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Killing Mouse Question
- Thread starter sneakers
- Start date
Rich in KY
Fortunate Fool
Here is a link to help withing euthanizing mice
http://www.thereddragonsden.com/co2.htm
It is best to buy your mice prefrozen and just thaw them when it comes time to feed.
http://www.thereddragonsden.com/co2.htm
It is best to buy your mice prefrozen and just thaw them when it comes time to feed.
tyflier
[Insert Witty Commentary]
Not if you "grow your own", so to speak. If I had to pay for all my mice and rats to feed my snakes, I'd go broke. Euthanizing is part of breeding.Rich in KY said:
Also...some shops don't sell frozen mice. The one I work at never did until I started working there, primarily because nobody wanted to spend a day euthanizing 100 mice of various sizes for the freezer...
It is my opinion that the best way to euthanize mice in small numbers is by breaking their neck. Hold them by the base of the tail with your right hand, and behind the ears with your left hand. Make a quick, sharp motion with your hands moving in opposite directions to sever the spine and spinal chord. It is instant death, with no pain. Your mice will continue to kick for a little bit, but this is a reaction of the nerves. Trust me...they felt no pain.
Piece of advice...you might want to invest in a pair of thin leather gloves, like mountain biking gloves or something. Mice tend to bite when you grab their head...
Corny Noob
Proud Momma
Well I'm going to have to stereotype and assume that a 11 year old isn't going to be breeding his own mice.
tyflier
[Insert Witty Commentary]
Why not? Could have parents like me that would rather he learn every aspect of "the game", rather than just a minimal participation.Corny Noob said:
If my daughter decides, at age 11, that she wants to breed fancy mice and/or rats to sell as pets or food, she is more than welcome to do the research and form a plan. I will provide whatever materials and animals she needs to get started and she can have a go at it. What better way to get kids interested in such things as genetics and animal husbandry?
I would MUCH rather have my daughter trying to breed a specific type of rodent than sitting in front of the tube playing video games...
Rich in KY
Fortunate Fool
When I answered the question, I did so to an 11 yr old asking strangers on the internet how to kill mice. Not the parents of the 11 yr old or the 11 yr old asking about breeding mice. I assume the parents don't have this knowledge since the 11 yr old is asking the question on this forum.
Corny Noob
Proud Momma
tyflier said:
Basically what Rich said, and most parents of new herpers aren't herpers themselves
Your daughter is lucky.
MerlinsPop
New member
And didn't Sneaker say he only had one snake (somewhere, maybe the intro)? Breeding to feed one snake is not really worth it.
hartsock
New member
Sneakers, buy them frozen...killing feeder mice isn't for a beginner snake owner. No insult there, you are 11 and even if you have had that snake since you were 2, you're still a beginner, no offense. If you don't have a place around you, have mom or dad order them online at someplace like rodent pro. keep a nice batch of them in the freezer and it will be alot simpler than trying to kill your own.
Everyone else take notice he didn't ask about breeding, but killing them.
Everyone else take notice he didn't ask about breeding, but killing them.
Jay@PJCReptiles
"Quality Before Quantity"
CaptBogart
False Prophet
Personally I enjoy me "Catapult 5000", mouse launcher... T' neighbors started t' complain about t' noise from them hittin' t' timbers, but what be you goin' t' do?
:shrugs:
:shrugs:
tyflier
[Insert Witty Commentary]
There certainly seems to be a lot of negative assumptions in this particular topic...
The bottom line is...this person asked the best way to kill mice. Instead of assuming we know something about him(which we obviously do not), why not just give him the information he asks for? I don't care if he is 11 or 30...he asked a direct question, and deserves a direct answer...no? :shrugs:
IMO...and I am willing to accept that I may be the only person with this opinion...it is MUCH better for an individual that keeps snakes to be fully aware of every aspect of keeping snakes. Mice *should* be killed before feeding them to your snake. It is part of the game that we are all playing. If you can't handle that, perhaps you shouldn't have a snake(I am using the word "you" abstractly, and not directly towards anyone).
A young person that owns a snake, and wants to know the best way to kill mice to feed to his snake, deserves an answer, not a bunch of assumptions about them and their family. He didn't ask about breeding mice. He didn't ask the best place to order frozen mice online. And he didn't ask for anyone's opinion regarding the best way to aquire mice for his snake. He asked the best way to kill mice for his snake. Does this individual not deserve a direct answer to his direct question? :shrugs:
The bottom line is...this person asked the best way to kill mice. Instead of assuming we know something about him(which we obviously do not), why not just give him the information he asks for? I don't care if he is 11 or 30...he asked a direct question, and deserves a direct answer...no? :shrugs:
IMO...and I am willing to accept that I may be the only person with this opinion...it is MUCH better for an individual that keeps snakes to be fully aware of every aspect of keeping snakes. Mice *should* be killed before feeding them to your snake. It is part of the game that we are all playing. If you can't handle that, perhaps you shouldn't have a snake(I am using the word "you" abstractly, and not directly towards anyone).
A young person that owns a snake, and wants to know the best way to kill mice to feed to his snake, deserves an answer, not a bunch of assumptions about them and their family. He didn't ask about breeding mice. He didn't ask the best place to order frozen mice online. And he didn't ask for anyone's opinion regarding the best way to aquire mice for his snake. He asked the best way to kill mice for his snake. Does this individual not deserve a direct answer to his direct question? :shrugs:
Rich in KY
Fortunate Fool
tyflier said:
Actually he/she asked:
sneakers said:
Which shows, if nothing else, a lack of experience. Therefore as experienced adults, we should consider the age of this child when answering his/her question. We don't know if his/her parents want him/her to know how to kill a mouse. Would you want your daughter getting this information online or from you? And we don't know if this child is aware that frozen mice are an option. So many of us tried to do the responsible thing and educate this inexperienced child about feeding options for the snake. You did directly answer the question, which I'm sure you think is the right thing to do.
