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Post by kelseyjosine on Sept 6, 2008 20:32:21 GMT -5
Ok I've already filled out the forms and stuff because I was planning on switching to a raw diet, but after tonight, whole prey might work. I've tried feeding them thawed mice, put ferretone on it, and Punk just licked off the ferretone and tried to stash it. But tonight I was brushing my teeth and I see this huge black cricket in my apartment and I'm like eww of course. But Shiza comes along and saves the day lol...once she saw it was toast in like 5 seconds. So would it be okay to get some crickets just to see if my other one will go for live prey and then if not I can give them to my friend who has a frog. Then if they all go for it, or 2 out of 3 since my one old boy probably won't, and then try a live mouse and see how that goes. I know crickets should only be a treat but I don't want to spend money on a mouse they might not eat.
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Post by Heather on Sept 6, 2008 22:11:41 GMT -5
Crickets might work. It certainly can't hurt I had a couple who would hunt and eat crickets....Lady B loves to go outside and dig for worms. I came into their play area and she was tucking back on a big fat wiggler. Did your little one eat the cricket? Do you still have the stashed mouse? Have you tried playing tug with your ferts with it? See just because they're willing to hunt doesn't mean they recognise it as food. You can do a couple of things with the frozen mouse to see if they will still eat it. You can play tug with it. I had a friend actually tie a string to one and drag it around. Her guys had a blast with it and eventually ate it after an evening of chasing it, then stealing it from one another. The one little guy finally figured out the only way to make sure his little furry friend didn't get his mousie was to eat it You can also cut it in half...sometimes that's enough to get them trying it...but after you do that it's rather messy to play tug with it My two little seniors (who've only been eating raw since July) cut into the two little frozen mice that I put in their cage to munch on one evening. I didn't do anything to them except thaw them out. The two little girls just chowed down on them. Now that was all they had in their cage that night, but I had made sure they had both eaten a good portion before they went to bed. I don't like to let the senior furkids go for any huge length of time without food. There's a couple of ideas for you to go on. Feeding raw is sometimes a bit of a gamble as to what your furbaby will start with and feeding a live mouse only puts you out a couple of dollars. That being said, you could try starting on say ...pinkies are a little small...but maybe a fuzzy or a hopper might be something good to try an inexperienced fuzzy to start hunting with. There you go some starter ideas Good luck ciao
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Post by kelseyjosine on Sept 7, 2008 18:19:53 GMT -5
I've tried dragging it around and all that, and they just don't care about it if I'm holding it haha. So I think I'll just get some crickets and see if at least Punk goes after it too, and then try a mouse. I'm just hoping once they eat live mice they'll at least know mice are food and then I can start feeding thawed mice instead. So hopefully it works out that way, thanks!
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Post by Heather on Sept 7, 2008 19:30:48 GMT -5
Good luck...a lot about raw feeding is trial and error and sometimes, it just clicks and you're on your way. Sometimes, you just shake your head because there doesn't seem to be any rhyme or reason as to why it worked or didn't. It just happens ciao
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Post by charmantpapillon on Oct 2, 2008 12:12:49 GMT -5
dont start with a full grown mouse start with pinkies then when they are eating those consistently move to hoppers, then full grown. starting with the smaller younger live mice gets them started on their hunting instincts i made the mistake of starting beast on a full grown mouse it took him about 5 minutes to kill and then he didnt realize they were food so start with the smaller ones
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Post by meli on Oct 3, 2008 17:43:38 GMT -5
Live prey is amazing. I give my boys live mice, superworms and crickets. It provides them with enrichment and keeps their predatory instincts sharp.
I started with adult size mice because my boys weight about 3.5 pounds each. Pinkies were way to small and I felt they did not provide with the excitement that adult mice do. Adult mice do try to fight back so keep a sharp eye on your ferts.
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Post by kelseyjosine on Oct 13, 2008 9:45:44 GMT -5
Yeah I ended up not being able to get a live mouse. I honestly just couldn't do it lol. And I've tried everything to get them to eat the thawed mice, I've dragged it around...kinda hit Punk in the head with him...put ferretone on it...Willy and Shiza won't give it the time of day...and Punk will grab it from me but then he'll just go stash it and leave it. I just don't know what to do about it anymore.
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Post by Heather on Oct 13, 2008 23:10:08 GMT -5
You could (ick ) cut it so that it's insides show and they can get beyond the fur. Some fuzzbutts don't realize that there's meat under that fuzz and go for it once it's been opened up ....so to speak You can also ...... throw it in the blender and serve it ground .....I've never had to do this as there's a heavy enough competition amoung the fuzzies that stealing someone else's mouse is not only the key you have to eat it too...even if you don't know what it is. Good luck ciao
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Post by kelseyjosine on Oct 15, 2008 18:40:44 GMT -5
Yep I tried cutting the stomach open and exposing the insides...still nothing. And I'm sorry but blending it? Not gonna happen lol. When I did cut it open and Punk was carrying it around the insides started coming out lol...and he still just wanted to stash it.
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Post by animalsgetrevenge on Oct 15, 2008 22:40:20 GMT -5
Have you tried feeding them thawed pinkies?
I just went threw this with my ferrets. I tried frozen JUMBO mice first and only 1 out of 3 ferrets were at all interested! Of course he wouldn't eat it. I tried twice and I tried all different methods. Finally I bought pinkies and hoppers. The night I bought them I offered 2 pinkies and two of my ferrets went to town! When they finished I offered a hopper and they ate 1/2. In the morning it was completely gone. A few days ago I gave them 2 pinkies and when they finished I gave them 2 hoppers, then let them try an adult JUMBO again. Didjeridu "killed" it (it was thaw! hah!) When I went to bed there was 1/2 hopper and a whole adult left but when I woke up, all that was left was a tiny bald leg in their litter box!!
So my suggestion: Get them started eating pinkies, then try bigger and bigger sizes. I was able to get mine from pinkies to JUMBO in two meals! Good luck!
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Post by kelseyjosine on Oct 15, 2008 22:57:52 GMT -5
Hmm that's a good idea. At some it gets so frustrating I'm just like...whatever haha. But I don't know where to get any that size. I got mine at Petco and I don't think they had pinkies but I don't want to spend money to get any sent to me because if they don't eat them that's a huge waste of money and I'm pretty broke at the moment. Where'd you get yours from?
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Post by animalsgetrevenge on Oct 17, 2008 23:41:08 GMT -5
Well I originally bought the adult mice from someone on craigslist.com who had ordered too many for her snakes. YES I had a frustrating experience at first too, I didn't want to waste over a dollar for each mouse they turned down, PLUS my dog wouldn't even touch them with a ten foot pole! I ended up buying the pinkies and hoppers at a reptile specialty shop. I think Petco or Petsmart should carry young mice because that is what small snakes eat. Some small, independent pet shops might sell frozen of live young mice as well, it just depends on how big your city is. I hope this helps!
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