F/T Pinky Questions

Hi! I am getting my baby corn next week. I think I will order some frozen pinky mice online since this seems to be the way everyone does it. (as opposed to a few at a time at the pet store)....soooo how many should I buy? The bags at rodentpro have 100 pinky's and they come in extra small, small and large pinky size? Which size should I buy? (I don't have the snake yet but want to get prepared, it is a baby) How long approx. will my snake be in the pinky size? 100 sounds like a lot to me....

I use The Mouse Factory. They offer pinks in increments of 50. I would order 50 pinks and 50 fuzzies.

Thanks Rich! Gosh, I just went to a few feeder web sites...and shipping seems high. But I guess it is still cheaper then buying at the store...

Are the mice individually packaged? Or are they just frozen together in a bunch? How long does it take to thaw one out?

Gralena said:

Thanks Rich! Gosh, I just went to a few feeder web sites...and shipping seems high. But I guess it is still cheaper then buying at the store...

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Shipping is costly, that is why it is better to order extra quantity. They will still be cheaper than if you buy them at a pet store and probably better quality. If there is a local reptile show, you can probably go there and buy them for cheaper.

Gralena said:

Are the mice individually packaged? Or are they just frozen together in a bunch? How long does it take to thaw one out?

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They come in a shrink wrapped package. You will be able to take them out one at a time. I thaw mine by running hot water on them for a few minutes, then letting them sit in the hot water for a while. You want to make sure they thaw completely and are very warm before you feed them to your snake.

It only takes a few minutes to thaw one out.
Most people put their mice in baggies, then in warm water.
I just toss em in warm water. My corns don't seem to mind them wet, and my rosy boas rarely drink at all but seem to really like wet mice!

50 pinks/50 fuzzies sounds about right to get you started and even with shipping will be a lot less than what you would pay in a store.

The more you buy, the more you will save. 50 will last you quite a few months.

If you plan on feeding using "The Munson Plan" as a guideline (I have and have been very pleased with the results) you’ll feed single or double pinkies every 4-5 days. I would recommend it, since it takes a lot of the guess work out of things.

For example:

December 1st - 1 pinkie
December 6th - 1 pinkie
December 11th - 1 pinkie
December 16h - 1 pinkie
December 21st - 1 pinkie
December 26th - 1 pinkie
December 31st - 1 pinkie

So in the month of December feeding single pinkies, you'll need 7 pinkies.

Hopefully this will give you an idea of what your usage will be, obviously it will be more once to switch to doubles.

Please let me know if you have any questions.

Regards,
Steve

P.S. The following is "The Munson Plan" published by Dean Arnold a moderator on this board

Mouse -- Mouse Weight -- Frequency -- Snake Weight
--------------------------------------------------------
Single pinkies -- 2-3 grams -- 4-5 days -- 4-15 grams
Double pinkies -- 2 x 3 grams -- 4-5 days -- 16-23 grams
Small fuzzies -- 5-7 grams -- 5-6 days -- 24-30 grams
Fuzzies -- 7-9 grams -- 5-6 days -- 31-50 grams
Hoppers -- 9-12 grams -- 5-6 days -- 51-90 grams
Weaned -- 14-20 grams -- 7 days -- 91-170 grams
Adult -- 24-30 grams -- 7-x days -- 170+ grams
Jumbo Adults -- 40-50 grams -- 7-x days -- 400+ grams

One thing to be aware of is that the large pinkies that TMF sells are pretty big as pinkies go. If your new snake is a wee little one, it may find them a bit big. On the other hand, maybe that's why my babies are growing slowly... I'm bumping all but the 10g guy up to the large pinkies on their next feeding.

I am planning on buying some from the mouse factory.

How long can you keep them frozen?

I might get 50 pinks and 50 fuzzies

I only have one snake.

By the time the 50 pinkies end, will the fuzzies be good?

How long can you keep them frozen?

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I vacuum seal all of mine in Food Saver freezer bags so I get 6 months-ish for pinkies/fuzzies and 1+ years on anything larger.

Regards,
Steve