Reptile & Amphibian Forums

My cat has the tendency to catch wild mouse from out in the field and bring them to my doorstep for me. I don't really want them, so I was thnking I could feed them to my snake. Is this safe/sanitary? It's a snake that's more meant/used to eat dead mice so that's not an issue.

Only if you are feeding them to a wild caught snake from the SAME locality, otherwise you are introducing parasites that the snake may not be able to handle (could kill the snake). Freezing and thawing the mice first MIGHT help deactivate the parasites.

There is also the risk of disease to yourself, as many wild mice can carry illnesses that humans can get sick with. As cats aren't always the best to kill their prey, there is always the chance you end up with a mangled but still alive mouse and get bit.

Freezing will kill off some germs and parasites, but not all.
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PHLdyPayne

Forum Princess

As per the freezing. I once asked my vets and they said to get any good result in killing parasites you ought to freeze for 4 months at least. Just a thought. A quick couple days isn't gonna do much. Think about these bugs living through winters.
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Sonya

I'm not mean. You're just a sissy.
Happy Bunny

The killing of parasites and their eggs is not as simple as just freezing for a given time period. Effectiveness is dependent on a combination of time and temperature. The lower the temperature, the less time needed to be effective. Typically, freezing at minus 10 F for 30 days will be about as effective as you can get to kill the majority of reptile parasites and their ova. Minus 20 F for one week will have the same effect, but a typical freezer will not go that low. With even lower temps you are talking just a few days. Temps above minus 10 F will not be low enough to kill most parasite ova, although most adult and larval stages will be killed by temps below 0 F. However, no matter how low you go in a typical freezer, the majority of bacterial species are not going to be affected to any degree.

Kelly