Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Does the feeding of wild-caught rodents to snakes present any particular danger that f/t or captive feeders doesn't? Are wc mice more likely to carry parasites or other problems that could be transferred to the snakes?
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MichaelB

I wouldn't. Mice commonly carry parasites, mites, fleas, etc. These parasites can be internal or external, and while a wild caught snake will have an immune system built up to combat these minor parasites/mites/whatnot. However you need to remember your captive snake is being (or should be) kept in a near sterile environment...no outside items coming into the cave (such as tree limbs with mites in it or just underbrush, rotting logs, whatnot.) Therefore your food should also be near sterile....purchased frozen from pet stores is the safest way of feeding your snakes (for many reasons), live animals from reputable pet stores is # 2. The other reasons frozen/thawed...or even if u just whap the mouses head up on the table to kill it as long as its dead...if your snake isnt hungry the mouse could attack (and it has happened in the past many many times) your snake and your snake could die from this. but this is a whole other topic i'm not going to go on a rant on here.

Well that answered your question and then some im sure....but yeah good luck!
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The reason mainstream thought is thought of as a stream is because it's so shallow. -Unknown

Battling ignorance one stupid person at a time.

Current snakes:
0.1 Licorice Stick Black Rat(Lola)
1.0 Neonate Black Rat (het for Lic Stk's) (Frankie)
1.1 Texas Bairds (Jose and Rosa)

This hasn't come up in a while. Try searching the 2003 archives for ' hanta' (without the quote marks). I'm not sure there is much risk to snakes, but why risk your own health? Hanta virius, Plague, fleas, bites. There are reasons wild rodents are considered pests.
DeMak

Thank you for the replies, on behalf of me and my cbb kings.

I was fairly sure that this has been addressed here before, but I didn't go back far enough through the archives. Thank you for the reference. I went back and read through the relevant threads - it's scarier than I thought. The risk appears to outweight the miniscule monetary benefits, so I'll stick with the store-bought feeders. I appreciate you keeping me honest!

Yes, I know about the risk of feeding live mice, especially hoppers. Nothing is served here except pre-killed or f/t. Thanks again.
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MichaelB