Pre-killed Feeders

I've been wanting to switch my one snake from live to frozen/thawed for a while now. In trying to make the switch, is offering pre-killed rats that are bought live and killed right before the snake gets it a good in between step?

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Originally Posted by ratchet

I've been wanting to switch my one snake from live to frozen/thawed for a while now. In trying to make the switch, is offering pre-killed rats that are bought live and killed right before the snake gets it a good in between step?

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Yes its a great step, i too am going to try and switch one of my strictly live eaters to prekilled this week. She absolutely refuses f/t so im hoping prekilled will get her going to f/t.

I did that for all my snakes as I don't like to take any chances with live. After Dottie was done with her winter fast last month, first thing I tried was a F/T rat and she chowed it down. Now she has no problem eating F/T. My boas are garbage disposals so they eat anything. I bet they would eat a shoe if you rubbed a dead rat on it :rolleye2:

I breed my own rats so I always feed pre-killed. This way I get a good feeding reaction from a warm fresh rat without worrying if a pissed off rat is going to bite my snakes, and I make sure the rat died instantly instead of squirming in the grip of a snake who doesn't know what its doing.

When switching my live feeder to f/t, I actually just waited 2 weeks and tried a well-thawed f/t rat. If you want to try p/k though, definitely go for it, I've tried every way of feeding and this one has worked the best for me, my snakes and my rats.

What method are you using for prekilling?

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Originally Posted by pariahdog

I breed my own rats so I always feed pre-killed. This way I get a good feeding reaction from a warm fresh rat without worrying if a pissed off rat is going to bite my snakes, and I make sure the rat died instantly instead of squirming in the grip of a snake who doesn't know what its doing.

When switching my live feeder to f/t, I actually just waited 2 weeks and tried a well-thawed f/t rat. If you want to try p/k though, definitely go for it, I've tried every way of feeding and this one has worked the best for me, my snakes and my rats.

What method are you using for prekilling?

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Question for ya:

Do you offer with tongs (dance the prey) or just drop it in and leave them be?

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Originally Posted by SiXandSeven8ths

Question for ya:

Do you offer with tongs (dance the prey) or just drop it in and leave them be?

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For ones I know will strike instantly, I dangle with tongs. For everyone else I just drop it and leave it lol. I check on them after an hour or so and if they haven't eaten, it goes to garbage disposal (aka the boa and ratsnake)

I'd skip the PK step until it's proven necessary. Just offer the FT.

Actually fresh kill is right move.

If it refused the food, you can just freeze it. No Loss.

No hit on F/T and you can't re freeze it.

Smart girl :)