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frustrated!

While I can understand part of this -- it's a cheap mouse, if it is sickly you can get another feeder breeder easily -- you DO have the responsibility to give it proper care so it can live a healthy life and produce healthy babies to feed your snakes, and it does not matter if the mouse was $1 or $5. If you buy a few cheap mice, toss them in a cold basement, and only give them enough care to keep them barely alive, don't be surprised if they die.

Slightly warmer temperatures, proper bedding and food, clean water, and two mice of opposite sex are about all you need. Skimp on any of the care and you'll just end up frustrated that they all keep dying. Then again, perhaps you need to change your source; if the mice are being sold for a buck, maybe they were meant to be a feeder themselves due to being sickly. You get what you pay for and all that.
 
Since when is 60-65 too cold? My garage runs into the upper 40's on the coldest nights and my mice are all doing just dandy. And like someone else said, they do tend to breed better when its colder out. Too warm of a temp has more of an adverse effect on their reproductive patterns, at least here in my home.

Personally I'm pretty shocked at some of the replies on this thread.

Have I ever taken my sick mice to the vet? No. They're not worth $60 to find out that its sneezing is an RI. If its sick, I euthanize it, feed it off, and raise up a replacement.

Maybe if I were raising show mice and could never bear the thought of one of the little buggers dying...then maybe it'd be worth it to me.

Did I take the rat that's been bitten on the base of the ear that now has a perma-lean because of a balance issue? No. She's still productive and does just fine even if she does walk like she's on a rocking boat.

Sure its a living creature, and I dote on my feeder rodents more than some people...but in the end, its still just a mouse. Call me cruel, I could care less.

I'm not raising show mice that could fetch $30 each (or $5000 in Gintha's inflated universe). Maybe if I were, I'd be more apt for veterinary care. I raise my mice for snake food. So if it ultimately meets its end sooner than I had planned, no skin off my teeth.

How many of you saying such things set mouse traps when mice eat your blessed Oreos? All of this venom over a mouse isn't productive. No one chews a new ass for newbies with 3 snakes in a 10gal. Instead they get coddled along anymore.

And what annoys me, she hasn't even said what she's housing them in, what the substrate is, what the diet is, etc. Yet everyone's prematurely running off with the train and jumping on her case because she's "improperly" caring for them.

Although I do agree with Wilder, if the mice are being sold for only $1, they're more than likely feeder bin rodents. And nothing ever good comes from the feeder bins. They're over-crowded, diseased, and most are well past their prime. That's why they're there. Pet mice here in healthy shape cost $2-$5 depending on the store.

Sugar water catches a lot more flies than vingear. And for some reason I see this as aligning along the lines of those who don't raise their own feeder rodents and those that do. It's a sad reality out there sometimes.

Think about where your eggs come from...think about 8 hens cramped into a 12"x24" cage so tightly they can't even open their wings or stand up..day after day spitting out an egg. Most die after 6 months of age in such conditions. But every dozen "store eggs" you buy you support such inhumane practices. Just something to think about as you think she's cruel and heartless over a mouse.
 
I did state that I didn't want to sound harsh, but perhaps I should have added that if vet care wasn't an option, humane dispatch might be considered
if the mouse didn't improve.
Lilyorchid never said she was providing less than good care, and stated that she was trying to help the mouse by warming it up!
I'm sorry if I caused offence Lilyorchid.
 
Woa, all I was asking is if it was cold and damp in the basement, then maybe the mice could be getting sick and dying from that. I'm sure that some of the reactions expressed come as a response to the flippant remarks of the original poster. By far most are animal lovers here, so get very upset and concerned in these situations. Thats understandable. There are lots of examples of animal cruelty in the world, and consumption by humans of factory farm animals is way up there on the list... but
Lets be contructive - if its cold and damp, and dusty, and unclean or whatever, move the mice to better conditions. Buying more would mean more becoming sick and dying. Not very constructive - ethical issues aside. You are certainly right Misty to ask about the substrate, etc. So we all need to know more about the situation. Lets get back on track.
 
What does price got to do with it? If you bought a snake for a dollar would you not take it to the vet because it was so cheap? ( not that you would find a snake that cheap) Every living thing is a life your putting in your care, and that means your responsible for it. So i would suggest taking it to the vet. If you wont take it to the vet then why are you asking for advice? Thats just cruel to let the poor mouse suffer!
 
One of my corns was only a dollar.
Katie was a raffle item at a fundraiser for my herp club.
And she cost me a dollar.
And if she gets sick, she goes to the vet just as quickly as my amel bloodred does.....or my rats....

