Live feeding questions

[Amp625]

Hey everyone, my little curtis is a grate feeder, he is about 250 grams. Right now he is on F/T mice but i really love the idea of feeding live. Letting him actually hunt so its a little more natural and enriching him more. However, i would like to know once i do this is there no turning back to F/T? Can i just put the mouse straight in his tank when feeding time comes around? How likely is it that he will get parasites or get bitten? Thanks

[Alexandra V]

I get what you're saying about it being more natural, etc., but if he's eating fine right now I would hesitate to change things lest he decide to go on a hunger strike. Why fix something that ain't broke?

[shadow120]

if your carefull and get you feeders from a reliable source the chances of them getting bit or parasites is pretty low, but it can happen. as for switching back and forth it depends on the snake. i have some that will eat anything live or f/t some that wont. i had one that was on f/t med rats and i gave it a leftover live mouse and now it only eats live mice.

[ballpythonluvr]

As was stated, why would you want to feed live when your snake is already eating f/t? If I were you , I would just keep feeding the f/t.

[CeeJay]

Save yourself the heartache of worrying about him getting bitten every time. Just think, when he is full grown and you are feeding him appropriate size rats how bad it could get if the rat fights back. Stay on F/T.

[Quacking-Terror]

Oh how I wish my snake was eating F/T. I've tried it a few times and he's just like "Nope, back off dude. If it doesn't squirm, I'm not interested. Bring on the squeak!" So I feed him live. And I do worry about him being bitten. Well, right now he's on rat pups and they can barely bite me, but eventually I'll have to pre-kill or be very,very careful.

[Stewart_Reptiles]

Just think, when he is full grown and you are feeding him appropriate size rats how bad it could get if the rat fights back.

So how bad can it get

Live feeding can be perfectly safe if done by a responsible owner, full grown snake does not mean it gets a full grown rat for example I never feed anything larger than 125 grams rats (more or less) each week (even to 3000+ grams females) and I am yet to see how bad it can get

To the OP the choice is your the things you need to weigh in are

Convenience, is it convenient for you to feed live and will it remain convenient do you have a reliable source of live feeder will it also be cost effective etc.

Now if you feed live will the animal ever switch back to F/T? Well there is always a risk that he might not or it will take a long time which is why you need to be sure this is really what you want to do.

[steveboos]

I love it how everyone makes live seem so dangerous. I have done hundreds and hundreds of live feedings with absolutely no bites on my snakes or injuries. As long as you don't leave the rat in there for hours and hours on end like some bad irresponsible owners do, you will be fine.

In your situation, make sure you have a reliable, CONSISTENT source of live food before you do the switch. If you do have a constant source, then go ahead and do it.

I love feeding live because it is natural and all i have to do is throw the rat in the cage, wait for the squeak, then on to the next snake!