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new and wonderful pet

EtherRex said:
Yep, thread has slid way of topic. But then is that a bad thing? Seems to mimic a natural conversation.

And Tina I have wached snakes eat live prey and have to say I enjoyed it. It was not the suffering that was enjoyable but the focus and instincts of the snake at work. They are powerfull, impressive killers and I dont really think there is anything wrong with acknowledging that and even gaining pleasure from it.
Click to expand...
then again i have seen my beautifull snow been bitten by a hamster...in the head...bad bad...bleeding all over...and yes he made it...but thats not a pretty sight
mariska
 
That must have been upsetting Mariska. However IME hamsters are larger and more able to defend themselves than mice. Also I dont think a hamster is a natural prey item for a cornsnake (correct me if im wrong), but mice are.

Regardless, it does show the dangers of live feeding.
 
Re:

No, hamsters are not natural prey for corn snakes, neither are the fat and lazy lab mice we feed them now for that matter. ;)

I feed my corns a variety of rodents: rats, mice, hamsters, gerbils. They really don't show a preference for one or the other really. I get a stronger feeding response from gerbils and hamsters however, but they don't get "hooked" on them and hard to get back on more easily obtainable rodents (mice & rats).

I've found hamster and gerbil young are just as seemingly nutritious as a fuzzy/hopper mouse and quite a bit smaller. Where my 3 week old dwarf hamster young are the size of a large pinky mouse, they've got hair and are a lot fatter in body bulk than their mouse counterparts. It's like the nutrition of a full course meal all contained in a portion the size of an Oreo, to give an analogy.

On those smaller bodied corns that *should* be up to fuzzies/hoppers by now, but are still on pinks, I've found the other species of rodent young get that growth spurt started where the snakes can then handle the larger mouse sizes like they should.

Could it be a coincidence? Maybe. But I've seen the results of it in my own snake colony.

So just because they're not natural prey doesn't mean they couldn't or shouldn't be fed as such. Just because I'm American doesn't mean I don't enjoy Japanese sashimi any less. ;)
 
GERBALS ARE BAD NEWS!

I once tried to feed my stubborn ball python a live gerbal once and I have to say I've never done it again...

I had fed my ball live mice before but none of the mice ever reacted like this gerbal. This gerbal knew what was up the SPLIT SECOND I threw him in. He took a defensive stance and starting "bounce-attacking" my ball. Gurella strike nip and recoil, repeat repeat. The gerbal was too small for the nips to do any damage but it was enough for me to never do that again. Gerbals definitely have a snake defense mechanism mice don't...

Anyone ever seen this behavior in gerbals?
 
Re:

Yeah, saw it at a pet store where they were trying to get an adult BP to eat. Not fun to watch.

I don't feed live of anything to any of my snakes. The closest the snakes get to live is a freshly-killed, still jerking rodent.
 
ok mariska...I have been beatin down enough by the rest of these guys but thanks anyways for your opinions.

Since baby can take two pinks in one feeding and does it regularly that means I should bump him up to something bigger right. Is that a fuzzy or a hopper cause I have never seen either of those before.

PS I think those gerbils are incredibly vicious. They bite humans in defense so I do believe if it were life or death it would kill a snake.
 
ok sorry...

i followed the conversation after making my first commend:(...i know you had enough comments by now:)...but seriously its not your fault!! its theirs...and i would really concider not ever going to that petstore again!!
since the baby is eating, no problemo!!!you obviously did the right thing:)...fuzzies are baby mice with a bit of furr...and springers are the young adults (which drives you crasy btw cause they are sooooo fast and jump out off your hands sooo easily(hihi springers huh)
mariska
 
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