umm bad or ok?

To dr del I move him to a empty bin like one you pack stuff to move and I think the main reason for the bad strikes is he gets really excited I put him (he's about 600g ) in the tub and let him get ready drop the rat (a bit bigger then wiend ) and the rat takes maybe two steps before it get hit but the last feed went very well actully hit right on the nose so I was pleased hopefully he will do better and I will continue to watch him but I really don't c the major problem with live I do love my snake and would be quick to act if a problem came up

Most of my bp have been switched to f/t, but I do have a woma ball that refused to eat anything but live. She is very shy and if I am standing to close she won't even come out of her hide. I have tried everything to get her to eat pre killed and it just won't work for her. Some snakes will refuse no matter what you try....

Do you have some long hemostats? I like these for my live feeders, they are great for getting in there and moving rodent teeth away from snake. Or you can use them to keep the rat's mouth open so it can't bite hard. Yeah it might be kind of cruel, but once the snake has it in it's coils, I really just worry about keeping them safe... You can also SCRUFF a rat to offer it. I don't like grabbing their tail, since it leaves their head swinging around and able to bite. ASt least with the scruff, it is slightly more limited by the tongs.

Use long feeding tongs.
Hold live food by the tail (close to the butt butt)
I dangle them a little (front feet on the ground and back feet just off)
Make sure they are facing hungry _________
99.9% head strike every time:gj:
0.1% miss all together

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by 8-Ball

May sound cruel but when it comes to our snakes we have to look out for their well being so:
Before you offer live rats give the rat a knock on the head with a stick or whatever you have sitting around. Stun it good then it will still be alive but still kicking. that will give your bp an upper hand.
If this for some odd reason does not work, flat out kill the rat then offer it.
Good luck!

---

^^ this works for us :)
we grab the tail with hemostats, and stun it by flicking its head or any other way, but not to hard. Our BP wont eat it unless she kills it.

I feed live and what I do when a rat is trying to bite I flick the rat in the back of the head hard a couple times that stops them. I have been feeding live for 20 years every snake I have ever owned was fed live from hopper mice to adult rabbits and I have never had any serious injury to a snake from feeding live.

I feed live to all my ball pythons. If the rat is to big for the snake, the rat might win. :O
Occasionally a snake gets bit. It has never been anything serious. A bit of neosporin if it's a nasty one.
If I only had to feed one or two snakes, I would probably feed frozen.
Each snake keeper must make their own decision as to what method works best for them.
Some people feed F/T to most, while some of the picky eaters will get live.