# Feeding Dead Mice



## slideaboot (Sep 24, 2009)

Alright-

So I typically feed Boosh a varied diet of ground turkey, superworms, and crickets....

I tried a freshly killed dead mouse (a black one and a white one) and while he did bite them and drag them around a bit, he didn't eat them.

Soooooo....last night I tried smearing ground turkey all over one of the mice to see if that would help. Of course, all Boosh did was eat all of the ground turkey off of the mouse, like the mouse was some sort of Ritz cracker. 

Any advice on how to get him to eat the mice? I'm willing to bet that if they were alive, he'd've run them down and eaten them (he loves "the chase"), but I'm thinking that could lead down a dangerous path of live-only prey. 

Or...are mice something that some tegus just don't eat? That theory seems a bit strange to me, though.

Thanks again!

-Marcus


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## Dvdh1 (Sep 24, 2009)

I think they just have their preferences. My Colombian originally ate crickets, superworms and fuzzies. Since introducing turkey, chicken and beef, she won't touch the others anymore. I tried rubbing the mouse in turkey also and she just licked the turkey off of it too. Lol! So I think she has just moved on to people food, can you blame them? Lol!


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## rrcoolj (Sep 24, 2009)

I know it's like taboo but personally... Im not against live feeding. I mean as long as you feed in a feeding ben and as long as you don't feed live all the time, I don't see a problem. I feed my tegu live insects and fish. He loves dragging the fish out of the water and biting it's gill plate. Im suprised at how efecient he is. I beieve he is too small for the live rodents at the pet store so I will wait until he is older for that. 

I think feeding live is fine on occasion but I think you should eventually teech him to take F/t rodents because feeding live all the time will get very exspensive plus it helps his aggression. SO the short answer yes I think it is okay to feed live rodents or no rodents at all. But long term I think it will be better for you to just be patient with him until he takes it. My little guy took two weeks to take to F/T rodents but once he got a taste, now he loves it.


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## Herplings (Sep 24, 2009)

Yeah I agree with RR.

I don't see anything wrong with dropping in a few live mice to try and in gauge his feeding response and help give him a taste of the new food. I am sure that after a few times of doing that, he would take some F/T mice.

The only other thing that I was thinking was that, the mice you were trying to feed are to large, since he took it, but did not eat it.

Good luck. Sometimes they can be picky.


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## Quijibo (Sep 26, 2009)

The first time I fed Jango a F/T adult, he seemed to heve a problem figuring out which way it should go. It took him about 20 minutes to find out pointy end first.


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## slideaboot (Sep 28, 2009)

Well, now we have a pet mouse. Ugh. My girlfriend, who really likes Boosh, started getting kind of attached to this smaller feeder mouse I got yesterday. She managed to both name and fall in love with it on the ride home from the pet store. Boosh decided that acting like a horse and carrying the female mouse (whose name is George--a FEMALE mouse, mind you) around on his back was more satisfying than actually eating the thing. Boosh had SEVERAL opportunities to attack this mouse and did nothing. Nada. Zip. So, my girlfriend says it's a sign and that we have to keep the mouse--she'll feed it, water it...etc...

Sure...whatever you say, baby. 

Silver lining? Yup, of course. Well, maybe. I told her we could keep the mouse if we got a male to pair her up with--on the condition that the babies were snacks for Boosh (I'm assuming he'll eat pinks for little treats--though he'd need about 10 of them for a decent meal). 

Boosh went on to eat some ground turkey--almost the only thing he'll eat nowadays. Is it BAD for him to ONLY eat ground turkey with cod liver oil and calcium supplement? He'll eat worms here and there--doesn't really like crickets and HATES mice (apparently).

Sorry for the long post. Again.


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## txrepgirl (Sep 28, 2009)

what a cute story lol.I know how she feels.I never kept mine that my snake didn't want to eat.I just got into my car and drove for about 5 miutes and let it out.I bet ones she sees those cute babies she wants to keep them, too, lol.You can try to give him some chicken gizzards, chicken hearts, liver, or fresh fish filets.If you want to try the fish filets please make sure you ask them to give you some that has no growth hormones in it.The farm raised fish has that in it most off the time.Put it in some warm water so it's not to cold for your Tegu to eat.Mine love it. 

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## slideaboot (Sep 28, 2009)

Not a chance on keeping the babies. Not a chance...hah.

Thanks for the tips on the grub. Much appreciated.


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## Meg90 (Sep 28, 2009)

Try putting the prey under a heat light for a few minutes, so its a good temperature. Sometimes that will help. I had a lot of trouble getting my youngest BP to eat dead prey. At first, if they weren't hot enough, he didn't identify them as food.


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## slideaboot (Sep 28, 2009)

Meg90 said:


> Try putting the prey under a heat light for a few minutes, so its a good temperature. Sometimes that will help. I had a lot of trouble getting my youngest BP to eat dead prey. At first, if they weren't hot enough, he didn't identify them as food.



