A very unexpected new friend~

[pengupuff]

I have a Pueblan milk snake who, of course, eats mice. Today I asked my hubby if he would get a FUZZY while he was out (fuzzies are baby mice that have just gotten fur but usually still have closed eyes). But when he got home and I opened the box, I discovered that the mouse was actually a hopper (basically a teenager mouse, eyes open, very active, just really small).

She was much cuter than the fuzzies I'm used to, but I wasn't deterred until I dumped her into my hand and she immediately started cleaning her face and whiskers. >.< This is a weakness for me; I have chinchillas and a rabbit and I find it extremely cute when they clean their faces.

So I ended up keeping the little girl, and thus saving her from being snake food. I'll go out and get some proper fuzzies for my snake tomorrow, but this mouse will be kept.

I'm calling her Ms. Brisby (from the Rats of Nymh) and will be getting her a roommate soon.

[Mozag]

Unexpected tame!

Congratulations on your cute new friend, I love the name! My husband is such a huge fan of both the book and the film, that they played a massive part in us actually agreeing easily on our son's name (my reasons were not based on the book though).

[Vephriel]

Oh boy, I know what that's like. There have been many times when my python's dinner turns into a pet instead. I've kept a few hoppers, and once even tried to nurse a pinkie and keep it alive when it wasn't eaten.

[GormanGhaste]

this is why I buy frozen mice

[zedxrgal]

Grats on your newest tame!!!

Yeah buy frozen. It avoids issues like this and is usually cheaper.

But hey. Is her new friend going to be a boy??? Breed your own feeders??

[Mania]

I ended up with a tank full of goldfish this way one time. Not exactly on my own - I had bought an unidentified lizard (turned out to be a Callopistes flavipunctatus) and I was trying all sorts of different foods. While I was out, my mother decided she likes the comets I had left in the lizard's water bowl and set them up in a ten gallon tank. Imagine my surprise when I came home to a new aquarium ...

[Akyo]

Haha! Thats how it goes XD Mice are adorable. Take a photo of it for us? :3

i would have to agree with buying frozen food for your snake. Its safer for the snake(the food can bite back and take a eye!), cheaper i think and well..more humane <.<
I adore snakes. Their fasinating as damn. I want one but i could never bring myself to feeding it live mice/rats thus ill never own one XD;

[Vephriel]

I never feed live rodents to my snake, but I often buy them live and pre-kill just before giving it to him.

I agree that live prey is not a good idea, no matter how harmless you might think they are towards your reptile. One small scratch or bite may become infected, and there's no point in taking that risk.

[Acherontia]

That's the same reason I won't have a snake--I love them, but I love the rodents too!

I've got two pet rats, one of whom is one of the smartest pets I've ever owned. She knows a trick or two on command, fetches tennis balls and knows how to open her cage door no matter what I do to deter it--AND today she went for the DOOR HANDLE of the actual DOOR to try and open it o.o

Incidentally, Vephriel, out of curiosity--apologies if this is too morbid for some but--when you say you pre-kill them, how do you do it?

[Miraga]

mice are so cute! Are they social? I've heard many horror stories about mice being kept together and they had a big dominance-related fight where one or both died. I would definitely check that out if you haven't already. I hope you can get some cute pics! and I'd love to see the snakey too!!

[Vephriel]

Incidentally, Vephriel, out of curiosity--apologies if this is too morbid for some but--when you say you pre-kill them, how do you do it?

You hold them down at the base of the skull and give a quick tug on their tail to dislocate the spine. It's an instant humane death, as long as you're practiced at it you can do it fast and without any harm to the animal.

Miraga, the only mice you would want to keep together are females. Males are extremely territorial and dominant, they will most likely kill each other if kept in the same enclosure.

[Acherontia]

Hmm, thanks for the info.

I had a rat at one point who was very old and quite ill, and in a pretty bad state; I wanted to--pardon the overused phrase--put her out of her misery. But a vet visit was quite of out the question; the stress of being moved would have probably utterly panicked her and killed her on its own. I just wasn't sure what to do. I'm also not sure if this would work for a large rat as opposed to a small mouse, but I'll look into it for the "just in case" of the future.

[Miraga]

Miraga, the only mice you would want to keep together are females. Males are extremely territorial and dominant, they will most likely kill each other if kept in the same enclosure.

Thanks for the info! Maybe they had a male and didn't know it or they were stressed out or something.

[Chimera]

lol nice!

i cared for wildlife at a rescue center but also the resident pet mouse (found out later hes actually owl food for when the owl is ready to be tested for flight and hunting abilities) and well, i have a cat at home so i cant adopt the mouse but luckily the mouse came down with a cold about a month later and got better with no ill effects but they refused to feed him to the owl because he had a cold so he got loveingly adopted by one of the care workers who owns a few mice of her own <3 the mouse btw was pure black, super adorably cute, loved grapes to death, and was named Mousey

[pengupuff]

Just wanted to pop in and note that the pet stores in this area don't offer frozen mice, so I have to buy live. That said, if they are bigger than a pinky I always kill them before feeding them to my snake, so he's not in any danger. :]

[Pawtrack]

Love the name! And gratz on the new pet!

Snakes are so cool, I'd want to get one as a pet but I couldn't bare to feed them mice. ._.

[Worba]

*shudders* snakes *shudders* bbrrrrrr.....

No tanks...

[lilaughingwolf]

I so hate it when they do the cute thing....ended up keeping many due to this. Had one start cleaning my finger when I picked it up...ya it lived to a ripe age spoiled from all the treats it got ~sigh~ I think sometimes they just know.

Congrads on the new addition They are cute.

[Cerah]

Snakes are adorable, but I wouldn't keep one for a pet for just this reason (I'd end up adopting its dinner). When it comes to reptiles, I think those with mostly vegetarian diets, like iguanas (if you have the room for them) and bearded dragons are ideal. You can give them leftover salad and for protein, crickets or mealworms -- creatures you're very unlikely to want to keep as pets.

[GormanGhaste]

You can give them leftover salad and for protein, crickets or mealworms -- creatures you're very unlikely to want to keep as pets.

...I've had crickets and mealworms as pets