feeding

[manson_midian]

hey, i just wanted to know how long should i wait for the mice to thaw. ive fed my snake 3 times and they were pinkies, and all 3 were live. but ive been reading and want to feed her dead mice. how long does it take for them to die, and then be warm enough to eat. also wat do i do to thaw them. eventually im going to have to figure something out caz yall say that the mice suffer by freezing them when there older. wats the cleanest way to kill older mice, caz i dont want to have blood or other things spurt out when i try to kill it. is it hard to do the screwdriver technique, caz i heard it takes practice and sometimes they dont die and start to spasm or something like that. and one more, when do they shed, mine is like a foot long or a little longer i guess, the pet store didnt tell me how old she was. thx in advance.

 

[MegF.]

I take it you're raising your own mice? If not, just buy them frozen and then thaw them in hot water until they are warm to the touch. Some people just let them sit out for a few hours until they are room temp, but I find my snakes eat them better if they are as warm as a live one would be. As far as humanely killing them if you raise them, thumping them over the head is supposed to be the quickest. I think the companies that supply mice use CO2.
As far as shedding, the younger snakes that are growing rapidly will shed more often than an older snake. My yearlings shed about once a month.

 

[tat2d1]

i just buy live pinkies and stick em in the deep freezer, they're froze within minutes.

 

[pcar]

Pinks and fuzzies would be ok to stick in the freezer, but when you start on hoppers and adults, putting them in the freezer isn't a very humane death. Because of their fur, it can take hours for the mice to finally die. The best techniques that I have found are wither gassing with CO2, screwdriver method (place screw driver at the base of the head, and jerk the tail up and away), or flicking (flick the back of the head). The two last options will usually cause spasms because any time that something dies from head trauma, nerves will fire off causing spasms. These are the three fastest ways that I know of to kill mice.

Use your search function, and I am sure that you will find a lot more info. Also, you could buy prekilled frozen mice online and have them shipped to your house.

 

[guitarchick55]

when should i move my snake up to eating fuzzies??

 

[manson_midian]

last week i went to the pet store and told the guy i wanted a pinkie. he came out with it in a bag and sealed so i didnt get to see it, when i got home opened it and noticed that it was pretty big and had all its fur. it still had its eyes closed and eveything, couldnt walk, but still looked big. she usually eats them really fast but this time took a while, and also took really long to kill it too. just wanted to know if that was a fuzzy or wat was it, and should i keep feeding her them or make sure i get a pinky next time. ive feed her 3 times and all 3 are diff, the first had little fur, the second had no fur, and now this one had all. i need to feed her again tues. and wanted to know if wat they gave me was wrong. shes about a foot long and not very thick, i think shes about at least 3 months or younger not sure.

 

[MegF.]

Sounds like a fuzzy to me, although with eyes still closed...hmm. Why don't you go to frozen/thawed, then you won't have inconsistent sizes all the time.
Guitarchick: When your snake is eating the pinky and you aren't seeing much of a bulge, or after you feed it's still out looking for more, or it's out looking for food within a day or so of eating I would think about giving 2 pinkies. After a few weeks of that, go to a fuzzy.