Feeding options....

[chinoumi]

I have always wanted a BP but never got one because im not sure if i could handle the feeding.
Anyway, I was at a pet store and was talking about alternatives to feeding your snake mice and rats. The pet store owner had said he had heard of people who have sucessfully switched out rodent meat with a raw chicken or other 'white meats'
Im not sure if this is safe or not. I don't plan on buying a snake until im more informed on this, but i can never find anything on this method.
I understand that if i cant handle the whole rate mouse thing that i should not get a snake.
Also, with forzen mice and rats, do you buy them that way?
I know im very new to this so i might sound a little stupid with all this.

[mooingtricycle]

you would have to supplement the secondary meat source considerably if you were not using whole prey. I HAVE heard of others supplementing chicken on occasion, but i feel It would take far more effort to do that, than to just buy frozen thawed mice or rats. ( which can be found at most pet stores, like Pet co and Petsmart)

Why are you considering a snake if you dont want to feed it its natural diet?

[chinoumi]

Its more out of curiosity. I dont think id have too much of an issue feeding the F/T rodents. Its also and issue of, my boyfriend and our son wanting one.
If I could (in a healthy way) replace that i would rather do that.
I myself have pet rats, so its more of a "i feel horrible doing it" more than im not willing to do it.
Also i heard buying the frozen rodents gets more costly than live. Of coarse thats not a huge problem iether.

[RoyalGuardian]

If you want a snake your going to have to feed it actual prey if you want a healthy animal. Chicken and "snake sausages" are not suitable for snakes. Ball pythons would never eat chicken ( I have heard of people feeding chicks though) or beef. Thats like asking if its ok to feed your child a mouse.

[starmom]

Awesome questions and a really good thing for you to feel out before getting a snake! Yea you!!!

I feed all of my snakes but one frozen thawed. I buy them frozen on line from The Mouse Factory and there are lots of other places also.

I would not feed a ball python chicken parts!! I have heard of some people feeding them whole chicks, but I'm unclear as to whether this was a stop-gap measure or if it was long term; I'm thinking stop-gap.

Keeping a snake is a very long-term commitment and so it is truly important for you to go deep inside of yourself to really check out if you are up to this. If you discover that you don't relate, would your bf consider taking on the feeding responsibilities?? Just a thought....

So, welcome to the forum! I appreciate your honest questions and am certain that you'll be able to figure this out about yourself!

[simplechamp]

Try thinking of it this way: any rodents raised at the various rodent supply companies have their fates sealed from the start. They are going to be food no matter what, whether it's for your snake or someone else. It's not you making the decision to kill the mouse, and you don't have to see it be killed. I would never eat a steak if I had to slaughter the cow myself, but since I can buy it in a prepared packaged form without seeing the animal die I can deal with it.

[chinoumi]

Thanks for the answers,they really helped.
I thought that chicken seemed a bit off when the guy told me that.
Can you only buy frozen online or are they avalable at pets stores? I heard some petco- like stores carry them in the back or some sort of special request...

[JayBP]

You can get them from Petco, Petland, Petsmart, etc. Just ask them where they keep their frozen rodents.

[starmom]

I purchased a couple of frozen feeders at Petco once and never gave them to my snakes-- YUCK!!

There are several places on-line from which to purchase and that is the way I do it! The Mouse Factory is my place of choice, though others include Big Cheese, Rodent Pro, etc...