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Something I just had to try once.

F

fsqwert

New member
:eatsmiley For the first time...I tried feeding my okeetee corn a live mouse. It was only a pinky, but, it satisfied my need to see what actually happens in nature. My okeetee is over a year old now, but his shipment of hoppers was running late. It was going on 2 weeks...and seeing as how I like to spoil him at all times...I decided that 2 weeks was waaay too long for him to wait for his food. I went to the pet store, and I bought some pinkies. While I was in the process of buying them, the clerk at the pet store asked me if I wanted LIVE or FROZEN pinkies...It was at that point that the "evil twin" which lurks in all of us suddenly emerged...LOL. I thought to myself..."hmmm....Im just gonna buy ONE live pinky and 2 frozen ones, because I want to see what actually happens in nature. In nature, you dont have frozen-thawed pinkies, unless its the dead of winter...LOL. Anyway, it was my first experience with using a live mouse. My snake immediately snatched it up, but it wasnt as dramatic as it is in those wildlife videos you see on tv. He just grabbed it, hind end first, actually...and he began swallowing the pinky as it was squeaking away. Anyway, it was kind of like watching a B rated horror movie...where the "big, bad monster" was devouring the city. Except of course...this time...I was rooting for the monster...LOL An interesting thing to watch, though I probably wont repeat the experience.


"Gentlemen....we can rebuild him." :laugh:
 
That's interesting, I always assumed they constricted (?) them first..... would they do that with something a bid bigger I wonder? or perhaps as it had never been fed live food before the instinct to kill is not developed?
 
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Pinkies still?

The reason why your snake swallowed it with out constricting is because the pinkie is no challenge for your snake. If you use a hopper or a juvenile mouse it will constrict.

Question "why do you feed your yr old snake pinkies still"?

When a snake is a yr old they should be eating juveniles or sub-adult mice. If you want to see a good show like on TV get a live juvenile mouse and sit back and enjoy. I only feed my snakes live, thats my preforence. People say that your snake will get bit by the mouse, but really the snakes skin is so thick that a bit wont hurt them. When the mouse is being constricted it instict is to keep breathing, not bitting. My snake has been bit once but it did not even go through his scales, and that was an adult mouse. Plus my snakes refuse frozen or pre-killed.

Question "what size of viv do you keep your snake in"?

Question "how big is your snake, inches thick"?


newt
 
Yeah feeding live is better nutrient wise. But mice can hurt the snake severly. Your snake was kinda lucky I'd say. I have seen some nasty bites from mice before.

Acradon
 
i fed live for a few weeks at the beginning until i saw my Amel get bitten. It made me mad, so i killed the mouse for him, and switched straight to frozen. Frozen works great for me mainly because i dont have to run to the petstore every time its feeding day =)
 
When a mouse bites a snake its usally when the snake triks at it and misses the mouses body. If the snake grabs it from the tail then yes the mouse could get a good bite in. Manly when a snake grabs a mouse its usally by the head or neck. Iv seen pics about snakes geting eaten alive my mice and rats, but thats when the owner leaves the room or does not watch the mouse in the cage. You can not leave a mouse in the cage with the snake for a long period of time because mice like to tibble. Rats are the worst for that. I will never feed my corn a rat for that reason alone. All the pics I saw on snakes being bit are from rats not mice. If you breed mice for feeding then it is inexpensive. That is what I do.
 
Dear Newt,

The reason I fed my yearling snake pinkies was because the shipment of hoppers I had ordered was running kind of late. Actually, I had waited till the last minute to order them, so it was my fault...Thats why I was using pinkies...because thats all that the pet store in my area has in the way of frozen snake food...pinkies. The pet store here also has live adult mice...but I thought maybe they were a bit big for him...not to mention kind of dangerous.
 
Man! I would love to see one eat a live one! I would sooo video tape it! LOL...:( I can't wait to get a snake...working on the college pet policy right now.
 
I have to say, I converted from live to frozen and I have enjoyed that much better. I get too nervous when I see the mouse's head free enough to possible bite my snake. I was in your same situation this past week (for some reason adult frozen mice have been tough to come by near my house) so I had to pick up a live one. When my snake took it, the whole head was free and close enough to bite my snakes body. I was so worried. Luckily, the mouse didn't bite, but I really don't want to go through that again. He's just going to have to hang on till I find some more micicles.
 
Well ok, live feeding arent for everyone. All snakes have there own preference, some like live, some like frozen, or pre-killed. My experiance is with live and frozen but I tell you it is a good show when you see your snake hunting like his wild cousins, my snakes are getting better and better hunters. Cornelius has learned that mice pase back and forth, so he waits along its path and when it comes by again he will strike. All snakes miss once or twice, after the third time it will usally give up. Thats your Q to take out the mouse.

SexyHero, I have taped it on camera. I wanted to see it on my TV like a nature show. I caught it perfectly, if I could download it on this site would you like to see it?
 
Well I figured I'd throw my two cents in on this little discussion while I'm perusing the area.

My snakes get live prey only, and only if, the prey is not self-sufficient, i.e. pinks through crawlers. By this I mean, when the mice are eating solid food with teeth and have their eyes open and are able to fend for themselves, I do not take the risk by feeding live.

I did one time when I was in a hurry, and the mouse albeit a hopper, bit right through the skin on an adult snake and the wound became infected. That was the first and last time.

Common excuses:

"Well I sit right there and watch them to make sure nothing happens." That isn't any sort of excuse to justify it. Supervision isn't enough. There's no way in hell you can jump in there fast enough with a pair of hemostats or pliers to finish off the mouse. By the time you do see something going wrong, it's already too late, the damage has been done.

