# Life of a snake-death of a mouse



## Shed Hunter (Mar 14, 2006)

Took these photos of my daughters 10 year old beautiful Corn Snake at feeding time. His name is Byron. Life and death! Hard, but necessary to survive.
SH


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## Dorado-Mahi (May 23, 2004)

Cool shots. Do you have to "thump" the mouse on the head before feeding time so it doesn't hurt the snake?


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## Koru (Sep 25, 2006)

*shudder* I'm glad I can't see the mouse's eyes.

I saw a documentary recently that dispelled the idea that snakes kind of unlock their jaws to eat. Apparently they have something like an elastic band that expands to get their prey in.


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## Shed Hunter (Mar 14, 2006)

*Mouse*



Dorado-Mahi said:


> Cool shots. Do you have to "thump" the mouse on the head before feeding time so it doesn't hurt the snake?


I have heard of mice biting snakes and injuring them. This one only gets a live one when I first buy the mice. Byron just stalks and strikes, then wraps himself around it. I then freeze the rest and thaw them to feed him. This mouse was a thawed one. --- Looks like I need to lighten the photos up a bit. There is a funny story that goes with the forzen mice. My oldest daughter brought a friend from college that was from Peru. She got hungry one night and went thru the refrigerator and freezer looking for something to eat. The next morning I heard her talking to another college friend and asking the question "Why do you think they keep mice in the freezer? Do Americans eat mice?" Every time I see the frozen mice I have to laugh.
SH


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## Shed Hunter (Mar 14, 2006)

*Snake*



Koru said:


> *shudder* I'm glad I can't see the mouse's eyes.
> 
> I saw a documentary recently that dispelled the idea that snakes kind of unlock their jaws to eat. Apparently they have something like an elastic band that expands to get their prey in.


Karen, This mouses' eyes were white because it had been frozen.
I am glad you told me about the jaws. I have not heard about this. I think I will post lighter photos here.
SH


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## Koru (Sep 25, 2006)

Gee thanks for sharing those photos again SH. 

I just had a thought... perhaps it was a specific variety of snake that has the elastic, I think they had an anaconda in their hands at the time. Worth checking if you're interested.


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## MsAddicted (Jan 25, 2005)

What a gorgeous snake Shed. Looks like a good eater, some can be so picky.


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## Shed Hunter (Mar 14, 2006)

*Snake*



MsAddicted said:


> What a gorgeous snake Shed. Looks like a good eater, some can be so picky.


He is a good eater. I have heard of snakes that would only eat a certain color mouse. I hate to say this but when my daughter was younger she fed Byron a frozen mouse and he ate it. I really do not know how he survived that. I bet it gave him a bad belly ache! He is really beautiful. I am looking for a new home for him as my daughter has been away for 2 years now and we do not spend much time with him. I never did anyway. lol. 
SH


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## Crawdaddy (May 24, 2004)

Byron certainly looks to be enjoying his meal. How often does he eat?


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## Gator_Nutz (Sep 27, 2006)

Just as a side story...my ex-galfriend's mom had an animal rescue down in Florida. She had all sorts of cool animals from tigers and panthers to bald eagles and emu. One day a man and his little girl came in with two little bunnies. Apparently they were moving somewhere that would not allow pets so they brought them there so they would have a good home. Yeah right. The mom told the little girl that they would be well taken care of and she need not worry. The girl was crying but hearing that made her happy. She kissed them both goodbye and they drove off. As soon as they were gone, one of the bunnies was pitched into the cage holding a 18' python. Needless to say, the battle was a short one and down went the bunnie. I am so glad that lady did not become my mother-in-law.


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## Shed Hunter (Mar 14, 2006)

*Eating*



Crawdaddy said:


> Byron certainly looks to be enjoying his meal. How often does he eat?


He will eat as often as I give him a mouse but we try and feed him once a week but sometimes it is 2 weeks between feedings. 
SH


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## Shed Hunter (Mar 14, 2006)

*Eating*



Gator_Nutz said:


> Just as a side story...my ex-galfriend's mom had an animal rescue down in Florida. She had all sorts of cool animals from tigers and panthers to bald eagles and emu. One day a man and his little girl came in with two little bunnies. Apparently they were moving somewhere that would not allow pets so they brought them there so they would have a good home. Yeah right. The mom told the little girl that they would be well taken care of and she need not worry. The girl was crying but hearing that made her happy. She kissed them both goodbye and they drove off. As soon as they were gone, one of the bunnies was pitched into the cage holding a 18' python. Needless to say, the battle was a short one and down went the bunnie. I am so glad that lady did not become my mother-in-law.


Funny, kind of. The mother-in law, a son-in laws nightmare.
SH


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## Tail Chaser (May 24, 2004)

Nice shots! He's definitely a good eater if he'll eat defrosted. I had an Emory for fifteen years that wouldn't touch it unless she had to chase it down. You couldn't ask for better pet snakes then these.


