not likely to affect your snake, though some of them may. Poisons may be more of a concern, years of poison usage can cause a population of rodents to have a higher tolerance for the poison and they could be carrying a poison load in their systems that doesn't affect them, but could be detrimental to your snake. However, since you say you don't use poisons, this probably wouldn't be a factor for you.

Can mouse diseases affect you? Maybe and maybe not. I would be inclined to think that you would have just as much of a chance catching a disease from a wild mouse thats running around loose in your environment as you would from a mouse that you caught to feed your snake. Hanta virus is a bad thing, but unless you have any specific reason to suspect that it is running rampant though your local mouse population I wouldn't worry about it too much.

Personally I don't feed wild prey to my snakes, I just don't see any reason to. While I suspect it would be rare to actually experience any problems with parasites and disease from wild animals, I don't see any reason to take the chance. On the other hand... I've known people who have boas and burms that they've been feeding road killed squirrels and pesky rabbits that have been in their gardens to for years with no obvious detrimantal effect, So who really knows?

I guess the choice is up to you.

Mark

[Kristy]

I wouldn't the Hanta Virus bad, bad, bad, when I was younger and lived way out in the mountains our neighbors kid who was a few years older than me died from the Hanta Virus. It was really sad. The virus I was told comes from their droppings, when you stir them up the virus is released into the air. Don't hold me to that though, I was young. But I remember that boy dieing, and my mom not letting me out to the barn for months.

But the Chemicals thing I think is more of a threat. Even pesticides from people spraying from bugs could have gotten on the mice. you never know, better safe than sorry.

[rmune0750]

Don't do it...ur prolly thinking about doing it to save money but saving money on mice isnt worth having ur snake die....stick with mice from a pet store or wherever u get them