Mites On Mice

[tmartin2347]

Ok so yesterday i went to my buddys house to see how his red-tail boa was doing, and it was feeding day. So ever since i had a problem with feeding live mice with my snake when he got bit ive been trying to get him to switch to f/t. Well i think yesterday was his last day he will choose live over f/t.
So he got his at our local pet store, brought it home and put the mouse in the tank. well lets just say the mouse got a pretty good bite on his snake, and then the snake wouldnt eat the mouse. So we were watching and wondering why when we noticed an insane amount of mites coming off of the mouse. He freaked out, i freaked out and so ya now i think hes going to switch.

[Patrick Long]

can mice get mites? i dont know but maybe fleas? i thought mites specifically targeted reptiles?

[tmartin2347]

well i called the pet store to actually complain becuase i was pretty pissed for him. And wasn't too sure what they were but they looked like the description of mites from books. So when i called and told them they said sometimes they have them from the farm or where ever they get them from. Which they said they would check the rest of them for mites which i doubt they even did. But hopefully my friend will realize live isnt the way to go after this.

[SoundUnsleep]

Mice can have mites, however those mites are not necessarily snake mites, as there are many different kinds of mites.
You are right to suggest to your friend to switch to f/t not just because of the possibility of the snake getting bitten, but also because live prey sometimes carries parasites much worse than mites (worms, to name just one).
Good luck!

[Ginevive]

live isnt the way to go after this.

What? I have been feeding my snakes live for years, with no problems. Many respected breeders feed exclusively live. So I guess that we are doing it wrong? This is news to me
Just because a low-shelf seller sold you a mouse with mites, is no reason to demean feeding live. People have different situations and different methods (live or thawed) are better or worse for some people than for others.

[rabernet]

I've been feeding live for 2.5 years. In that time, I've fed off over 3000 live feeders. I've never had parasites, injuries or bites from any of my feeders. My snakes are healthy, grow well and are unblemished.

[Patrick Long]

i agree. i with robin, i dont think frozen is an option that i would even consider. they eat live in the wild. they dont wait for them to unthaw from the freezer in the middle of the forest. soooooo.....why change nature

[littleindiangirl]

I think feeding FT is convenient when you dont want to pay 5 bucks a rat/mouse. And you can get bulk. Plus, some snakes dont need the zombie dance, and will eat it regardless.

I think live is convenient if you have a picky eater, lots of snakes, and even better if you can raise them yourself.