Killing mice

My opinion is that if I had to worry about every rodent that was being eaten by every snake (wild or otherwise) I would never have time for my snakes-Everone who is going to own a snake needs to contemplate BEFORE purchase what they MUST do to keep that animal healthy-I LOVE ALL animals-mice are some very cute animals-when I was younger I used to keep one as a pet-however snakes eat mice, they also eat fish-they wiggle and squirm to get away - are we worried about them? they are living creatures no? what about the crickets I feed my chameleons? do they have fear or pain? they kick and fight to escape- where do we draw the line with our captive friends the if they were in the wild would be eating live animals (lizards frog or whatever else they could find)

So I feel there is no harm in replicating nature. For those of you that feel a little better by prekilling or buying frozen that is great. I hate to think of the terror a mouse might feel (forget the pain) when he is in the grips of a snakes jaws.

I have kept corn snakes since 1992 and usually feed live- I have tried freezing ,thumped, and prekilled frozen-

Lets face it mice are on the bottom of the food chain to be eaten. Why else would they only have 28 days gestation and pump out 10-15 babies and become sexually mature around 3 weeks (i think)

Lets get over how you or I feed our snakes and enjoy the awesome colors and patterns of the animal that brought us to this site in the beginning-we shouldn't divide ourselves by feeding methods-remember what we have in common

but thats just my opinion, I could be wrong............LOL

The best part is that all of this wasted space and time writing and in the end no one learned anything about WHACKING MICE.

I cannot even believe some of you continued this ridiculous discussion. No one will EVER agree on these topics you have brought up on a CORNSNAKE forum.

And on that note, whacking mice os no worse than any other method. IF you do it correctly. It's INSTANT. Any death that is instantanous (sp) is alright in my book. Period.

Like Gregg said, whack the damn mouse and fed it to your snake.

If you are willing to keep a snake in a cage then you should be willing to whack a mouse. Period. I hope more cornsnake information will turn up here.
But I doubt it.

bmm

can someone PLEASE bury this post we will NEVER agree and we all have our own methods






..........................STEVE

Two months later, and this thread is still alive? Just to add to it for a moment, and briefly steer it onto a different tangent...

Feeding dead prey is no less natural than feeding live prey (many wild snakes will also scavange on carrion, if the opportunity presents itself), and greatly reduces the risk of injury to the snake. Forget about the mouse for a moment- my primary concern is the well-being of my snakes. I prefer my snakes to be free of the physical scars and psychological phobias that are often the result of rodent bites. Even my cobras are fed frozen/thawed rodents, when practical, to avoid the damage from bites and reduce the transmission of parasites.

but..........I do blame the spoon

LOL

GEEEZ....I just could not read through more than four pages of this. How about just Feed the dang Snake. That's right, JUST FEED IT. Let the snake starve whilst the debate rages on.....smack it, gas it, drop it off a building, drown it, freeze it, who cares. Just feed the snake. It is part of your responsibilty of caring for that snake. It is a mouse after all. What's next, human rights for flies and cockroaches? Crickets?

Personally, I think there is more of a problem with Human Rights in this world than problems with Rodent Rights. But that is another story...

Sorry, above there was a call to bury this thread....I wouldnt have posted. Anyway byebye....never mine me.

Just feed the snake. It is part of your responsibilty of caring for that snake.

It can also be argued that there is a responsibility to ensure that the prey animal dies a reasonably humane death. This would eliminate freezing, drowning, or asphyxiation.

It is a mouse after all. What's next, human rights for flies and cockroaches? Crickets?

Using that same train of thought, rattlesnake roundups or the average redneck beheading a corn with a shovel can be rationalized. After all, they're just snakes, after all.

Also, it is not a matter of applying human rights to animals (for all but a leftist fringe anyways). It is a matter of animal welfare, which is an entirely different concept.

I like to smash the feet of my mice with a hammer so they cant walk to the food dish-then when they have starved to death they can be fed safely to my snake

Hi. Me again.

You're first argument doesn't make sense with me. My snakes kill their "live mouse" (I'll not call a mouse thrown into the tank "prey". Prey, to me, means that it was hunted or stalked, as it (the snake) would in its own natural habitat) in all sorts of gloriously graphical ways. Constricting while underwater, eyesballs popping out, blood pouring from the mouth area, swallowing backwards, etc....

I give them their "food" the Natural way...Live. And under my close supervision. Personally I do not feel comfortable "whacking" a small mammal in a bag. But I may have to in the future. I accept that possibility. Because it would be MY FAULT if I left that rat in the tank...to chew and naw on a snake.

My statement "It is a mouse after all. What's next, human rights for flies and cockroaches? Crickets?" I back up. Anyone who ever watches the News or pays close attention to the "efficiency" of our government knows that there is a "special interest group" or "sub-commitee" for every dam thing under the sun. Rattlesnake roundup people and the wild red-necks will always be able to "rationalize" their "ways and means". Of course that doesn't mean that any rationale is moral. I'll just have to trust my own feelings. What does my heart tell me?

I do agree with you though Ken, overall. Its just that....a debate about how to feed your snake on a Cornsnake forum, well, may seem kind of silly. But its not actually. We humans each see and hear and feel diffent ways. For one member to tell another to smack the mouse in a bag is silly. Or it very well could be a better idea? Who knows....It's up to YOU and I just hope some people don't need a "movement" to help them in this decision

I'll just clarify my original point:

You have a pet snake.
It eats mice.
Feed it.

(God forbid any debate over my diet!)