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Anonymous
So, /an/, I find myself in a small bit of a problem.

I have very very recently come into possession of what I believe to be a very young Boa. My roommate apparently got it from some child on a beach, claiming that he thought I'd like it. I believe it was more probably a drug-induced whim, but I digress.

My problem is that while I am very fond of snakes, I am also very fond of mice. I don't quite like the idea of feeding the snake mice. Don't boas eat something... not cute I can give with a quieter conscience?

Picture not my boa, but surprisingly similar. Also, that is the same dry-grassy shit I have on the container bottom where it's being held for the time being. I'd appreciate any information regarding boa care you can provide too.

I just wish he'd brought one of those Egg-Eating snakes instead. :(
>> Anonymous
>>108372
Well, if you're queasy about giving him actual live mice, you can buy pounds of frozen, already dead ones.
>> Anonymous
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don't be a pansy, feed it the damn mice.

Watching them eat is like the most awesome thing in the world. Its like a miniature roman coliseum in the comfort of your own home.

unleash the fury!
>> Anonymous
If he's large enough (say, 4 feet), you can bump him up to rats. But rats are cute too.

If it's seriously a conscience problem and not a queasiness problem, it shouldn't be that hard to rationalize it to yourself. Food chain, nature's way, circle of life, etc. etc.

You could also put your roommate in charge of the feedings, since he was the one who got the snake.
>> Anonymous
sometimes you can get small chickens (embryotic), but pinky mice are a probably the right way to go.


Also, don't feed the snake live mice. It's not safe for the snake and there's no reason to do it other than bloodlust on your part.
>> Anonymous
Huh, I thought snakes only ate live prey.

Though I dunno how hard it'll be to get dead mice here, I suppose that'll be the best way to go. Failing that... he'll have to feed his own damn snake.

And I can rationalize it just fine, but I don't like pulling the proverbial trigger. Regardless, it's already fed tonight, and the mouse was a cute little fucker too.
>> ????
>>108405
it's pretty easy to get dead mice/small rats/whatever. Feed dead ones for safety. ANY pet store worth its salt will have them in their freezer section. Furthermore, that's a red-tailed boa, they don't get Xbox hueg, are pretty as fuck, and fairly friendly.
I'd go with a calcium-based substrate, or this stuff made of ground english walnuts...both are nonimpacting and nontoxic...I know that pine wood bedding can kill reptiles.
Feed it in a cloth sack for god's sake, because otherwise it'll associate its home as a hunting ground and that is not good for your fingers.
hm, what else...
that's pretty much all I can think of. ask the dude at your pet store about it all, but snakes are pretty simple to care for. Once they start being able to eat bigger food, it's not uncommon for them to go nearly a month without eating. If it's not hungry, it won't eat, simple as that.
I almost got one of these, but ended up with a Corn snake instead, cos at the time my mom said nothing that gets that large. about 6 years later and she's living in my apartment with me.

in all, snakes are great pets, but they last for a long time and need some actual thought to keeping them. Be prepared to have it for up to 20 years, and the longest recorded was alive for 40.
>> Anonymous
>>108422about 6 years later and she's living in my apartment with me.

Your mom or your snake?
>> ????
>>108422
I forgot to add, when my snake was not eating (2 months, scared me to hell), I took her to the vet, and he told me how to kill mice humanely.
hold it by the base of the tail (this is how to pick mice up, too), pin its neck at the edge of a table with the barrel of a pen and push down so it's tight, but not crushed.
your job here is to immobilize it. now just tug back sharply and as long as you keep everything firm (don't lose your grip), you should break its neck and it'll die humanely.
otherwise, you'll need to use some kind of carbon dioxide and that's just way too much work.
>> ????
>>108424
my snake.
>> A.r. !!1J3JRobqN2a
I you really can't take care of the snake, please try to find a shelter or someone in your area that will take it. I know that here in GA there is a reptile shelter in Gwinnett County, and with a little searching on the interenets it probably won't be hard to find one in your area. It's not fair to the snake to keep it without wanting it or knowing how to take care of it, and you keep it you'd have to find a vet for it which can be expensive. And if you can't find a shelter, try going to pethobbyist.com's Reptile and Amphibian chatrooms. There are many people that would love to have the snake there!
>> Anonymous
Have you tried rats?? they will only mammals , so if your a huge animal lover your a little bit screwed, if you don't want to feed it live you can always buy pre-dead frozen mice, etc,etc, they will need to be de thawed though and you will still need to do the feeding
>> Anonymous
OP, what kind of snakes eat eggs? I've always wanted a snake but I have the same problem as you.
>> A.r. !!1J3JRobqN2a
>>108581
Some snakes in the wild will eat eggs, though I don't think they'd do well in captivity. OP needs to do some research if he wants to keep the snake and prolly go with pre-killed/frozen mice.
>> Feed it kittins Anonymous
job done.
>> Anonymous
FEED IT BACON BITCH
>> Ermmmm Anonymous
> OP, what kind of snakes eat eggs?

That would be the egg-eating snake (name's kind of confusing I guess)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Egg-eating_snake
>> Anonymous
I've seen captive snakes without any eyes because they were attacked by their live-fed rodents. It's not a natural environment, so "but they eat live mice in the wild" doesn't apply. So feeding them thawed frozen mice is really just the way to go, for the welfare of both animals.
>> Anonymous
>>108648
Thats why you need to watch your snake and remove the LIVE mouse, rat ,baby rabbit, chick after 15 minutes if your snake hasn't eaten it. The only reason you see captive snakes missing eyes is because the owners dont know how to properly care for there repties!

Research shows that feeding snakes live will result in a healthier snake. i breed and feed all my snakes food and they live a lot longer for it
>> Anonymous
"Research shows that feeding snakes live will result in a healthier snake."

I want to see sources on this research. I have never heard that before, so that's interesting to me.
>> Anonymous
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<----- SNAKE FOOD
>> Anonymous
Bah, I've been asking around. The BIG pet store here doesn't carry dead mice, they encourage me to feed them live prey.

I'll have to keep looking.
>> Anonymous
>>108736
most petcos and petsmarts will carry frozen mice.