Just a friendly mouse kissing my Amel

[Aislinn]

http://community.webshots.com/video/3022524310096894612


(I almost kept the mouse for the bravery) :eek1:

 

[Joejr14]

Wouldn't have been so funny if the mouse had bitten your snake on it's head instead of 'kissed' it.

 

[Candachan]

Is this where I jump in with, "Oh, snap!"? :grin01:

 

[Plissken]

That mouse looks like awfully large prey for that amel. But it's hard to see some of the snake in the shot so :shrugs:

 

[MegF.]

Wouldn't have been so funny if the mouse had bitten your snake on it's head instead of 'kissed' it.

My thoughts exactly!!! I've seen way too many injuries from mice and rats to a snake....and I thought the mouse looked large too. The angle might be odd though.

 

[Aislinn]

Still a work in progress until all of them are up and linked to each other, so just bear with me for the next day or two (I mean, it's already been 7 months ).


FEEDING

In captivity corn snakes should be fed captive bred rodents only. Wild lizards, birds and rodents can transfer parasites to your snake. If your snake refuses domestic rodents consult a professional to recommend temporary alternatives. Hatchling corns will eat one mouse pink (newborn mouse) once or twice a week. They will often want more, but feeding more than this can be dangerous to the health of your snake unless you have adequate temperatures and space for exercise. A rule of thumb regarding the size you feed is that the "lump" from the prey item should be visible for 12 to 24 hours after feeding. If it is not visible during this time, you may need to move up to the next size rodent. If the "lump" is still visible after several days, it might be advisable to reduce the size of the prey. Prey items that are too large can result in regurgitation as the rate of decomposition exceeds the rate of digestion and there isn't room for the swelling meal. It is advisable to feed prekilled or stunned rodents, as there is a slight possibility of damage from the prey during the kill. If you feed live prey, be sure not to leave the snake unattended. If the snake refuses the rodent for any reason, remove it and offer it on another day. QUOTE]


The lump is always gone after 12 hours and I'm always present when feeding, I took the mouse out after 1 minute and returned it, and my snake has never regurgitated. Any other questions Joe?

 

[MegF.]

What was all that quote about? I didn't see him ask about prey. No matter what, that snake could have been injured before you could do a thing about it...present or not. After all, that mouse could have bitten your snake as easily as it could have just sniffed and you wouldn't have been able to stop it. If you doubt they can injure, I'll try scanning the entire chapter of my Surgical aspects of Reptile Husbandry that shows damage to reptiles from feeding live rodents. It's not pretty. In the wild, snakes would have a much larger area to maneuver in. In a tank, there's not much chance of that, and I've found that domestic mice have absolutely zero fear of snakes.

 

[Aislinn]

What was all that quote about? I didn't see him ask about prey. No matter what, that snake could have been injured before you could do a thing about it...present or not. After all, that mouse could have bitten your snake as easily as it could have just sniffed and you wouldn't have been able to stop it. If you doubt they can injure, I'll try scanning the entire chapter of my Surgical aspects of Reptile Husbandry that shows damage to reptiles from feeding live rodents. It's not pretty. In the wild, snakes would have a much larger area to maneuver in. In a tank, there's not much chance of that, and I've found that domestic mice have absolutely zero fear of snakes.

I'm talking to Jeff because I could honestly careless what you have to say. Sorry just being honest. :shrugs:

 

[susang]

I'm curious the source of your quote. :sidestep: thanks, susan

 

[Bobo's Mama]

I'm talking to Jeff because I could honestly careless what you have to say. Sorry just being honest. :shrugs:

Who's Jeff? :shrugs: And anyway, the point is, its just plain stupid to feed an adult mouse to a corn without at least stunning it first. I feed live all the time, no big deal, but at least knock the mouse unconscious first, so it can't hurt your corn.

 

[Aislinn]

My apologies, Jeff = Joe.

Bobo you can feed your snake however you want, that's fine. I'm sure someone can put "what if the snake thinks it's dead, and the mouse becomes conscience when the snake is trying to eat it. That's stupid." I don't really care how you feed your snake and I'm not going to argue with you on a cornsnake forum.

Susan, the quote is from a helpful FAQ bulletin JoeJr made. You can find it in the basic care section.

 

[Joejr14]

Well gosh, someone is sure defensive.

I just find it hilarious that you are 100% positive you've done nothing wrong. Instead of keeping the mouse away from the snake while it tried to 'kiss' it, you were there setup with a camera ready to take a picture.

Sure sounds like you have the best interest of your snake in mind....

 

[Aislinn]

I apologize if I come off as defensive. I'm just not going to get into a debate about how to take care of a snake, it's pointless and would be a waste of my time because people do different things. I appreciate all of you thinking I care about how you think I should feed, what I should feed, and potential problems might arise out of me feeding my snake, but rest assure, she's healthy and has been so since the 1+ years I've had her.

