live or not?

Just wondering how many people feed their snakes live food or re killed, frozen, in tank, or in a different tank.

I have been feeding my baby (almost 1 year) live prey in his tank, i would hold him for like a half hour than i would put him back, than drop in a mouse.

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Originally Posted by bonez

Just wondering how many people feed their snakes live food or re killed, frozen, in tank, or in a different tank.

I have been feeding my baby (almost 1 year) live prey in his tank, i would hold him for like a half hour than i would put him back, than drop in a mouse.

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I ahve had my BP for about 3 weeks and feed it live in a a different container because that is what he started on and I have not bothered to try and switch to FT.

I feed my snake live prey in another "tank". Call it a large cardboard box.
She won't eat during night for some reason. I thought they were nocturnal which confuses me even more. Each night she'll come out and try to get out for half the night. When I feed her in the day, I just take her out of the hide and put her in with the mouse. She'll eat right away.

I hear snakes can get parasites from live mice. Anything to look for at the petstore?

And what does FT mean? I know it refers to frozen food.
I think its unnatural for the snake to eat prekilled food. Whats the plus of prekilling animals for your snake?

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Originally Posted by bonez

have been feeding my baby (almost 1 year) live prey in his tank, i would hold him for like a half hour than i would put him back, than drop in a mouse.

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Just wondering, but why?

I feed all of mine live in their enclosures. I don't handle any of them on feeding day, I let them have their peace and then just hunt from their hides.

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Originally posted byRascal
Whats the plus of prekilling animals for your snake?

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Lots of pluses, :D first of all, a mouse or large rat can injure your snake,it might not happen, but the possibility is there. Live prey can have parasites,Also, , it is SOOOOO convenient to have the frozen rats, as I use for mine , in the freezer. I have a years worth, vacuum sealed. I have 9 snakes, including 4 BP , and they do great on the F/T rats. I would NEVER go to live feeding. I feed all in their cages. I put the F/ T rat into a big cup, or bag, and the snake goes right in, eats , and that's that. I regularly hold my snakes(not before or after feeding of course), and all are as gentle as can be.

Live, in their enclosures. Thawing out frozen is a pain in the butt, IMO. Plus I breed a portion of what I feed off, and I don't want to have to go through killing and freezing them all the time. Some of my snakes are too sensitive to be taken out of their tanks to have a mouse thrown at them in an environment they're unfamiliar with.

If you raise and breed the rodents why would you freeze after you kill. Keep them alive until you need them and then kill them and feed your animals freshly killed. I alway feed prekilled, I have known to many people who have had a rodent cause injuries to their snakes.

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Originally Posted by snakeLVR

Lots of pluses, :D first of all, a mouse or large rat can injure your snake,it might not happen, but the possibility is there.

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Very true! this is why you must not leave the feeder in for extended periods of time and watch (if you have a smaller collection).

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Live prey can have parasites,Also

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So can P/K then right? that is why it is so important to buy feeders from a good source.

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I have a years worth, vacuum sealed. I have 9 snakes, including 4 BP , and they do great on the F/T rats. I would NEVER go to live feeding. .

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F/t can also pose problems if the rat isn't thawed enough it can really injure your snake. Some snakes will not eat F/T or even P/K for that fact.

I do not suggest feeding live to a new snake owner because of the complecations that can arise. I feed two of mine P/K and the rest live. It all depends on your animal.

After a while thawing out rats for a larger number of snakes is tedious. However, my balls and my carpet pythons will not touch live or prekilled.

However, I feed all of my snakes in their enclosures. I have at least one ball python that is so shy, she would not feed outside of her enclosure. In fact, if I were to handle her that day of feeding, she probably would not eat for me.

there are so many threads on this exact topic. feel free to use the search function to find some!

responsibly feeding live is perfectly safe and is the way many of the members here feed their snakes.

and just to add: frozen foods loose their nutritive value and having a years worth of prey items in the freezer will dramatically reduce their nutritive value!