LIVE, FROZEN, OR FRESH KILLED

Well I am curious about how many people here feed frozen rodents to their ball pythons. Besides the obvious safety issues why are frozen rodent better then rodents that have been knocked out. And if I decide to try these frozen "treats" how do i go about thawing them out.

I feed frozen rodents to all of my snakes (except for one-a baby sand boa who will only take live pinkies) and I find it to be the best way to go in my opinion. Frozen is better because it is cheaper, safer and much more convenient.

I thaw my rodents by placing them in a spare rubbermaid container and then letting them sit in hot (not scalding hot, but very warm) water for about 1/2 an hour.....if the water gets cold or the rodent isn't thawed all the way, I refill the tub with new water.

This is an interesting thread started on this topic that may help answer your question.

http://ball-pythons.net/index.php?na...iewtopic&t=986

As with my opinion, frozen rodents are so much more convienant, they are much cheaper, and they don't smell! lol...Plus, you won't have to worry about the biting or scratching or your snake getting hurt.. Just much more convienant IMO.

Jennifer

I feed frozen. I place the rodent in a ziploc bag and then sit that in warm water to thaw. Then I take the rodent out of the ziploc and sit on a paper towel that I put on top of his light fixture - he won't take his food unless it's 108 degrees or more so I have to add this final step to warm it up more.

I also feed my new python frozen. When I got my bp it was only used to eating live pinkies, and this made it a challenge to feed it frozen/thawed for the first time. I finally had success by doing what DavidBeard said about thawing it in warm water, and then adding a little more kick right before the feed. Right before I give the rat pup to the bp I hold the rat pup under the heat lamp for about 30 seconds to get it really nice and warm. I then dangle the rat pup, and so far Pina just can’t resist! I’m not an expert by any measure, but if you have trouble getting your bp to eat frozen/thawed, then maybe try doing the water thing and then right before you feed it, throw it under the heat lamp for 30 seconds.

I use frozen cause I couldn't bring myself to smack a rodent.
I defrost just like I would a steak :)
I sit out in bottom of fridge til about an hour before feeding then I just sit out in his feed box to warm up and wait for my bp to show up.
Never had a problem
Hope this helps!

if you would rather buy a rodents and kill it yourself, that is fine. but that will be more costly. also rodents purchased from a pet store are more likely to be unhealthy and carrying parasites or disease. in my opinion, f/t is better because the company you buy from is (should be) dedicated to breeding the healthiest rodents that cost alot less. im pretty sure these are the only things wrong with buying them and killing them yourself. so hopefully that will help you decide.

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As with my opinion, frozen rodents are so much more convienant, they are much cheaper, and they don't smell! lol...Plus, you won't have to worry about the biting or scratching or your snake getting hurt.. Just much more convienant IMO.

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Ditto
Rusty

Yep...have to concur with everyone else here. Of course, I'm not feeding a ball yet, but the same principles apply for any snake. You can keep a stock of rodents in the freezer that will last you for months, or you can go to the pet store every week and spend more per critter, or you can raise your own and deal with the hassle of keeping them clean and fed and happy. Not to mention that with either of those last two options, you have to kill them yourself. For some people that is a non-issue, but for many of us, it's something avoided if at all possible.

I either feed pre killed or frozen, it's about half and half.