Reptile & Amphibian Forums

all my chondros are subadults and all are feeding on mice.i raised all of them up from neonates on live food and all are doing great and i have no problems feeding live mice.i decided that i may begin feeding prekilled when they get to rats,because i am aware of the damage a rats teeth can do.iv been feeding live mice because i really feel no need to kill them as i dont feel they can do much damage,as long as you dont leave a rodent unattended.i remove if my snake shows no interest.anyway,my new chondro just arrived and this is the first one i bought as an established yearling.he arrived looking very heathy and his feeding chart showed he is a great eater.it also showed he is due to eat.maybe i should have let him acclimate a bit but i was anxious to see my new snake eat.tonight i offered him a live mouse and he seemed very scared of it.even when it crawled near him he only hissed and didnt strike.all my other snakes actually hunt the mouse as soon as i introduce it but this one was different.it may be that he needs to acclimate but it also may be that he was fed only prekilled.can a snake imprint on prekilled and refuse live??id like to get him started on live mice.what should i do?maybe im just assuming too much and hell readily accept live as soon as he acclimates.any thoughts??

i realize that feeding live is more fun to watch, but you are putting the snake at risk when feeding it adult mice... even attended a mouse can bite a nice little chunk out of a Chondro. They have very thin skin...
Not trying to scold you... because i have several snakes in my collection that will only eat live... but rats are bad news... feeding live rats could have terrable results...

as far as the snake not eating... i would give him a good 48 hours and try offering again... however i would thump it on the head first to make it less stressfull on the snake in his new home... you dont have to kill it all the way, but i would thump it so you can control the mouse a little better...

Good luck... and please post some pics...

-----
Shiloh Hawkesworth
kansas
(Midwest Serpents)

Are you breeding your own feeders? Is that why you feed live? If not, you new snake may have only fed on frozen/thawed, like mine. I have no doubt she's take live, but why risk parasites or a bite. Freezing kills a lot of bacteria and parasites, and it's convenient. I never have to worry about my pet store not having a suitable size available, and it's cheaper.

-----
1.0~amel corn~C.S.
1.3~Aztec Okeetee corns~Coatl,Maya,Acatl,Tepin
0.1~Green tree python~Tempest
0.2~Rhodesian Ridgebacks~Akilah, Ona
1.0~Black fat cat~Topper
3.0~Horses~Zaarah,Galliano,Achilles.....

yea i am breeding my own feeders.the thing is i use african pygmy mice as feeders for my neonates-1 year olds.these are the smallest rodents i believe and adults are only a little larger than regular fuzzies.i decided to breed these because i assumed(not sure at all )but i assumed that since they are adults and have full bone development,this means that they have more calcium than pinkies and even fuzzies.now when my snakes outgrow them i do go to regular mice.like i said before,i wouldnt attempt to feed live rats or even rat pups,but these pygmy mice really do not seem to bite and i have never had a problem feeding them.im not a big fan of killing mice,if it was really needed then i would do it but i just dont find it that important.now back to my question,i guess its too premature to start to worry because he only refused about 90 minutes after his arriving home from shipping,but it did get me wondering if he would continue to refuse live food.what are your thoughts on this?i know for a fact that he has been fed prekilled since he was a baby(now hes a little over a year)will he continue to refuse live?if i had my choice i would rather him continue taking live at least untill hes ready for rats,mainly because i raise live mice and when i need to buy regular (non dwarf)mice i buy them live too.the store near me does not sell frozen.maybe that knocking him on the head idea is a good one.maybe,since hes used to dead,all the movement is scaring him and if i knock him out a bit,itll be a easier transition to live.now there was another comment about parasites.i didnt know that snakes can get parasites from mice,is this true?i only thought parasites came from wild snakes or captives that came in contact with wild snakes.if anyone knows more about this id love to hear exactly what parasites can be transmitted from mice.if this is true,then this would be a good reason to switch to frozen.the whole biting thing i havnt seen as enough of a problem to justify breaking little mouse necks every week.i have enough to worry about when i die.the last thing i need is to be judged in the after life and be found guilty of mouse genocide.ha ha

Yes, there are parasites that can be transmitted from rodents. Don't ask me the names though, I'd have to go back on the fourms and find them. Internal parasites are what I'm talking about, not necessarily external. I think it's a little premature to think that your new snake won't take live, he only just got here, but if you can do prekilled, I'm sure it's safer especially with larger mice or rats. You probably won't have as much risk with parasites from your own mice as those you get from a petstore, as your's are most likely kept in better conditions and with fewer animals in one tank than many of the petstores keep their feeders. If you are purchasing from a petstore for your larger mouse needs, why don't you order online? I'm fortunate in that my local petstore sells frozen and can get any size in that I want within a week. They also are  cheaper than live.

-----
1.0~amel corn~C.S.
1.3~Aztec Okeetee corns~Coatl,Maya,Acatl,Tepin
0.1~Green tree python~Tempest
0.2~Rhodesian Ridgebacks~Akilah, Ona
1.0~Black fat cat~Topper
3.0~Horses~Zaarah,Galliano,Achilles.....