Message Number: YG219 | New FHL Archives Search
From: Sidsel L. Espersen
Date: 2001-02-25 22:44:00 UTC
Subject: [Ferret-Health-list] Re: Live Mice?

The mice I will be buying will be from either a private
breeder or a friend of mine who works with lab-mice, and in
Denmark they need to be "sterile" and free of everything that
might cause a different outcome and so on. I would NEVER buy a
petstore mouse, I really don't want my ferret to get sick! I
know how they live and how they are treated, it's not a pretty
sight, and I'm pretty sure they are sick as can be!

As for the chewtoy experience, I don't think my friend liked
it one bit either, and she of course is pro humane kill, as am
I. She learned not to feed the guy 2 mice at a time, and
hasn't done it since, but since we are all new to BARF she had
no idea how much the ferret could eat.

My kit will be fed one mouse, and I will be present to oversee
the kill, not that I think I will enjoy it, but in case my kit
won't kill the mouse fast enough, I'll have step in and finish
the job..ydrk! The kit will only have live mice sometimes,
I'll be giving him defrosted pinkies as well.

I was thinking about breeding my own mice, but if I only have
one ferret eating them, then I'll suddenly have my freezer
filled with pinkies, and well, there has to be space for human
food in there too!!

- Sidsel

-----Original Message-----
From: Christopher [mailto:christopher@bennett.org]
Sent: Monday, February 26, 2001 11:56 AM
To: Ferret-Health-list@yahoogroups.com


--- In Ferret-Health-list@y..., "Sidsel L. Espersen"
wrote:
> As for the bachterias (SP?) I will be using mice suited
for reptile
food, tested and checked over and over, and the kit will get
a worm
pill once a month to ensure his health!
>

Who's testing mice? If these are petshop mice, they are
usually bred
in someone's garage or the back room. I once had such a
setup with a
petshop, breeding my own mice I suddenly found myself with
an
incredible number of mice. More than three ball pythons
could ever
consider eating as they feed every two weeks or so. Several
local
petshops were more than happy to buy them from me. One
informed me he
breeds his own in the back of the store. Feeder mice retail
incredibly cheap and if you can get a peek at where they are
bred you
will find remains where they are eating each other in over
crowded
conditions with less than perfect hygiene and I sincerely
doubt
someone is investing the money to have them tested. I could
be wrong
about your particular store, but I assure you this is the
case in
most.

Christopher




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