CaptBogart
False Prophet
Um, you forgot to answer the question... :grin01:tyflier said:
The brutal truth is, I whack mine... any hard surface will suffice. Take them by the tail, and whack! That is of course for the adults... for your much smaller ones, a good flick to the back of the head usually works. You have to have good aim though, or their nose bounces off whatever they're on, and bleeds like crazy, and then you have to do it again. All in all, it's a pretty good stress reliever, if you need such a thing... Now I'm going back to my regularly scheduled Tequila Sunrise...
Jay@PJCReptiles
"Quality Before Quantity"
Jay
tyflier
[Insert Witty Commentary]
See...this sort of assumptive attitude is what bothers me about this topic.Rich in KY said:
A lack of internet ettiquette is in NO WAY indicative of a lack of experience in any other subject, first of all. It's hard to read, hard to follow, and doesn't bode well as a display of intelligence...but it in no way indicates a lack of exposure to situations, nor a lack of experience in snake keeping.
Is it really YOUR job to protect this person from the internet? I understand and appreciate what your intentions are. However...I am more willing to assume that his parents are aware of what he is doing, and what he is asking. Rest assured...if my daughter was on an internet forum asking a question or doing research...I would know about. And I would be absolutely furious if she(along with myself) were treated in the same manner that this individual was treated. Why? Because you ASSUMED he lacked intelligence and experience, and in doing so, you also ASSUMED that his PARENTS lacked intelligence and experience.
That's a no-no, in my book. I would MUCH rather assume that he and his parents have already done what they could in their home, and having found no answers, decided to turn to this forum...where they expected to recieve honest opinions and answers to their questions...not a bunch of people assuming they know what is best for everyone else...
An excerpt from above:
The truth is...you don't know ANYTHING about this individual. You don't know his experience level, his parental involvement, his education, his local resources, how many snakes he has, or ANYTHING about him, his family, and their combined experience.
So again...why be so negative in your assumptions(resulting in a very elite sounding stance on the subject..."Holier than Thou" attitudes, all around), instead of simply answering the question that was asked?
I would fully understand and appreciate the answers you had given("you" being a general term, not directly at you, Rich in KY), had the question been something like, "What is the best way to feed my snake?" In that instance, these answers would have been very appropriate. But that is not what was asked. And the answers given did NOT answer the question that was asked.
I'll be honest with you guys...if my daughter was online looking for information, and she recieved the responses that this individual recieved, I would feel extremely insulted, and would not frequent this site anymore. That is NOT the sort of attitude that the majority of the members here would like to have displayed. This place is supposed to be a family oriented information treasure chest...not an "elite community" where people assume everyone is less-experienced than themselves. Quite frankly...I am embarrassed by the way this person was treated. I don't want to be part of any "elitist" group that looks down on people based on their age and assumed experience level. That sort of BS is simply not fair...
FWIW...it is quite obvious, at least to me, that there is SOME amount of experience from this individual, simply because they KNOW that mice should be either killed or heavily stunned before feeding them to their snake. MOST inexperienced keepers would have simply fed live and not worried about. The very fact that he KNOWS the safest way to feed his snake, and only needs help in performing the task, *should* be indicative of not only a nominal amount of experience, but also a nominal amount of intelligence, rather than the converse assumptions he/she recieved...
Corny Noob
Proud Momma
At the risk of stirring the pot more I'm gonna jump in since I'm one of the people you're writing to.
Since when do we ever stay directly on topic here? If a blanket question is asked we ALWAYS try to offer other advice at the same time, it's what we do.
People come here for knowledge and our desire to spread around as much as we can runs rampant.
I think this is becoming way more of a deal than this ever should have been, when we all did have the OP's best intrest and the snake's at heart.
The end.
Since when do we ever stay directly on topic here? If a blanket question is asked we ALWAYS try to offer other advice at the same time, it's what we do.
People come here for knowledge and our desire to spread around as much as we can runs rampant.
I think this is becoming way more of a deal than this ever should have been, when we all did have the OP's best intrest and the snake's at heart.
The end.
tyflier
[Insert Witty Commentary]
It's not about staying on topic, it's about being elitist, holier than thou, arrogant...whatever word you choose to identify it with.Corny Noob said:
The answers given and the assumptions made make this community look arrogant. Period. The advice given was not even CLOSE. Obviously, from the question asked, this individual knew a certain amount about safely feeding his snake. Yet...some people decided, based solely on a number in a profile, that this person needed completely different information because they were "inexperienced". Some people assumed that:
A) and 11 year old kid can't possibly have enough experience to properly care for a snake(undoubtedly a wrong assumption)
B) an 11 year old kid's parents must be clueless to what he is doing and asking on this forum(again...most likely a wrong assumption)
C)an 11 year old kid must not be aware that frozen mice are available both in pet shops or online(proven wrong by the last post this person made stating that frozen mice weren't immediately available to him)
D) Since this person was asking us for help, he must be clueless, and his PARENTS must be clueless, so we need to teach him the error of his ways(which is simply ridiculous, based on the question asked)
I don't like the above assumptions that were made, and trying to jusitfy them with "We had the best interests of his snake in mind" don't cut it. His initial quesiotn PROVED that he had the best of intentions. You should have simply answered his question. It's not like he asked "what's the best way to cut a wild rat so I can feed pieces to my baby cornsnake?". For the question that was asked...the responses were way off base. That's all. And it makes this community appear arrogant. That's it. That's all I have to say on the subject.
Y'all can answer questions in any manner you see fit. But be aware that I will always feel this way in similar instances, and I will most likely raise my hand and state my peace about it in the future...