Feeding live mice

[mick_304]

Hi all new to owning snakes just wondering what are peoples thoughts on feeding live mice if you dont suggest it please let me know the best way to humanly kill them before feeding.

 

[Dan19]

crushing there skull with a hammer or something sharp is the best...

 

[mrmikk]

You shouldn't be feeding live unless that is the only way the snake will eat, and it absolutely needs live to survive. This is the legislative basis for feeding live too. As for humanely killing them, gas them with CO2.

 

[alex_c]

Hi all new to owning snakes just wondering what are peoples thoughts on feeding live mice if you dont suggest it please let me know the best way to humanly kill them before feeding.

no its illegal to feed live if the animal will eat dead. the easiest way to kill them is to grab their tail and slam them into something hard like a concrete floor with a flick of the wrist

 

[Chrisreptile]

As i only need a few mice and rats every week or 2 i hold them by there tail and make a swift sharp hit to the back of neck with a screwdriver and its lights out instantly.

 

[beeman]

the simple answer is dont feed live mice!
you can cause problems to your snake if the mouse bites
before the snake kills it. and it can cause infections
for the snake.
you should buy you rep food frozen and thaw it to room temp before feeding or if you want to use fresh you will have to hit the mouse on the head hard enough to cause the skull to break and kill the mouse instantly

 

[andyscott]

Why dont you just put a mouse trap in with your live mice. The mouse that gets caught is the one that gets eaten.

 

[tarzan]

my supplier graps them by the tail and swings them onto a brick with 2 sharp repetative bolws (only to the head) it seems to be very quick. Not that hard that there head busts open. It's very quick and they don't seem to suffer at all. small pink mice she just throws to the ground on concrete not to hard or they split.

 

[arbok]

i just cant kill a mouse or rat

 

[eladidare]

pm sent!

 

[tarzan]

I to have trouble with the killing part thats why i use a supplier.

 

[cobrajet]

I buy the mice from the pet shop already dead and frozen, so I dont have to worry about killing them. It is easy just defrost and then feed to the snake. its your best bet!!!

 

[zard]

i have a snake here that the previous owner used to feed live mice to, he now hashalf a tail, he lost it almost to the vent and he has numerous scars all due to being fed live mice for the owners enjoyment.

 

[spazzakazza]

I kill my mice/rats by gassing (Vinegar and Bi-carb).They just go to sleep.Never have fed live.

 

[mckellar007]

i recently got rats to eventually breed and knock off, was thinking about gassing, what do you do it in? just a tub? and yeah... how do you do it?

 

[Lovemysnakes]

Anyone know where to buy the CO2?

 

[thesilverbeast]

vinegar + bicarb soda reacts to form co2 gas.


Back on topic... The law states that it is ILLEGAL to feel live food to snakes UNLESS the snake refuses to eat dead food. So unless its a matter of life and death of the snake, its illegal.

 

[mick_304]

I'm not saying i am or wanted to feed live just asking opinions mainly interested in humanly killing them as i have a problem with doing it so to gas you put them in a container with vinegar + bicarb does anyone know what this does to them, eg put them to sleep i dont want to stress the poor mouse anymore then it needs to be.

 

[llasher]

I think CO2 causes a sort of narcosis that ends up with the mouse drifting off and walking to the light etc. The mouse ends up in mousy heaven where everywhere you look there are those ferris wheely things they like. That's what I'm led to believe anyway. To my knowledge no one knows for sure if this humane, but I think our understanding of mammal physiology suggests it is.

I had occasion to kill a live mouse or two recently and it was awful. I found dashing their head against a concrete step dispatched them quickly, however occasionally there was some decerebrate twitching...quite unpleasant for me and the mouse.
:cry:

 

[OdessaStud]

BOC gas supply Co2 a bottle will last you 2 years easily if your only doing a few at a time.They are asleep within 2 minutes and dead within 4 minutes.Use a bag ie a dry dog food bag and run a hose from the Co2 bottle into the bag instant and painless, no blood as with the wacking method and not muck ups, ie tails left in the hand,mouse not dead with first wack or worse still it comes alive and bites your snake.Another name for CO2 is beer gas you should easily be able to get a bottle.