Should i starve my pinkies???

bistrobob85 · 07-20-04, 02:55 PM

Hello guys, i dont remember where, but i have read that the milk contained in pinkies ( freshly drunk from the mother ) can be harmful for snakes... So should i put my baby rats in a box for a while before i put them in the freezer, so that they have time to digest it??? I dont exactly enjoy to make my feeders suffer, even if i dont mind feeding live... What do you guys think about it???

bistrobob85 · 07-20-04, 02:55 PM

Sorry for the two same posts, i thought the first one wasnt sent...

Tim_Cranwill · 07-20-04, 02:59 PM

Nope... what's in the mouse's stomach ends up in the snake's stomach... always has for the past million-odd years.

bistrobob85 · 07-20-04, 03:02 PM

But is the milk in the mouse's stomach harmful for snakes??? I'd be very surprise if it would, but i just want to be sure about it.

Tim_Cranwill · 07-20-04, 03:04 PM

Nope... that's what I was referring to in my last post when I said "Nope".

Will · 07-20-04, 03:23 PM

Never heard that one before - I would assume that extra milk would just mean extra Calcium...

DragnDrop · 07-20-04, 03:39 PM

It sounds like the basis of the post you read relates to reptiles not being able to digest the lactose in milk. When you think about it though, any wild snake is going to pounce on a nursing rodent and consume it righ there and then, not wait until it finishes digesting the milk it consumed. If it were to be bad for snakes, they wouldn't be fond of eating young rodents or any nursing mammal.

mykee · 07-20-04, 05:23 PM

Snakes aren't lactose intolerant. I am though...

annieb_mice · 07-22-04, 12:38 PM

There was a discussion on the WSPCR yahoogroups list on this subject a while back. LOL!
But I'm with the others on here... I doubt there's much of a problem with rodents with full milk tummies as opposed to not full milk tummies. I can't see a snake checking out every pinkie to see if it has recently nursed or not. LOL!
I wouldn't worry about it.

I feed my snakes pinkies and fuzzies that have just nursed and haven't had any problems. Not that that really means anything, but that's my experience.

Take care
Annie B. <:3 )~~

Jungle Jen · 07-22-04, 01:10 PM

Milk in a pinkies stomach means extra calcuim. I am with the others in this thread that if it was detrimental to the snakes health, how have they been surviving for so long with no ill effects from milk bellied prey?

M_surinamensis · 07-22-04, 02:34 PM

Snakes most certainly ARE lactose intolerant... All reptiles are. Lactose can only be digested by lactase, which is produced only in mammals (moreso in young ones) and certain bacteria. Snakes don't produce lactase, can't digest lactose and shouldn't be deliberately fed milk products.

However this needs to be looked at in relation to the item being fed. A small amount of material which is indigestable will be passed without causing any harm to your animal whatsoever... a large amount could potentially begin to rot in their gut and lead to health problems. The amount of undigested milk present in a pinky mouse's digestive tract will be minimal (remember, they DO produce lactase and most lactose will be simple sugar by the time the snake's digestive process hits internal organs) is so small as to be meaningless, especially when it's contained within digestable material which is moving through the snake as it normally should.

So don't feed your burm a cheese log, but don't worry about the drop or three of milk that might be inside a pinky or fuzzy.

Edit: Removed a very odd comma

Cruciform · 07-22-04, 02:41 PM

The milk ingested by the pinky should continue to digest in the pinkies stomach for a short time after death as well, should it not?

annieb_mice · 07-23-04, 11:53 AM

M_surinamensis, Thanks once again for your very informative answer! I always learn something new when you post something...

Take care
Annie B. <:3 )~~