Live prey

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Originally Posted by ster36

Not where I live in rural Wyoming nobody carries frozen thawed and shipping would put the price higher then a live one would cost me.

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Honestly thats a good reason to feed live. I would suggest at least prekilled though.

One thing to consider though is this... if you have the freezer space, maybe buying frozen in bulk ? You should be able to stock up on almost a years worth of frozen rats and could do it in one shipment ( invest in a good vacuum sealer and bags ). If the snake started outgrowing the size you ordered, just feed him 2. Im just thinking that there cant be that many places to get quality mice / rats in rural Wyoming. If your supplier runs out, then you will be back stuck trying to get him to go back to f/t.

Even if you couldnt find a shipper, there are several surrounding states that have reptile shows. Maybe try to find one within driving distance ? Make a day out of it... Frozen are so much cheaper than live that you would probably make up the cost of gas just on that alone.

Just my .02

Pre kill then, if your snakes only had dead food throwing something live with teeth in their isn't a great idea.

I would definately pre kill them. I have one guy who refuses anything without a heartbeat, and I am a nervous wreck until he hits it every time. I know its what they do, but my guy is ho-de-dum about it, and doesn't eat every time. He has never been bit, as I stand by with tongs in hand. But so much better to put in a dead prey item, and not have to worry about their safety.

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Originally Posted by ster36

Not where I live in rural Wyoming nobody carries frozen thawed and shipping would put the price higher then a live one would cost me.

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Are you sure about that? Sites like rodent pro generally are much cheaper even with shipping, but you have to order a few months worth at a time to make it cheaper. I buy 6 months worth at a time and save about $250 vs buying local.

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Originally Posted by Rob

Pre kill then, if your snakes only had dead food throwing something live with teeth in their isn't a great idea.

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The snake will know what to do. Just because it's been fed f/t, doesn't mean that it's lost its instinct to hunt and effectively dispatch prey.

Make sure that the rodent is appropriately sized, well fed and watered, then drop it into the enclosure at the opposite end from where your snake is.

If he doesn't eat in 30 minutes, remove the prey and wait another week.

I feed 95 % of my collection live, always have, even those I've adopted that were previously fed f/t, with no issues.

The only ones I'm feeding f/t are my colubrids, because it's easier for me to get f/t for them than live.

There is nothing inherently wrong with feeding live, as long as it's done responsibly.

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Originally Posted by rabernet

The snake will know what to do. Just because it's been fed f/t, doesn't mean that it's lost its instinct to hunt and effectively dispatch prey.

Make sure that the rodent is appropriately sized, well fed and watered, then drop it into the enclosure at the opposite end from where your snake is.

If he doesn't eat in 30 minutes, remove the prey and wait another week.

I feed 95 % of my collection live, always have, even those I've adopted that were previously fed f/t, with no issues.

The only ones I'm feeding f/t are my colubrids, because it's easier for me to get f/t for them than live.

There is nothing inherently wrong with feeding live, as long as it's done responsibly.

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Yeah that's fine, but why add the risk of putting in live when it will readily eat dead food?

I feed live as well to everything, and always have.....always will.......live rats are not dangerous unless you leave it in there for hours on end with no food or water.....if you are a responsible keeper, you will have no issues feeding live......as long as you pay attention. Rats have, and will, chew a snake up over time if left unattended.....i would NEVER suggest leaving a live rat in a tub/cage overnight, but like Robin mentioned, if you leave it in for 30 minutes, and it doesn't eat it....pull it out, offer it food and water, and offer it to the snake again in a week.

To me f/t is a pain in the butt....and the rodents SMELL.........BAAAAAAD........I would rather have live rats in the house for a few hours, then frozen rodents thawing in my sink/kitchen/anywhere in my house for hours......I breed rats for my collection, and would rather do that than buy f/t.......just personal preference.

Good luck to you,
Jason

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Originally Posted by Rob

Yeah that's fine, but why add the risk of putting in live when it will readily eat dead food?

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That's fine when they will take pre-killled(most don't) and when your collection is only a few snakes but when you feed 50-100 snakes what Robin posted is what most breeders do with out incident.

I feed over 100 snakes a week, 97% live and have never had a problem because I feed appropriate sized rodents. Most folks run into problems because they are feeding too large of a rodent that is also dehydrated and starving. This is a formula for problems.

The only snakes I pre-kill for are my kings and boas.

Feeding F/T eliminates two worries for me...no bites and no mites.

As far as the smell goes...smells like dinner time to the boys ;)

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Originally Posted by JTrott

I feed live as well to everything, and always have.....always will.......live rats are not dangerous unless you leave it in there for hours on end with no food or water.....if you are a responsible keeper, you will have no issues feeding live......as long as you pay attention. Rats have, and will, chew a snake up over time if left unattended.....i would NEVER suggest leaving a live rat in a tub/cage overnight, but like Robin mentioned, if you leave it in for 30 minutes, and it doesn't eat it....pull it out, offer it food and water, and offer it to the snake again in a week.

To me f/t is a pain in the butt....and the rodents SMELL.........BAAAAAAD........I would rather have live rats in the house for a few hours, then frozen rodents thawing in my sink/kitchen/anywhere in my house for hours......I breed rats for my collection, and would rather do that than buy f/t.......just personal preference.

Good luck to you,
Jason

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Dont leave it in for 30 minutes. After 5 minutes if your snake hasnt eaten it then hes not hungry. Also the dead f/t rats dont really smell at all when you thaw them. Live ones smell worse imo bc they can piss and crap everywhere.