And taceas....a rat with a headtilt may produce just fine for you....but any animal that walks like its on a rocking boat shouldnt be allowed to live that way. Shame on you.
 
venom or opinions? If some of us would pay the vet for any animals in our care, and get worked up over people who wouldn't, it's our choice. Personally I still think anyone stating that are only measuring an animals' worth in monetary terms is always going to stir up strong feelings in those who don't see life in that way. Probably I am a softy, probably I would spend far too much time and money for the health of my animals, probably I am always going to feel this way and be glad that some people on this forum do too
 
Never minding the emotional responses, it boils down to this: If the mice keep dying, re-evaluate your husbandry and buy healthier stock. They might cost more than $1, but it'll sure be cheaper in the long run if you aren't having to buy them every few weeks.
 
Wilder said:
Never minding the emotional responses, it boils down to this: If the mice keep dying, re-evaluate your husbandry and buy healthier stock. They might cost more than $1, but it'll sure be cheaper in the long run if you aren't having to buy them every few weeks.
I second that!
 
kimbyra said:
And some people say "Its only a dog" and chain them outside in the winter 24/7, etc... Take the poor mice upstairs where its warm and dry for goodness sake.


I'm allergic to them, and can't put up with their smell.
 
I can understand that. I am too, and I have asthma. That's why I don't have mice anymore, and why I love snakes.
 
lillyorchid said:
I'm allergic to them, and can't put up with their smell.

Mice only smell if u let them. If its just one female mouse in a cage, how long are you letting her go without clean bedding before it starts to "smell"? It has to take some time for one mouse to make a stink....

Guess what, Im allergic to dogs and cats, yet i have 2 dogs (one heavily sheds 24/7) and 4 cats (2 shed heavily). Uh...there are ways of getting around it. It takes what....2 minutes to clean a mouse cage? keep her in your closet or under your bed, or across the room...OR the bathroom!

But like everyone is saying $1 or $5, its still an animal that right now is depending on you to keep her healthy. I got my dog for FREE and he goes to the vet regularly.

lillyorchid, if u cant provide proper living quarters for an animal, u dont deserve to have them. period. Feeders or breeders.
 
JenC said:
Mice only smell if u let them. If its just one female mouse in a cage, how long are you letting her go without clean bedding before it starts to "smell"? It has to take some time for one mouse to make a stink....

Guess what, Im allergic to dogs and cats, yet i have 2 dogs (one heavily sheds 24/7) and 4 cats (2 shed heavily). Uh...there are ways of getting around it. It takes what....2 minutes to clean a mouse cage? keep her in your closet or under your bed, or across the room...OR the bathroom!

But like everyone is saying $1 or $5, its still an animal that right now is depending on you to keep her healthy. I got my dog for FREE and he goes to the vet regularly.

lillyorchid, if u cant provide proper living quarters for an animal, u dont deserve to have them. period. Feeders or breeders.
I totally agree with you!
I am not allergic to cats but if i was, I would just do what I have to do to keep/have them!

You either love animals and respect them or don't. If you don't you should not bother having any.
I am scared of spiders but it doesn't mean that I will squish them when I see them!
 
I agree. How can someone call themselves an animal lover when they value their lives by their monetary value.
 
Enough is enough. We're talking about feeder mice here, a step above goldfish. They are dispensible. Lillyorchid never claimed to be an "animal lover", and it is not a prerequisite to keeping snakes. Those of you that do "love" all animals, more power to ya, but for God's sake, lighten up. Have a nice day! :)
 
mbdorfer said:
Enough is enough. We're talking about feeder mice here, a step above goldfish. They are dispensible. Lillyorchid never claimed to be an "animal lover", and it is not a prerequisite to keeping snakes. Those of you that do "love" all animals, more power to ya, but for God's sake, lighten up. Have a nice day! :)


THANK YOU! I only have these mice for them to pop out snake food for my snake. I AM A FEEDER BREEDER. I have no other reason to have them. They live in a tank, have food, and water. I'm allergic to them. Also male mice do stink. No way are they coming upstairs! If I live by myself, okay maybe... but I don't and the other person who lives here thinks they stink also. If the mouse is sick, then it is removed from my breeding tank. If it lives... it lives. If it dies, I replace it with another one.

As said if it were my dog, cat, horse, snake... yes it would go to a vet. But a feeder mouse? No, sorry.

To be honest I really do not like mice and I'm glad I'm allergic to them.


Also I only joined this fourm to get tips and ask questions about feeders. Not to get bashed and made to look like some animal hating-killing nazi.

With that said. I'm done with this post! Say/think whatever you all want. I no longer care. I'm done.
 
lillyorchid said:
THANK YOU! I only have these mice for them to pop out snake food for my snake. I AM A FEEDER BREEDER. I have no other reason to have them.
You're welcome! :cheers:
And dont get discouraged by some of the responses here, sometimes we all get "emotional" :grin01:
 
You guys are wrong about the allergies. I'm allergic to dirty dogs, some people are allergic to a bacteria that grows on cat hair, and with occasional washing and vacuuming can be kept under control, but its actually something (a protein?) in the mouse urine that tends to make people allergic. And lets face it, except for right after you clean the cage, a mouse is always going to have some of that around, even if you have a good habitat.
 
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