argentra, i somehow didnt see your post until now.
I didnt know that about rodents. i usually buy the mice and by that night my snake has eaten. but in this case, my snake had no appetite and i had to keep them a couple of nights. the only thing they had to eat without salt was cornflakes, which they had plenty of and seemed to prefer. thanks for the salt input.
my wife told me that she thought maybe the mouse that was standing over it when i got there had possibly killed it. the mouse that died was the smaller of the three. i wasnt able to see signs of body damage, but then again i have never seen a 'mouse fight.'