My household has become embarrassingly exemplary of why snake-keeping is fraught with perils. In my acceptance of a reptilian pet (an "I-can’t-keep-her-can-you?" giveaway I took on 18 months ago), I thought I knew what I was in for.
Namely, frequent mice feedings (mostly live because my local snake store seldom stocks frozen ones), yucky snake-poopy cage cleanings and enough human-serpent interaction to hone her tame personality to perfection.
For all this time, Dart has been a model pet. She’s never struck at me or my son (in whose room she resided). She’s been exceedingly healthy, shedding her skin regularly and never missing a meal. And she’s been to several children’s gatherings to show off her reptilian beauty and lack of sliminess.
But all that’s in the past now. Dart is gone. I noticed the hole in the screen cage topper a month ago, which I repaired with cotton balls (I know, very stupid, but I truly thought she couldn’t reach it anyway).
This past Friday I made a trip to my favorite reptile store, selecting two hoppers (big mouse babies) for her regular meal. As usual, I closed my eyes when I transferred them to her lair…and walked quickly away.
Later, I checked up on her appetite, as I always do within a safe timeframe—four hours? Two happy, healthy mice peering up at me: one black, one white.
I searched under the copious mound of shavings I’d changed the week before I’d gone on vacation: Nothing! No Dart! And stupid me: no cotton ball, either!
So you know, I live in a very old home by Florida standards (1920-50). Every manner of small critter has access to my home via numerous tiny crawl spaces in the Florida pine structure.
Though we searched far and wide we knew almost immediately that she was gone.
Yep. I’m now one of those irresponsible snake owners whose pets has joined the ranks of the released or escaped. I feel horrible.
One silver lining: I live on a wooded acre with plenty of adjacent acreage any corn snake would consider heaven. I can only hope she’s off finding significant prey species to consume. Good-bye Dart…and forgive us our stupid human tricks.
Hmmmm....I wonder what mice eat?
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For any reptile owners reading this---you CAN buy freeze dried mice on line--I think the company is mice on ice. So, while you do need to plan ahead you also aren't faced with having to feed live prey (and really--a store selling reptiles ought to know better than that.)
This is a far better alternative to the live prey--rodents can devastate a reptile if they are not consumed quickly.
DrSteggy March 23rd, 2008 11:51:00 AM
You can easily buy frozen mice from a large number of online suppliers. Feeding frozen/thawed mice is safer for the snake and kinder to the mice. And don't worry too much about your snake escaping. His/her coloration is normal and the species is native to the area. If it was one of the amelanistic (albino) ones it would have a harder time out there. Don't be surprised to find the snake is still in the house, they are very good at hiding.
swamper March 23rd, 2008 12:20:00 PM
I LOVE your stupid-human confessions. Makes me feel so normal :)
Laura Bennett March 23rd, 2008 01:24:00 PM
Mice are basically omnivores. The Suebee rat diet works well for mice. In a pinch? A handful of cereal, a handful of dog food, and some cut up fruit and veggies (no citrus, please!) works just fine. If your goats eat grain, they can have a bit of that too- my mice get a tablespoon or so of sweet feed every few weeks as a treat.
I second mice on ice, though- not only is it dangerous for snakes to eat live, it's really very unkind to the mice, which are darling little animals on their own, and quite fufn to watch. Most mice love wheels.
*do* patch that hole now- mice are great esape artists!
Cait March 23rd, 2008 03:21:00 PM
Thanks for the info. Blossom and Blackjack (not my name choices, I'll assure you) are feasting on Solid Gold, sundried tomato and feta cheese pasta salad and ham cooked in Cherry Coke (full disclosure). Why not, right?
Next up: Neutering the critters. Anyone got tips?
Dr. Patty Khuly March 23rd, 2008 05:14:00 PM
I think you'll need your "headgear" (that's what the vets I worked for called it so I don't know its proper name) and a scalpel from an eye surgeon. :) Your predicament made me smile. Thank you for that.
P.S. I'll admit that I absolutely could not feed anything live mice (in fact, my sister rescued a rat from being a snake's dinner from the evil petstore she worked at), but don't snakes eat live rodents and such in the wild?
P.S.S. Any advice on how NOT to become a dog hypochondriac? After losing my Daisy to IMHA a week and a half ago (she wasn't even 3!), I'm terrified to bring home another dog. The vet I rent from saw her with her own eyes the night before she became ill and she is as stunned as I am.
Sarah March 23rd, 2008 05:33:00 PM
LOL! Guess you have a couple of pet mice now. They are VERY nice pets! :)
(I could never have a reptile b/c anything furry trumps anything scaley when it comes to tugging at my heartstrings . . . )
Stefani March 23rd, 2008 07:44:00 PM
Don't feel too guilty or worry too much about an escaped or released corn snake-they're native to Florida. I have a related male red rat snake. I took him about ten years ago, also from someone who was finding it difficult to take care of this snake. To my surprised, he's still alive- I never thought he'd live this long. He's now about four feet long! He's learned that when I tap on the glass, he's going to be fed. Unfortunately, he'll only eat live rats, but after 30 some years in research I'm not that squeamish about feeding him live rats. I just make sure the rat doesan't last long and the snake gets to it - usually within 10-15 seconds. The only time of year feeding him is a problem is now - spring - mating season. Sometimes he won't eat for 4-6 weeks.
One of the fun aspects of owning a snake is going to the snake store to get the rats. I get to interact with part of the culture I don't normally interact with. Though I don't share this culture's fascination with boas and pythons. These snakes released are a problem, not natives like corn and rat snakes.
Heather
Heather March 23rd, 2008 09:05:00 PM
My home would never accommodate a snake. Pet rats. x.x However, I do know that cotton balls would not hold anything. Especially a caged animal. Rats will teach you that lol.
ashleigh March 24th, 2008 01:13:00 AM
As far as altering goes, most people I know don't bother- it's very hard to find vets who will do it (and hey, if you will? Let me know so I can add your clinic to my list to refer folks too). But you can't keep unaltered boys together (at least here in the US- in the UK and Europe, the pet population of mice seems to have a different temperament and people can successfully keep males together. Two girls are fine together, though. [this is my #1 goal in my breeding program at the moment, and everything else except longevity is taking a back seat to it (which means I'm ending up with WEIRD colors)]. So some people get the boys neutered so they can go in with a group of girls- it does NOT appear (totally ancedotally) to reduce their territoriality with each other, though. In rats, we (pet owners/fanciers) have definitely been appreciating the benefits of spaying, which is starting to become fairly common (it's still far from routine- and pet mice are even more tumor prone, so it'd probably be great- I don't know anyone who has had it done on anything but an emergency basis.
Cait March 24th, 2008 09:38:00 AM
The snake may not necessarily be "gone"... It could've simply slithered away into your couch, an armchair, your closet, perhaps, or into the plumbing pipes, and may eventually appear again, mysteriously... Back in college, friends had a sizable boa and couldn't find her anywhere... They even thought she may have been tossed out in the hefty garbage bag, down the trash chute by accident... After about two months, she eventually surfaced, coming out of the sofa one afternoon, entwining a girl's lap.
Tatiana March 25th, 2008 12:22:00 AM
A sideline on the live feeding bit? Most of our snakes are wild-caught relocations, and wouldn't go near a frozen or long-dead mouse. However, live feeding is illegal here. What we've found that works for almost all of them is to kill the mouse humanely right before a feed, so that it is still warm and umm... twitchy. Most wild snakes will take that immediately, and that way there is no prolonged stress for the mouse and no danger to the snake either.
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