feeding live mice vs. frozen

I'm sure this topic has already been covered here many times, but please indulge me as I'm a relatively new snake owner...

The word is that feeding live mice makes the snakes more aggressive. True? What if I feed the mice to the snakes in a separate container than their regular cages?

I realize that mice can fight back and possibly injure a snake, but I also hear that the lab mice are far less aggressive than wild ones- which is what I'd be using.

Potential pros and cons?...

• live mice are easier than thawing/dangling?
• live mice make the snake more aggressive
• live mice can hurt the snake
• the snake enjoys eating live mice more?
• etc.?

Thanks!

I have always fed my BP live. She isnt aggressive at all either. She is one of the calmest hatchling I have ever seen to be honest. Never even hinted at wanting to bite. They are cheaper in the long run too. Buy some adults and breed them. Thats what I do for mine :) . My snake got bit once, but it didnt hurt her. She just kept squeezing and then ate it. Nbd. If your worried about them hurting the snake, prekill them. I cant do it, my husband has to tho for the aggressive mice. Its supposed to be healthier live bc freezing takes out some of the nutrients.

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Originally Posted by nashveg

The word is that feeding live mice makes the snakes more aggressive. True?

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ha. False. Where'd you get that "word" ? :)

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What if I feed the mice to the snakes in a separate container than their regular cages?

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A lot of people feed in their regular cages. There's debate on whether or not it stresses the animal out, but some people have better success with it. Try both ways.

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I realize that mice can fight back and possibly injure a snake, but I also hear that the lab mice are far less aggressive than wild ones- which is what I'd be using.

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I would highly advise that you DON'T feed wild mice. You never know how much rat poison that mouse has eaten.

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Originally Posted by Nate

A lot of people feed in their regular cages. There's debate on whether or not it stresses the animal out, but some people have better success with it. Try both ways.

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correction - I meant there is a debate on whether or not feeding in a separate enclosure is stressful on the animal.

I only feed live rodents to hatchlings until they accept pre-killed or frozen/thawed. Personally, I prefer feeding freshly killed mice to my animals simply to avoid any instances of rodent-related injuries. Many years ago when I only owned a few snakes we did feed live but after one of our snakes received a nasty bite from a rat we put an end to that. That snake still has remnants of that scar and it serves as a reminder for me of why I kill the rodents beforehand.


I don't think the snake finds any more enjoyment out of eating pre-killed mice than live. The snake simply wants to eat. It's not a game or sport for them, it's just in their nature to find prey and consume it. Their enjoyment comes from having a fully belly.

I'm not sure about frozen rodents losing nutritional value. Unless they've been frozen and shelved for a long period of time, I would think the nutritional value would be no less than a freshly killed rodent and most frozen rodent suppliers don't freeze their mice/rats until the order has been placed. Please correct me if I'm wrong. I don't ordinarily use frozen feeders because I buy live from a vendor along his route.