Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I bought a cuple mice yesterday and one of them has a big swolen eye that cant open.I was wandering if it is infected can it hert my ball python.

I never give anything to my snakes that makes me ask questions. I have wasted alot of rats/mice, but I would rather not risk it. This is just my personal opinion though. I am so picky I breed my own feeders and I spoil my breeders and feeders like they are my pets. They get fresh foods as well as dog food, lab block, and seed mixes, they even get those little ice cream cones when there pregnant/nursing to make sure there calcium is up.

I don't want to put my snakes health at risk over a $1 feeder, I'd rather just gas-n-trash it and get a new one.
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"Wanting to be someone else is a waste of the person you are." - Kurt Cobain

"You laugh at me because I am different; I laugh at you because you are all the same."

~~ Krystal ~~

I agree if you think it is no good then it is no good. This is also my opinion. We also spoil our feeders and breeders. And when it comes time to feed them it is going to be hard lol.
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1.2.0 ball python (aragorn, arwen,`eowyn)
1.0.0 100% het pied (frodo)
1.0.0 columbian boa (squiggles)
1.0.0 rat snake (alabastered)
0.1.0 corn snake (baby)
0.0.2 whites tree frog (trevor, kirmet)
0.0.5 pacific green tree frogs
3.2.0 cats (rockie, bs, brownie, lerrado, kole)
1.3.0 kids (dilyen, dakota, chyanne, sierra)
Brian n Chrissy
"snakes are kind of like potato chips, you cant have just one"

Breeding your own feeder mice/rats....how hard is this, and would you say it's worth the money saved on just buying frozen mice/rats? Also, how do you kill them when you are ready to freeze them?

I personally don't know if I'd be able to do such a thing (I have a soft spot), but in the future I would like to try some breeding, and if it really is worth the savings, breeding mice might be something to look into.

For me, caring for them is pretty easy because I think of them as my pets. Yes killing them off can be hard, expecially when there so small and helpless, but I know my snakes need to eat, so it doesn' bother me too much. It's the way it was intended to be.

Personally I only breed rats, although I am thinking of starting a small (probably 1.2) breeding group of mice and maybe gerbils. Rats are social animals, there easy to deal with, don't bite, and don't smell much at all. Mice are a totally different story. I used to breed only mice, but they STINK, they bite, and they don't want to be messed with. Not worth having a large colony to me, but I do have a couple picky feeders and a Kingnsnake, so it might be nifty to have a small group.

I gas my feeders, hopefully making a big CO2 chamber soon, but for now I have a small homemade CO2 chamber that will probably make most people laugh, LOL. It works though, and it definitly makes killing them much easier to do and deal with.

So, in a nut shell, yes, I finding breeding your own feeders to be worth it, expecially in cases like this. When you breed your own feeders, you know there healthy, you know they have proper nutrition for your snakes, you know there are no parasites to pass on to your snakes, and you will never have to worry about making the trip or order for more.
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"Wanting to be someone else is a waste of the person you are." - Kurt Cobain

"You laugh at me because I am different; I laugh at you because you are all the same."

~~ Krystal ~~

some people think too hard......

.......we feed with hurt eyes......lumps and tumors.....and skin problems......

I don't feed stuff that got out and was caught in traps......or leftover from another cage that laid too long.....(they go to 'gators)........

it all digests......

in he wild predators feed on the weak and dying.......and yea.some of them are sick.......it all digests.....

I bet you have eaten worse in the last hot dog you pushed down.......

wanna bet?............
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you think????