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Old 03-09-2023, 06:58 PM   #31
Asmodeus*
Quote:
Originally Posted by Rich Z View Post
Do you really think it is a good idea feeding your snake(s) wild caught mice and introducing the strong possibility of transferring parasites into them?
F/T WC Deer Mice do not transfer parasites. And yes, I do really think that it is a great idea to feed WC North American prey items to North American colubrids. I base this on my observations of feeding CBB Mus musculus and WC Peromyscus maniculatus to various North American colubrids since the 1970's.

Deer Mice are to Corns as ASF's are to Ball Pythons. Better feeding response, faster growth, less odorous stools. The calcium level of Deer Mice is off the charts, easily 2x-3x more bone mass vs CBB mice (their skulls alone are 3x-4x the size of an equal sized CBB mouse) as well a significantly greater meat to fat ratio. CBB mice are fatty, soft, and mushy, the last thing that an already sedentary captive Corn needs. WC mice are lean and tough (beef vs venison). For the non-squeamish: peel the fur coat off a WC mouse and a CBB mouse and you'll see what I mean. WC Deer Mice caught from January through September have absolutely no visible fat anywhere on their skinned carcasses.

See the last complete sentence on page 65 of KathyLove's book. There are a few other pages that also make mention of WC prey items but now that I want to find them I can't.