Mice and snakes

I am currently babysitting a snake, which is fine, they are pretty low maintenance.  This year though we've had something of a crisis.  You see, this year they owners have decided to feed the snake live mice rather than dead ones.

The horror.

With some trepidation I agreed to this plan, but found myself procrastinating.  Good thing snakes have slow moving metabolisms, she/he had to wait an extra week.

After a couple of questions from the owners, promises from me and the kids away I went to the store to get the mice.  The owner of the store could see my rather extensive trepidation and I explained the whole story.  He said that he never feeds live mice to any of his animals and it isn't necessary to do so, rather it was the owners choice.

Then he told me I would have to put the mice in one at a time and be sure that the snake gets it, if not they mice can nibble on the snake and possibly kill it.  So that means that I would have to manually lower the mouse into the cage, in my hand, and watch it get taken.  Twice.  It eats two mice.

The horror.

I manned up and got the mice, they fortunately came in a closed cardboard box and I reluctantly left the store with them, got about halfway to the car with the pair of them running around inside the box and squeaking and turned back.

You have to understand, we had mouse infestations in our house in Toronto, I put out catch and release traps.  A momma mouse abandoned her baby under my chair when she discovered I was on it, I carried the baby to where she had gone and hidden, then left the room.  I am a total wimp as far as this goes.  Total.

Anyway, I turned back and got two dead mice.  I'm cool with that, no problem there.  I know the snake has to eat yadda yadda yadda, it's just my role handing them over to their doom that I have trouble with.

Telling the girls about it, I could, I believe, kill an animal if my children needed to eat.  I could do that.  For the snake though?

Not so much.

ps.  it ate them both and seems fine.