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## tinman (Apr 13, 2005)

Years ago, My Partner and I were at the deer lease in Roosevelt Tx. during the summer working on stands and feeders and noticed a little rattlesnake coiled up at the base of a big cedar tree. He was only about 8" long with only a button. I caught him, brought him home and put him in an aquairum with a wire top on it. I would drop one or two mice a week in for him, and he lived the life of Riley.
About a year and a half later, around the first week of December, I dropped 2 mice in for him. He was about 3' long now, and I went on abput my business. A couple of days later I noticed that the 2 mice were still in there, so I started feeding them, thinking that they would be there for him when he got hungary. Little did I know, he had gone into hibernation, and wouldn't eat a thing, so I kept feeding the mice for him to enjoy when he woke up. His name was "Buzz", by the way.
About 3 weeks later, I noticed that there were 6 or 8 little baby mice in the cage too! I thought this was 2 cool and would keep me from buying them at a later date. About a month later, I got up to go to work one morning and heard some rocks flipping over, went in the room, turned on the light, and to my suprise, those mice were eating him alive. They were chasing him around and around the cage, had eaten off all his rattles (6), and he was bleeding from wounds all over him.
I quickly took the screen off the top of the cage, caught him and put him in a tow sack out in the garage, and flushed all those mice down the crapper. I put him back in the cage, and he didn't eat again until April.
That summer I decided to put him out on the patio to get some sun while I went to the store, and ended up being gone for about 4 hours. When I returned, poor old Buzz had expired. The sun coming through that glass just cooked him I guess.
In all the time I had him, I tried to interact with him every time I thought about it, and would put my hand right next to him against the glass, and he would always coil up and rattle like heck in a striking position, but never once offered to strike at or bite me. Do you think it is possible to train or become friends with a rattlesnake? He actually was better to me than any of my 3 ex wives. ALL of them bit me and left me for dead.
I don't think You can really "train" a rattlesnake enough to be trusted.
That's my story and I am sticking to it.
Tinman


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## Dances With Fish (Jul 24, 2006)

cool pics SHED


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## my3peas (Jan 9, 2007)

Awesome DOF! What lens did you use?


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## Koru (Sep 25, 2006)

tinman said:


> Years ago, My Partner and I were at the deer lease in Roosevelt Tx. during the summer working on stands and feeders and noticed a little rattlesnake coiled up at the base of a big cedar tree. He was only about 8" long with only a button. I caught him, brought him home and put him in an aquairum with a wire top on it. I would drop one or two mice a week in for him, and he lived the life of Riley.
> About a year and a half later, around the first week of December, I dropped 2 mice in for him. He was about 3' long now, and I went on abput my business. A couple of days later I noticed that the 2 mice were still in there, so I started feeding them, thinking that they would be there for him when he got hungary. Little did I know, he had gone into hibernation, and wouldn't eat a thing, so I kept feeding the mice for him to enjoy when he woke up. His name was "Buzz", by the way.
> About 3 weeks later, I noticed that there were 6 or 8 little baby mice in the cage too! I thought this was 2 cool and would keep me from buying them at a later date. About a month later, I got up to go to work one morning and heard some rocks flipping over, went in the room, turned on the light, and to my suprise, those mice were eating him alive. They were chasing him around and around the cage, had eaten off all his rattles (6), and he was bleeding from wounds all over him.
> I quickly took the screen off the top of the cage, caught him and put him in a tow sack out in the garage, and flushed all those mice down the crapper. I put him back in the cage, and he didn't eat again until April.
> ...


I don't know whether to laugh or cry.

Sorry... snake stories are something I'm learning to get used to. We don't have snakes here in NZ so it's completely mind boggling for me to read you had a rattlesnake as a hmm 'pet'(?). Wow.

Thanks for sharing your story and giving me food for thought.


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## Crawdaddy (May 24, 2004)

tinman said:


> Do you think it is possible to train or become friends with a rattlesnake? He actually was better to me than any of my 3 ex wives. ALL of them bit me and left me for dead.
> Tinman


Tinman, sounds like the basis for a good country song.

Koru, We all know why there are no snakes in Ireland but why are there no snakes in New Zealand?


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## Koru (Sep 25, 2006)

Crawdaddy said:


> Tinman, sounds like the basis for a good country song.
> 
> Koru, We all know why there are no snakes in Ireland but why are there no snakes in New Zealand?


'cos we don't like 'em much? Sorry, couldn't help that. 

I have no idea. All I know is there aren't any here (except in zoos) and we don't allow them into the country.


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## richg99 (Aug 21, 2004)

K ... Do you have either mongooses or Peacocks in Kiwi-land? They are both death on snakes, I hear. RG


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## Koru (Sep 25, 2006)

No mongooses, but yes we do have peacocks here. The peacocks are not huge in number though.

We have eels - great big long slimy things *shudder* that I'm told taste like chicken when they're cooked.


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## MsAddicted (Jan 25, 2005)

Generally the official answer to why no snakes is that New Zealand was already way isolated before snakes evolved in the mainlands. They had no way to get across the expanse of water to NZ. (same with Ireland)

However the following article may mean a slight change in that thinking. Fairly new news....apparently New Zealand once did have snakes, long long ago. Interesting read.

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2002/08/0809_020808_wirnzsnake.html


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