 

[Taceas]

I personally don't get why you took the mouse back to the petstore after all of that. I mean, if the snake was in shed, keep the mouse till the snake has shed and feed it off a few days later. Then again, maybe its a kinder fate for that mouse in the end.

Do what you want with your snake as you sound like the ignorant type to do that anyway, but making shock videos about it is where I think most of us draw the line. Its like those people putting videos of their tarantulas pouncing on live mice et cetera. Yes, its an awesome sight to see, but I find it completely distasteful and inappropriate in a public setting. And you wonder why laws are being made day after day limiting what we're allowed to do with our pets. Look in the mirror, its folks like you.

Joe only put that snippet about live prey in his paragraph because no matter how much you try to caution people, the idiots are going to do what they darn well please anyway. So at the very least, all he can do is to include a caveat and say "don't leave it unattended". That doesn't mean that even with you hovering over the tank with tongs its not going to happen.

Have I fed live rodents to my snake?

- Yes. I frequently feed live pinks and fuzzies to my snakes of the appropriate sizes because I raise my own mice and its simply the easiest way to do it. Those sizes of mice have absolutely no chance of causing harm to my snakes.

However, I try to avoid at all costs feeding a live adult rodent to any of my snakes. I've seen the damage it can do first hand, and I don't care for veterinary bills due to infections from a minor rodent bite. Any live adult mouse I feed my snakes has been euthanized well before entering the feeding tub.

Were my snakes injured?

- Most of the time, no. However I have had on occasion a stunned juvenile mouse to get a fold of the snake's skin in its mouth and chew at it, thankfully never breaking the skin. But if a stunned mouse can do it, a live mouse could most certainly.

Does that mean it can't happen?

- No. Most of the time nothing at all happens. But you can't control every single thing going on. You can't move fast enough to avoid a bite, no one can. I've been bitten by rodents myself faster than I could react.

Did I video tape it and share it publicly?

- No, I'm not that shallow of an attention seeker.

If you didn't want some kind of reaction out of it, you wouldn't have bothered to post the video here, so congrats, you got the attention you so crave. But when you bait the masses, don't expect to not get bit in the process somewhere along the way.

Next time if you want to make videos of your snake eating so you can publicly display it, use a frozen-thawed rodent or one that you thumped yourself. If you can't do it yourself, forcing your snake to do it isn't right either.

And I agree with others, the mouse looks a bit large anyway.

 

[Roy Munson]

I apologize if I come off as defensive. I'm just not going to get into a debate about how to take care of a snake, it's pointless and would be a waste of my time because people do different things. I appreciate all of you thinking I care about how you think I should feed, what I should feed, and potential problems might arise out of me feeding my snake, but rest assure, she's healthy and has been so since the 1+ years I've had her.

Well why didn't you tell us that you have a whole year of experience with a single snake? :grin01:

Some people say drunk-driving is bad, and others claim that they drive better when drunk. So I guess you might as well drive drunk, since people do different things. As a matter of fact, I know a guy who's been doing it for years, and nothing bad has happened to him. That just proves that driving drunk is ok! :spinner:

 

[Aislinn]

I personally don't get why you took the mouse back to the petstore after all of that. I mean, if the snake was in shed, keep the mouse till the snake has shed and feed it off a few days later. Then again, maybe its a kinder fate for that mouse in the end.

Do what you want with your snake as you sound like the ignorant type to do that anyway

You know it's time to give up when someone acknowledges you could careless what they think, and proceed to type a bible note anyways. My apologies, I'm done trying and JoeJr have a blast at Lake Talquin.

 

[BeckyG]

I'm talking to Jeff because I could honestly careless what you have to say. Sorry just being honest. :shrugs:

It also appears that you could honestly care less about the welfare of your snake. Sorry, just being honest.

Get off your high horse and do what's best for your snake. What Joe and Meg said is true. You're extremely lucky the mouse didn't put its teeth right through your snake's brain. Oh yeah, I know with your vast year of experience with one snake, you know what you're doing.

Well, I don't care what you think either, but I do care about the welfare of your snake, and about the future of the reptile hobby. Dolts like you endanger it for all of us.

 

[diamondlil]

So what are you apologising for? People like you fill up youtube etc with their 'exciting' videos, and force bunny-hugging legislators to try to outlaw live feeding, adding to the myths and distaste for herp-keeping by the general public

 

[Roy Munson]

I hate sand. Where should I go? The beach!

I hate eggs. What should I eat? An omelette!

I hate open discussion. What kind of internet site should I participate in?
An open discussion board!

:shrugs:

 

[Joejr14]

Just for giggles, look at this user's total posts. You'll notice a few months ago a similar thread with a link to a youtube video of the snake eating live.