Live or Dead Food??

[reptilelove18]

ive had snakes for the last 8 years and have always fed mine live mice. ive spoken to some local reptile owners about their ideas on live food and of course heard some horror stories about snakes getting torn up by live food and having to be nursed back to health or dying. so i looked into frozen mice costs and they are way cheaper. i still am unsure about it tho because on one hand the dead mice are way cheaper and wont hurt my snakes but on the other hand all they've ever had is live food and i dont know if they would take to dead food. so i would love to hear some of your guys stories and opinions on the subject

[satomi325]

Nothing is wrong with live.
The horror stories are irresponsible keepers leaving prey in with their snakes for extended amounts of time where the feeder gets hungry.

If you feed responsibly, it is safe.

Whether its live or f/t, there are pros and cons to both. You just have to be responsible and what ever works for you.


Some responsible live feeding tips:

1) Feed the appropriate size food. I like smaller and more frequent meals than larger and less often. Weanlings and small rats are safe and harmless(to some extent). They're also not as conscious to danger as an adult would be. Adult rats can pack a nasty bite and are much stronger at fighting back, which is why "smaller and more frequent" is the way to go. I feed all of my adults weaned/small rats once a week. And multiple smalls for the big girls. A medium size would be the max appropriate size for a ball python. If you're feeding adult mice, try feeding rats of the equivalent size. They are pups and much more harmless than an adult mouse.

2) Keep the feeder well fed and hydrated. They're less likely to see your snake as food. Hungry rats are dangerous rats. They will eat your snake if left unattended for extended periods of time. This is the reason for most snake killing incidences.

3) Don't dangle the live feeder. This puts them in panic mode. A freaked out feeder is a dangerous feeder. Gently place the feeder into your enclosure. Calm feeders are good.

4) Monitor your feedings and keep a tool, such as tongs, on hand to assist your snake in case the feeder tries to bite down. I use a chop stick to stick in the feeder's mouth if its in a bad position.

5) Don't keep the feeder in with your snake longer than 30 mins max or so. Some people have a shorter time frame. If he doesn't eat within that time frame, take out the feeder and save it for next week.





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[Daybreaker]

All but two of my snakes eat f/t and it's my preferred feeding method. It's convenient for me and I can buy in bulk when I need to. The horror stories you hear about is from irresponsible feeding: when people leave a feeder in unattended with the snakes for long periods of time. Feeding live is safe as long as you supervise the feeding. I would buy a f/t feeder somewhere and see if your snake will take f/t before buying a whole bunch in bulk from somewhere. I heat up my f/t feeders with a hairdryer to ~100 degrees and offer with success.

[reptilelove18]

thanks for the replies!! thats what i believe too and ive never had a problem with live food at all. ive never gotten a feeder that was too big and never left them unattended and everything has been fine
i think i might try some frozen food to see if they would be interested in it for cost efficency but if they arent into then its no big deal

[rabernet]

I feed live almost exclusively. I pick up f/t when my live source is low. I've fed off well over 15k live feeders without incident.

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[Stewart_Reptiles]

Feed what works and what you are comfortable with.

Feeding is about being knowledgeable and responsible.

I feed between 200 and 300 live prey each month and there is no horror story here.