feeding live.....mice

[wisconsin]

what is the consensus about feeding live mice. and at what age---and what size mouse.....i feed my little buddy frozen fuzzies still.
she's nowhere near live mice yet but what are some pointers or tips on feeding live

[tyflier]

Out of idle curiosity...if your snake eats f/t without any problems, why would you want to switch to live feedings?

I really can't offer any advice, because I go out of my way to ensure that all my snakes eat f/t whenever possible...

[mbdorfer]

what is the consensus about feeding live mice. and at what age---and what size mouse.....i feed my little buddy frozen fuzzies still.
she's nowhere near live mice yet but what are some pointers or tips on feeding live
Well, you will find most people are against it. I'm not one of them. I feed my snakes live prey until they are ready for hoppers, Then I start stunning the rodents. I have a few that absolutely refuse frozen thawed, and I don't have time to "pussyfoot" around with them. The best tip on feeding live that I can give you is, well, a picture is worth a thousand words. :grin01:

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y47/mbdorfer/Snakes/Thump.jpg

[diamondlil]

:grin01: Mike the only thing wrong with that picture is I now have a mental image of a surprised and airborne mouse winging its way across the room!

[tyflier]

Mike wrote:
...I have a few that absolutely refuse frozen thawed, and I don't have time to "pussyfoot" around with them....
This is quite true. I have a couple that don't like to eat f/t, and will only take f/t if they have gone more than week without eating(during a shedding cycle, or what have you).

IF feeding live is something you want to do, or find yourself in a position to require live feedings, the best advice I can give is to thoroughly stun your prey before giving it to the snake. This can be accomplished in several ways, one of which, Mike has clearly pictured for you...a hard, swift "flick" to the back of the head *should* render the average mouse unconscious.

You could also hold the mouse by the tail, and whack it head first against a countertop or floor, or you could perform a "fresh kill" via cervical dislocation, wherein you grasp(firmly) at the base of the tail and around the head(gloves help with biting mice...they don't like this), and quickly yet forcefully jerking your hands in opposite directions, instantly severing the spinal cord and breaking the neck(and usually the back) of the mouse. Killing in this manner still allows lots of movement from the mouse from nerve reactions...twitching...but still instantly ceases all pain sensors and brain activity. This will often fool a picky snake into thinking the mouse is still alive...

[mbdorfer]

:grin01: Mike the only thing wrong with that picture is I now have a mental image of a surprised and airborne mouse winging its way across the room!
Hah! I should have mentioned to keep a firm grip on the tail! :grin01:

[diamondlil]

I use a pair of surgical forceps to do the cervical dislocation, (they 'followed me home from work'), on bigger mice, on peach I use the flick as shown in the demo picture from the lovely and helpful Mike

[susang]

I guess I'm weak, I don't think I could thump one with my finger and kill it, let alone holding it by the tail while doing it. I stick the mouse in a plastic grocery bag than thump on the counter. I feed pinkies and small fuzzies live. All but one of mine will also take f/t. All will eat rats/rat pups and hamsters.
I'm not sure but it sounds a bit like Wisconsin may be thinking live/live feeders, which I would never do. It was hard for me at first to grasp this concept, because I didn't think some little knome went through the woods thumping mice for snakes. I than realized limited space, help from animal planet, and this forum, helped me understand. what can I say I'm blonde, susan

[Velvet]

I think if your snake takes F/T without any problems and you can get bigger mice frozen in your area, don't bother going to live...if it's not broke don't fix it I always say! lol

I have one that flat out REFUSES to eat anything but live though, but I do stun the mice before I give them to him.

As a side note, my one mouse recently had 13 babies, I had to "harvest" a few for feeding as I am getting hatchlings pretty soon and would like to build up a supply of newborn pinks. Never done this before and was advised to just give them a good flick on the head, which I duly did but alas did not hold on tight enough to the pink and it went FLYING across the room, I am pretty sure the flick killed it though so at least it wasn't alive, but I still felt pretty bad! lol