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going from frozen to live mice.

sixty7stang

sixty7stang

New member
so in the past 4 weeks i have been having a really hard time finding frozen adult mice to feed kratos. i have been lucky that the pet shops around here are accidentaly killing mice during feeding time or whatnot otherwise i would have nothing for him. i guess i could feed him 5 pinkies, but thats stupid. he is a full grown cornsnake. anyway my question is -as long as i watch very closely to make sure the mouse doesnt attack him- can i start feeding him live mice? the pet stores around here have so many of those and for about the same price. and i dont wanna kill the mice, ill let kratos do that. so my question is do you think this is okay?
 
If you want your snake possibly injured or killed... You are not faster than a mouse if it wants to bite your snake. And depending on where it bites, you may end up loosing your pet snake.. If I were you I would just kill the rodent and feed it to them, You can set up a CO2 chamber to do the deed for you.
 
I agree about the euthanization chamber. Try the search out-there are some plans for small ones to do single mice, or larger ones to do multiple mice at a time. Another method is cervical dislocation.
 
Or order the mice online. You can get them from many sources, like rodentpro.com. They will ship straight to you, and the price is equal to or better than buying live, even after shipping. They are shipped in dry ice, so they still get to you frozen.
 
Bites and scratches from the mouse, though perhaps the most immediate and prominent concern, aren't the only worry when feeding live. You also have to worry about the parasites the mice may be passing on to your snake. Part of what makes frozen/thaw so wonderful is the freezing process kills any parasites the mice may be carrying.

I have to second the "order online" suggestion. There's no real excuse not to... Your snake is already on adult mice, so it's not going to be outgrowing its adult mice. 6 months' or so worth of mice doesn't take up all that much freezer room, especially for just one snake. And it's sooo much cheaper than buying from a pet store (live or otherwise).

My personal favorite place to buy mice online is TheMouseFactory.com. They have great quality and good prices for small quantity orders, and the mice come pre-vacuum packed so you don't have to worry so much about repackaging the extra.
 
The cheapest method...

is to pick up a few month's supply at a show. Where in Wisconsin are you? I heard there is a new show in Waukesha. Most shows have frozen rodents, although I don't know if that particular show does.

Be sure to try to come to the Chicago show in October. We will be there, as will lots of other cornsnake fans. We usually have a dinner on Sat. night. I believe there is a frozen rodent dealer there - you can check it out to be sure when the time gets closer.

It will be much cheaper to buy rodents at the shows than at a pet shop, and you won't have to pay shipping as you would ordering online. If you had a lot snakes, online would probably be cheaper than shows. But just ordering a minimal amount, shows will probably be cheaper than online for you.
 
Well I had written out a nice reply last night then I accidentally closed the window and Rich must have taken his sites down for maintenance because I couldn't get back, lol. :nope:

Anywho! I did a Google search for a MN rodent breeder, looking for a frozen supplier myself, and came across Marc Bailey out of Moorhead, MN. I did a little more digging and found his email and sent him one. He got back to me promptly this morning saying he would be happy to work with me. It's not _quite_ local for you, but he'll do a minimum ~$50 order, $15 shipping (he said it wouldn't be any more than this), and a $12.50/box and dry ice charge. I've heard he keeps his prices competitive with the "big box" companies so you wouldn't be getting ripped off there. I've also seen pictures of his frozen feeder rats, _pristine._ Also, you're getting homegrown, well cared for, stock, so no skinny bottom weight feeders (so I've heard!). Just an idea, or you could go to a show like Kathy said, that's a good idea too.

Don't give up on f/t yet! :)
 
Could you ask the pet store if they can euthanize for you? When the pet store we buy from ran out of frozen, the owner used his CO2 chamber and we just tossed themin the freezer.
 
Hey sciencechick, where in Massachusetts are you? I'm in metro Boston, and I'd be happy to split rodent orders in the future.
 
Where are you in Wisconsin?
If you are close enough to St. Paul, Twin City Reptile has f/t for sale, also the MN Herp Society does bulk orders of f/t that they split up (I think into packages of a dozen, but not sure) that you order ahead and pick up at their monthly meetings.
 
I'll add to the general opinion that there are many options better than going live.
 
The reptile show prices I saw were rather high, compared to rodentpro.com. A one bag order at rodentpro was the same price per item as the dealer had. Buy 2 bags to save on shipping, and it was much less per item than the dealer.

But, this was a kind of small reptile show, so ymmv.
 
Show prices will always be higher than the best online prices, although much cheaper than pet shop prices. But if you are buying small quantities, you will save enough on shipping to even it out. For larger orders, shipping is more worthwhile.

For anyone in the eastern states with Repticon shows, Mouse Direct is often selling there. Although their show prices are higher than online, you can order online ahead of time, pay a $20 delivery fee, and get the online price instead. (The delivery fee is because the person at the show only makes a profit on the difference between the online price and the price he sells at the show).
 
wow, thank you all for the replys. i live in manitowoc wisconsin by the way so some of those places arnt the worst to travel to or whatnot. looks like ill just buy online. or if im at a show ill pick some up there. and the mice were only $1.50 at the pet store. i didnt think that was outrageous at all for a once a week feeding but whatever. ill be shopping online for the rest of the night :)
 
I'll second it too although you've already made up your mind :)

I have a ball python that refuses anything but live :( It's awful... I hate feeding him cause sometimes it's pretty brutal... Pet store was out of mice once so I fed him a fuzzy rat... Poor thing took a good 15 minutes to die cause Charmer didn't get a good hold on him awww.

My biggest pet peeve though with mice, is escapees... I've tried keeping a few mice so I'm not going to the store every week... and it backfires, five cats, it don't matter HOW well I cage those mice darn cats figure it out. Two weeks ago, bought four mice, had them in a shoebox rubbermaid type container, in a bedroom, with a door that was bungee corded shut... Cats figured out if they pushed hard enough they could get in... three of the four mice, ended up MIA. One I found dead a couple days later... another showed up on my kitchen counter *frown* the other I found in my washing machine *sigh*

Another time, I had one get loose in my van, took a little too long getting home (I live about 15 minutes out and I made one stop along the way) and he chewed out of the little container he was in... Looked everywhere, figured he snuck out the door ten days later I found him.... climbing up my leg when I was driving down the freeway *grr*

So moral of the story the buggers are safer off dead, both for my sanity and theirs!! LOL.
 
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