mouse prices?

[Skullptor]

I just bought a ball python for my son. After finding a store to get little hopper mice, I was a bit surprised by the prices. $2.25 @. Man, I was thinking of getting more snakes, I may have to rethink that.

Does the T rule apply to snakes no catching local country mice?

 

[clam1991]

probably

what you could do is splurg on a couple mice and breed em
but they stink so bad but you wont have to worry about buying them

 

[halfwaynowhere]

wild mice can carry some nasty parasites. Even captive bred ones can carry parasites, but most don't have them. My high school science teacher did have a snake in the classroom that developed a "tumor". When the vet operated to remove the tumor, he found that it was some sort of worms. can't remember exactly what kind, as this was seven or eight years ago.

I pay 1.20 per mouse, regardless of size (unless i buy a retired breeder, which cost a tiny bit more). I shop at a local reptile store.

you might want to try looking for someone local who breeds their own feeders. would probably be cheaper than what you are paying now, if you can find someone.

A ball python should be able to eat small adult mice pretty early on. Chances are, yours could handle it, no problem. Mine was hatched in may, and has been on adult mice since her fourth feeding. Now she's on weanling rats.
You might be able to save some money by switching to f/t, and purchasing in bulk. breeding your own for one snake isn't going to be worth it, you'll spend more time and money on them than you'll end up saving.

 

[hardlucktattoo]

just order f/t online in bulk i think you can get 100 hoppers for $25 i think maybe its 25 hoppers for 20 i dont remember

 

[Mushroom Spore]

Does the T rule apply to snakes no catching local country mice?

Mice can have internal parasites, external parasites, be exposed to rodent poison and other toxins that end up in their bodies, and carry all manner of disease. Definitely do not feed wild ones to any pet you value at all, or interact with them yourself - live OR dead.

Don't buy from the pet store. Check out places like this: http://www.bigcheeserodents.com/Pricing.html Load up your freezer and you'll be set for months.

However, I really doubt you have a ball python that should be eating hoppers. As far as I know, they can take medium/adult mice almost from birth. You should be feeding one prey item as big around (up to 1.5 times as big, but NO BIGGER) as the fattest part of the snake.

Note that the above rule can be deceiving, especially with ball pythons (very round-bodied snakes) who have been living on prey that's too small for them. If you can clearly see the line of your animal's spine (making a tent or teardrop shape), it's underweight. If it's round, it's good.

If your snake is underweight, don't judge appropriate prey size by its too-small girth, because you'll still be underfeeding it. Try to give your best guess how wide the snake would be if it was the right shape, and feed based on that.

 

[Skullptor]

Thanks for the informative post!

 

[Newyork]

Breed them yourself. It doesn't take much effort to breed mice and it's relitively cheep.

I know that wild mice also can have desises that can be transfered to people so I think using them is a bad idea all the way round.

 

[ballpython2]

Breed them yourself. It doesn't take much effort to breed mice and it's relitively cheep.

I know that wild mice also can have desises that can be transfered to people so I think using them is a bad idea all the way round.

Dont breed mice, they take forever to produce babies and they are super nervous mothers that end up killin eating the baby even if you just sneeze around them lol...

Rats are better because rats bites less they product babies faster and the babies are bigger and have more fat on them.

Or you can go to rodentpro.com they have great online prices.

 

[Diggy415]

i am currently raising rats and mice and some mice are carnivorous i put a grown male and female together and the male killed the pregnant female, blood bath, i always make sure the cage is cleaned before introducing strangers for breeding and on the other hand i have a mom mouse who gave birth to 16 babies still all doing well, she is larger than average mouse too. but once you find a mouse that eats young, get rid of it. never ever had a rat problem with this.

 

[dtknow]

I've heard gerbils aren't bad to breed for feeders. they smell less, for one.

 

[JohnEDove]

Does the T rule apply to snakes no catching local country mice?

I don't know what you mean by the "T rule" but I supplement my feeder rodents with trapped, live and kill traps, but I feed only frozen thawed and warmed to my snakes. When I catch wild mice or the ones I raise as feeders, regardless of species, I freeze them for 60 days before feeding them out to be sure to kill most if not all possible harmful pathogens.
To date I have had no problems and my bi-yearly fecals have always been negative for parasites.

As for the high price you pay, try buying frozen pre-killed from an on line supplier and you will find the cost much cheaper even with shipping costs added on.

 

[Hornets23]

Rats do not bite less....ive never been bit by a mouse....and i've had a ton. The rats on the other hand, nibbled every chance they got.