"Well the only mice my local store has are live. So I feed live." Still not an excuse. Any mouse can be quickly and humanely euthanized before feeding to your snake.


Maybe this is only my opinion, but if you're only feeding your snake live prey for the sheer excitement and awe of "Nature", then you're doing it for the wrong reasons. Snakes in the wild don't have any other options of eating, your snakes do. Sure watching snakes eat is an awesome experience. But if that's all you're doing it for, is to watch a little mini-drama play out with them killing the mouse and eating, doesn't that sound a little selfish?

My hatchling-yearling snakes get live prey because:

A) I breed my own mice. And it's easier for me to grab out the pinks-crawlers than it is for me to sort through a bag of frozen mice for the right size, thaw, dry, and feed. If I don't use them all or if someone doesn't eat, I just throw it back for next week, don't have to worry with re-freezing.

B) I've had better feeding success with live prey versus f/t. All of my snakes eat on live with no problems. I only get rejected with live when a few are shedding, and even then its only a couple of snakes that don't eat when blue.

C) From my own little experience in the matter, my snakes that grew up from hatchling -> yearling -> adult on f/t grew slower and are turning out to be smaller snakes. Those that I started on or switched to live early on are growing at a rapid rate and are closely gaining on those fed f/t. Whether its the fact that the nutrition is better or the fact that they're getting exercise, its probably a little of both.

Once my snakes get to the size that they're needing hopper to adult mice, they get converted over to pre-killed mice. A quick round of cervical dislocations, and I'm off to feed. Pre-killed for the same reasons as I gave above for live.


So again, if you're feeding live for the thrill...watch the Discovery Channel or Animal Planet and don't take the risk with your snake.

Opinions are like noses, everyone has one. ;)
 
Well I must say I would probably feed live mice to a big snake...if I could get them. The petstores here have only hamsters and gerbils, which is fine but too pricy. Your talking about €10 each. On top of that the people from the petstore know me and won't sell me any live rodents. They know they would end up as food and don't you think too that they are much to cute....ahhh. Plus I live in Ireland. Nobody could tell me exactly yet but in the UK it is forbidden to feed live. I don't know whether this applies to Ireland too.
But the saying of "soooooo video tape it" and "it's a real cool show" reminds me a bit of the roman gladiator games, don't you think? Have a thought about it

Acradon
 
It would be terrible if the snake got harmed...when i get my corn, i will only feed it a pinks live, don't want the chance of it getting hurt.

PS-NEWT I would love to see the video! :crazy02:
 
Sorry to be a little "off topic"... but, i was wondering... if the snake get bitten from the mice, would his skin heals completly or would he be marked for life?! :shrugs:
 
newt said:
People say that your snake will get bit by the mouse, but really the snakes skin is so thick that a bit wont hurt them. When the mouse is being constricted it instict is to keep breathing, not bitting. My snake has been bit once but it did not even go through his scales, and that was an adult mouse. Plus my snakes refuse frozen or pre-killed
Click to expand...

You are talking bullsh*t !, a snake of that size's sikn isnt that thick, its just tough, a mouse wud bit through it p*ss, not only that, but it wont bite softly, it will bite VERY hard and cause major damage. a mouse's instinct is NOT to sit there and breathe, but to get away, and it does this by biting and scratching your snake, YOU ARE JUST LUCKY !

so much crap in that thread
 
stuart, my snake cornelius started on frozen but stoped eating, he went 2 months without eating just refused to eat frozen or pre-killed. I threw a live mouse in and he took it right away. I feed live because I breed my own mice and its cheaper in the long run. But to each their own, glad to here that you do things different. Ok my last thread was wrong, yes the snakes skin could get injurd. Mice do bite and yes if your snake is to slow then yes it could get bite badly. My snakes on the other hand, they know what they are doing. Others snakes might not know what to do. But cornelius is 2 1'2 inches thick around, a very hardy snake, he is the only one that I feed adult mice too. He has his own way and he has learned the right way to kill a mouse. Im not trying to force anyone to my way of thinking but dont b**ch me out for saying what I have gone threw. Yes I have had some close calls but nothin has happened yet.

Like I said before is that my snakes will only eat live so that is the reason why I feed them live, not because of the show, or to see the mouse die but my snakes prefere to hunt and kill their own prey.

I am a breeder and have owned a lot of corns and with my experiance live is better.

P.s. stuart your site is a good one, beautiful snakes you have.
 
live or frozen

This is a very good question........I am on my one and only first corn and when I heard and read of people feeding their snakes live food I felt some revulsion. After reading through the posts in this thread though I can understand why some want or have to do it.
I hope my corn sticks to frozen foods, I can't envision me killing mice for it..........lol.......
Thank you all for the various points of view and education on this matter.

thank you
 
im not saying feeding live mice is wrong, i am VERY curious to see mine kill one. im just saying their skin isnt that tough, and accidents happen.

thanks, the site was made for free from www.freewebs.com , the snake isnt :p
 
Hmmm this disturbs me majorly, maybe cuz I'm a girl but really WHY WHY WHY do you want to see some poor little mouse get CRUSHED to death, I've seen it and didn't enjoy it one bit, I HATE watching fuzzys wander round in cages with their eyes 1/2 shut TRYING to find an escape route just so they aren't killed. Each to their own but UGH NO!

Rach
 
lol, i do have to agree that watching them strike is an animal planet thing but if you really really like to, wiggle the f/t mouse with as pair of tongs. MOst snakes will attack it just like if it was alive and it is a little lighter on the conscious.
 
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