Ive learned about feeding snakes from this!!!!

[EyeLashViper]

:shock: Oh boy....a friend of mine in Alabama lost her big female Boa Constrictor to infected RAT bites !!! her female BCI was taking down a large adult rat and sustained several bites to her neck and head area and the bites became infected :cry: This has REALLY woken me up to the hazards of feeding live rodents to our precious snakes. I must admit that I kind of took it lightly there for awhile but hearing about the passing of this beautiful snake really shook me up. I can see that a rodent can really deliver some dreadful bites in the process of it being constricted !!!

I am really going to be making a 100% effort from here on out to get ALL three of my Ball Pythons ( Trinity, Cypher and Apok ) feeding on thawed pre-killed from here on out.They are going to HAVE to adjust to the change as I could not bear to lose one of my snakes to something that I can see is totally preventable. I HAVE managed to get Apok to take pre-killed mice so he is on his way to becoming a good feeder - he is a hungy guy most of the time so that helps...Trinity and Cypher are a little more picky and choosy but I am going to let them get a bit hungry ( Cypher is fasting anyhow....) and then thaw out and warm up to body temp a nice small rat...perhaps I will try dipping it in chicken broth as well...I have heard that helps....

Well, just a story I thought I would share with you all to scare the daylights out of you if you are feeding live...it sure scared me to the bone to hear my friends description of the bites, and how her snake succumbed even WITH vet treatment...sheesh....

EyeLashViper

[wolfman38]

Sorry to hear about your friends lost. I know it must be dishearting when one loses a loved pet especially in that manner. I hope that everything goes well for you, Trinity, and Cypher. It will take alot of patience on your end, but in the end it is well worth it. Good luck.

[Marla]

I'm sorry to hear that about your friend's boa, but if it saves another animal's life, then maybe it's worth it. I'm very glad to hear that you are determined to feed pre-killed. I'm a believer in feeding p/k or f/t anyway, but that was absolutely cemented when I saw this picture from the ProExotics FAQ on the subject (NOT for the faint of heart or those already convinced).

[daftperception]

i would love to switch over its just sage just had a little fast and i don't want to try anything new until she/he is eating good for awhile.

[beaglegod]

Sheesh Marla, they say a picture says a thousand words and that picture sure as hell does. That photo is an excellent teaching aid when helping newbies to understand the importance of switching to F/T. Ive been bitten by hamsters and I know rodents deliver some of the nastiest bites.

Im not sure if this will help you out eyelashviper, but I noticed that if I take a F/T and thaw it out quickly by putting it in a ziplock bag and putting the bag in hot water (dont cook it though) bout 30 min or so when you open that bag, whew is it funky! It doesnt smell half as much when I thaw the prey item out to room temp first and than warm it up a bit. They might like the funk, so give em the funk.

[Marla]

Sorry, Paul. It's definitely a harsh pic, but it does get the point across effectively.

[NitroNostrils]

Wow truely sorry to hear bout that Eyelash, hopefully everyone will be more careful, I dont know if the BP community knows this or not but Izabelle is to a victim of rat rage but luckly got her in time. this was almost 2 1/2 yrs ago she had lil chunks from the lower portion taken out. But I nursed her back to health by applying hydrocortizone everyday for a very long time....all this well with her now.

[elevatethis]

yeah that picture definitly broke my heart too...I feel really guilty because I've been feeding my baby ball live and kicking hoppers for the last few weeks. However I've literally watched the feeding from 2 feet away in the snakes feed box, so nothing has gone wrong at all...the mice never saw it coming. My roommate would absolutely NOT be cool with keeping frozen mice in the fridge, so getting live prey from the pet shop (luckily is 2 mins from my place) is my only option. I will start stunning the mice from now on, hopefully it won't be a problem. I never want to see my snake get hurt like that on account of my own ignorance. I'd never forgive myself.

[bigslimrich]

How do you stun the mice?? do you knock them against a wall or what?? I have been feeding Samson live mice since ive had him (a month) that is what the petco i got him from fed him also, he is a very good eater i know that before i start feeding him rats im going to go to f/t or prekilled because of the danger. After seeing that pic i definatly want to switch off of live feeding, even with the small mice.

[elevatethis]

The herp store showed me how to do it, you basically take them by the tail and flick them overhand so to speak onto a countertop, its pretty instant and you are left with a mouse thats just kinda twitching, no totally limp. The girl there said that its just a reflex action and that the mouse isn't actually suffering. She said you do have to give it some muscle, or else, in your sympathy, will not give the mouse a quick death. I can't stop picturing the photo of that ball python above, thats so sad.