Boosh got further with the dead prey than the live, though. At least with the dead he picked it up and dragged it around. He didn't go after the live prey at all. 

BTW, the dead prey had just died (got too hot on the car ride home)...it was pretty warm. I know what you're saying though...I've been in the same boat with snakes in the past as well.


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## stainthedane (Sep 28, 2009)

I'm not sure whether you feed eggs raw or cooked to ur lizard, I feed Siggy both, but If he eats raw egg, try dunking the mouse in egg and see if that helps... I think the egg is lless likely to be licked than chicken

oops and by chicken I ment turkey


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## Meg90 (Sep 28, 2009)

If the mouse is dead, I've heard you can make an incision in the belly, so the Gu can really smell it.

I tried a frozen thawed rat pup on my lady today and she LOVED it. She slapped that thing around for maybe three minutes before she started chomping. She ripped a foreleg off of it, and nearly severed the head before she swallowed it LOL. 

I took it straight from the freezer and put it in a plastic bag, then submerged till it was thawed and nice and warm.

Maybe try a rat pup? Some snakes will choose rats over mice, and vice versa.


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## slideaboot (Sep 28, 2009)

Meg90 said:


> If the mouse is dead, I've heard you can make an incision in the belly, so the Gu can really smell it.
> 
> I tried a frozen thawed rat pup on my lady today and she LOVED it. She slapped that thing around for maybe three minutes before she started chomping. She ripped a foreleg off of it, and nearly severed the head before she swallowed it LOL.
> 
> ...




You read my mind!


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## Meg90 (Sep 28, 2009)

:-D Lemme know how it goes with the pup then---I was all nervous to offer one today, afraid she wasn't going to eat it, but man did she go to town!


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## CaterpillarGiraffe (Sep 28, 2009)

My Tegu eats fuzzies all the time no problem (F/T).

It's his favourite thing, since he only gets them once or twice a week. They run straight for them.

I guess feeding them not so often makes them more ready to eat them.


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## slideaboot (Sep 29, 2009)

CaterpillarGiraffe said:


> My Tegu eats fuzzies all the time no problem (F/T).
> 
> It's his favourite thing, since he only gets them once or twice a week. They run straight for them.
> 
> I guess feeding them not so often makes them more ready to eat them.




Well, see, that's the thing--I've only offered Boosh mice twice. He refused both times. I've had monitors and columbians that just MOWED mice down...it's weird to me that Boosh doesn't dig on mice. But MAN does he love ground turkey. He GETS DOWN!


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## Meg90 (Oct 1, 2009)

GOOD LORD. Today Cleo grabbed a rat fuzzy by the head and shook it, and literally halved the skull! Little Miss Carnage was so covered in rat blood....when picked her up out of the bin to have "tub time" and my hand was smeared with blood! Had to bathe her just to get it off!

Have you had any luck yet?


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## slideaboot (Oct 1, 2009)

Meg90 said:


> GOOD LORD. Today Cleo grabbed a rat fuzzy by the head and shook it, and literally halved the skull! Little Miss Carnage was so covered in rat blood....when picked her up out of the bin to have "tub time" and my hand was smeared with blood! Had to bathe her just to get it off!
> 
> Have you had any luck yet?




What a savage! It's crazy how strong their jaws really are. 

I haven't tried again yet. I have a mouse in the freezer I might try this weekend. I think I'll pith it (if I can stomach it) and see if that gets Boosh's motor running. 

It'd be nice if he ate mice because now we have a pair of mice (part of the deal--if the girlfriend got to keep the last feeder, she had to get a male (which she named "A Boy Named Sue") so we could give the babies to Boosh). I'm assuming he'll eat pinks, for some reason. Little treats I guess. 

We shall see...


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## rrcoolj (Oct 1, 2009)

Be patient im sure he will come around. Just give him time and keep offering one day he will surprise you.


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## slideaboot (Oct 2, 2009)

rrcoolj said:


> Be patient im sure he will come around. Just give him time and keep offering one day he will surprise you.




That's pretty much how I'm approaching it. I think I'll wait until we start having litters of mice before I start offering on the regular though--they start to get pricey, especially when they're not even being eaten.


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## chris allen (Oct 2, 2009)

I offer the f/t mice on a plate, same as their other food. I'll sometimes give them just the mice on the plate, sometimes Ill put the mice and other food combined.....either way they devour whatever is on that plate! Im not sure how or what the prior owner gave my two, but they have no problems eating thats for sure!


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## Herplings (Oct 2, 2009)

Meg90 said:


> GOOD LORD. Today Cleo grabbed a rat fuzzy by the head and shook it, and literally halved the skull! Little Miss Carnage was so covered in rat blood....when picked her up out of the bin to have "tub time" and my hand was smeared with blood! Had to bathe her just to get it off!
> 
> Have you had any luck yet?



Haha. Yeah, they are eating mechanics. With out venom, or constriction to kill. It has to come from brute smashing&Bashing.
It can be hard to watch at first I guess.


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