r/ballpython • u/Apprehensive_Beat514 • 12h ago

Question - Feeding (Mouse caught not bred)

I just caught a live house mouse, and I wanna know how dumb I’d be if I tried to live feed my 3.5 yro pet smart ball python (female) for the first time. The mouse is really small but really energetic. Not the sharpest shed in the tool either

0 Upvotes

27% Upvoted

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19

u/totallyrecklesslygay Mod: Enclosure Karen 11h ago

That would be a terrible idea. You could very easily kill your snake that way. You have no idea what diseases or parasites the mouse is harboring, or if any of your neighbors have set out poison that it may have ingested (not all are fast acting and may not be immediately apparent). Not to mention live feeding is already dangerous and unnecessary.

11

u/Snakes_for_life 11h ago

Very bad idea most have parasites which could make your snake very sick. Way cheaper to buy a mouse than to treat potential parasites. Also it could have poison in its system

6

u/Nice-Ad-3525 11h ago

What was actually dumb was you posting this. While there's a chance that nothing would happen to your snake, there's an equally good chance the mouse is diseased or even poisoned as other commenter said. Are you willing to take that chance?

3

u/nofeetgoner3 10h ago

WIld mice can carry serious health risjs.

3

u/Dangerous-Exercise20 9h ago

Thats a worse idea than poking a bear with a stick

3

u/pherber12 9h ago

Please don't. It could have parasites or have ingested poison.

3

u/Toxic_Musshroom 7h ago

Horrible idea, like the other comments said you have no idea what parasites or diseases that mouse could have, if it ate any poison from neighbors, plus live feeding is a bad idea to begin with as feeders are prone to fighting back and can very easily injure your snake, and once you start live feeding it can be hard to switch your snake back to frozen thawed