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Feeling sorry for mice

R

reptire

New member
I have a 1 year old cornsnake and an adult yellow rat snake. The young one feeds on 1 small mice per week while the other eats 3 mice every 2 weeks. However, I began to feel sorry for rodents, especially for adult ones. They seem just so much more active and intelligent compared to my snakes. I actually bought 4 mice (1 male 3 female) just for breeding but now I'm thinking I'll be keeping them as pets and only sacrifice the babies they produce.
Do/did you also feel sorry for rodents?
If yes, how did you get over it?
 
I accidentally had a pet rat for a few weeks,
I'll probably get flamed for putting it up for adoption on craigslist,
I didn't ask too many questions when she went away,

here's a thread that might help:
http://www.cornsnakes.com/forums/showthread.php?t=91289

if your pets will take pre-killed and still warm
(sometimes the prey item needs to do the zombie dance on the end of forceps)
then they'll probably take frozen thawed in warm water

If buying frozen in bulk is not for your choice

then maybe ask online
in your regional advertising venue
"looking for someone near me with frozen reptile food"
they might help you out
 
I'm kind of a bleeding heart for the mice as well, but the ones I bought existed specifically to be snake food one day. I used to have hamsters, they were always fun pets.
 
I couldn't raise my own feeders because I wouldn't be able to cull them. My husband is the same way. He actually just brought home a itty bitty mouse that he saved out of the feeder bin at work.

It is a lot easier for me to feed f/t. They already are culled and all I have to do is thaw them out.
 
I have not gotten over it, lol! I said the same thing you said about the mice. I was able to kill and feed the babies first couple of times but as my snakes grow, i needed bigger feeders, but i relized as the baby mice turned into fuzzies and hoppers i couldn't kill them. So know i have about 12 mice, that means more mouths to feed cause i couldnt feed them off. Its not as easy as i thought it was going to be. But i am giving away all the mice back to the pet shop tomorrow. Lol!
 
Killing hoppers is the hardest thing to do!
I do have two pet mice though. I stopped breeding mice a while back, but I had one old "granny" mouse that I didn't have the heart to kill. I thought she only had a few weeks to live so I kept her and a friend... Here we are months later and she is still kicking! Almost 2 years old now, so she is one ANCIENT mouse.
 
It's strange perhaps, but having snakes while working with all the small rodents at a petshop has me seeing them as food items, even after i raise them from pinkies and cure their sicknesses.
 
I raise mice for feeders and I don't feel bad about it. They receive good food and clean bedding and plenty of space to live in. I think the mice in my colonies most likely lead better lives than the average mass produced frozen feeder bought in bulk would have had before being culled and sold by a rodent supplier. Either way a mouse has to die for our snakes to eat, buying f/t doesn't negate that reality.
 
I couldn't breed my own, and couldn't feed live...I'm too much of a boob lol. I was really nervous when my rubber boa wouldn't eat...I really didn't want to find a live pinky for her :( Finally figured out what she preferred and she has been eating f/t pinks for me consistently now :) I have had mice and rats as pets, I prefer rats...they are more social and interactive. My mice were just...mice...although I still have a soft spot for them.
 
I breed my mice cause my ball python Joey is a mouser, I prekill, it was hard at first but each mouse gets a great life till the end, everything is done humanly, and I say a blessing for each one, sounds silly but it makes me feel a lot better, plus why not yes they are food but I give them the best till the end, it has gotten easier as time has passed, also my breeders don't become food, they produce three times and then are retired, they have names, lol. I figure they worked hard for me so they should get that right and respect and be able to live out their lives in happiness!
 
Gimme a break. Why do you have corn snakes in the first place if you can't handle feeding them? You should have plants. Or maybe not. You might feel sorry for the water that you pur in the dirt.
 
Whoa, simmer down Chuck. It's just a discussion on feeling bad for mice. Anyone who has snakes accepts dead mice/rats as part of the job, but it's not crazy to feel sorry for poor things.
 
chuckdishian said:
Gimme a break. Why do you have corn snakes in the first place if you can't handle feeding them? You should have plants. Or maybe not. You might feel sorry for the water that you pur in the dirt.
Click to expand...

chuckdishian said:
I mean PUT in the dirt.
Click to expand...

Chuck, Not sure why you find the need to attack.

Anyway I find it understandable. You feel remorse for taking a life. If you are not accustom to hunting for or raising your own food feeling bad is natural.

Just because you eat meat does not mean you can kill the animal your self without feeling guilty for it. It is the same reason not all of us are hunters!
 
chuckdishian said:
Gimme a break. Why do you have corn snakes in the first place if you can't handle feeding them? You should have plants. Or maybe not. You might feel sorry for the water that you pur in the dirt.
Click to expand...

Warning: Rude and nasty comments directed at or about another member is not well tolerated on this forum. Showing compassion for another living thing is not something to snicker at. Consider yourself warned. The next time, an infraction will be issued.
 
I don't *usually* have a problem dispatching mice, but I still pay more for f/t so that I don't have to do it. Rats are another matter. What gets me the most is toads, though! I raise western hognose and some babies start best on tiny toads, which is near impossible for me. I think the only thing harder might be a snake eater!
 
I really could never kill a mouse, enough dander gets in the air from thawing one out I have to deep clean the bathroom I thaw it in every time I feed or my husband will have an allergic reaction.
 
reptire said:
I have a 1 year old cornsnake and an adult yellow rat snake. The young one feeds on 1 small mice per week while the other eats 3 mice every 2 weeks. However, I began to feel sorry for rodents, especially for adult ones. They seem just so much more active and intelligent compared to my snakes. I actually bought 4 mice (1 male 3 female) just for breeding but now I'm thinking I'll be keeping them as pets and only sacrifice the babies they produce.
Do/did you also feel sorry for rodents?
If yes, how did you get over it?
Click to expand...

hikisquid said:
I'm kind of a bleeding heart for the mice as well, but the ones I bought existed specifically to be snake food one day. I used to have hamsters, they were always fun pets.
Click to expand...

beautifullywild77 said:
I couldn't raise my own feeders because I wouldn't be able to cull them. My husband is the same way. He actually just brought home a itty bitty mouse that he saved out of the feeder bin at work.

It is a lot easier for me to feed f/t. They already are culled and all I have to do is thaw them out.
Click to expand...

loyalsissaly84 said:
I have not gotten over it, lol! I said the same thing you said about the mice. I was able to kill and feed the babies first couple of times but as my snakes grow, i needed bigger feeders, but i relized as the baby mice turned into fuzzies and hoppers i couldn't kill them. So know i have about 12 mice, that means more mouths to feed cause i couldnt feed them off. Its not as easy as i thought it was going to be. But i am giving away all the mice back to the pet shop tomorrow. Lol!
Click to expand...

Y'all need to quit playing with the food, and feed the snakes.. LOL
 
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